I have an LsVTEC right now, with around 10.8:1 compression, and was wondering what are some of the drawbacks of having a high compression build with custom pistons with cutouts for the valves?
Like around 12:1?
What are the cons to these setups, besides running high octane gas?
Do they not last as long? and if so , why not?

 

They'll last fine if tuned properly. A major drawback would be having to run race gas in order to run WOT, but if set up properly and tuned thoroughly, you shouldn't have to do that, or have any issues at all, it will last as long as any other aftermarket enhanced block.

 

I see that you're from Arizona..not sure what your elevation is over there but if it's high I might not suggest going that high(of compression) if you want a long lasting, reliable motor with that heat. I fortunetley live at sea level with fairly mild temps so I can get away with it, but it is almost a general rule of thumb that the higher your compression ratio is, the higher you rev it, the shorter it will last. It makes sense that allot of compression will wear down a motor faster, but I guess the question is : what is your idea of a "long lasting" motor??

 

I have an all motor with 12:5:1 compresion and I use it as a daily driver. The only pain in the *** is buying race gas that hurts the pockets! With that kind of compresion the motor does get hot really fast. Since you live a state that gets really hot I would say 11:5 comp pistons to be on the safe side.

 

Don't mean to jack your thread. I'm wondering if 94 octane with 12.0 compression would be ok considering the setup is properly tuned using hondata.