I Have a 1994 civic ex and doing my first engine rebuild and was wondering if there is a a brand of pistons (.020 oversize) that I should use or not use. this is not a racer but I want it to last
Thanks in advance
santa007

 

I've had no problems with NPR pistons commonly found on EBAY (just about 6 years and 90k miles on them). I also have a set of Evergreen pistons that I haven't ran yet.

EDIT: This is on my 100% stock commuter 94 Civic just for clarification.

 

Is there a reason you can't re-ring your stock pistons?
Is there a reason you don't want stock pistons that you can order from the dealer?

Wiseco appears to be a solid aftermarket piston mfg.
Arias is also another go to for the racers from what I've seen.

 

X2 To the NPR pistons. Affordable and great replacement piston, I've used them for clients cars for years.

 

If he's doing a proper rebuild, he'll hone the motor, which means the original pistons will no longer be the correct size - P2W clearances are important for a healthy motor. Stock pistons from the dealer are expensive as ****. Wiseco, Arias, and CP would all be good options, but then he runs into the issue of press fit wrist pins vs. floating pins. OEM rods use press fit, but performance aftermarket use floating pin, and the two aren't compatible (not without machine work, which would cost more than a set of rods).

Nippon (NPR) makes good stock replacement pistons, and you can get a set with rings for ~$150. Just make sure you're ordering the size you need.

 

When I was looking, custom pistons run the same if not more than stock from Dealer in the USA.

Then again I didn't look at all makers of pistons so didn't come across NPR to know you could get pistons for less than stock pricing. Everything I saw was more expensive.

Thanks for the heads up.

Edit:And in my haste to get the post in before leaving work, I didn't get to thank you for clarifying that the hone alone will cause the need for over sized pistons. I was honestly under the impression over sized was purely for when you did a bore and hone, not just a hone.

For that too, I thank you. Cheers.

 

Thank You all for your advice.
gave me some good recommendations. The machine shop went .020 over so can not use original pistons
Thanks again
Santa007

 

One big happy family. Thank you, too!

And thank you again!

 

You can hone a motor and reuse stock sized pistons if the walls aren't mangled.

 

Yeah I was looking into that to get a better understanding.

The general consensus I repeatedly found is if the motor is bad enough to need to be tore down, it needs more than a hone.

Also found someone who says if they are going to "only do a hone" they limit themselves to only 4-6 passes per cylinder so as not to take more than about .004" material.

 

The underlying issue that hasn't been mentioned when reusing old pistons (or old anything) is making sure it's still within spec. For pistons the concern is piston to wall (P2W) clearances. In general anything that moves and interacts with another component has tolerances, once it exceeds said tolerance you replace with oversized parts (and machine work where applicable) or scrap it.