Hi, I've seen several turbo builds using Nippon Racing and YCP pistons with forged rods making good power. Many of the threads/posts mentioning them are very outdated, so I've thought that making an updated thread with good information would help people which are building shortblocks for FI on a budget. I've recently contacted someone which sells Nippon Racing pistons and they claim that their pistons are rated for 500-550HP depending on the coating (if they are anodized or not). There are also builds from some guys on Youtube using them on B18 and B20 blocks with success, but no information on them after 10k miles or so. If you have any experience with these pistons, please share your thoughts! It would help people to steer away from them on FI builds or build with confidence if they are on a budget.

 

PM6 Nippon piston.. Build was tuned by John Vega of Phearable dot net via E-tune. Piston contacted valves when T-belt slipped a couple teeth under boost. This was only a mere 347whp @ 17psi. Not recommended at all by me for boost..

 

I am using YCP pistons with Speedfactory rods. Works fine for me.

 

Are you using Vitara-style/turbo pistons? Which engine configuration and how much power? How many miles so far?

 

ycp on D series are very good.
On b series only nippon PR4 "TURBO" pistons are the piston id ever try. The ones with the coating.

 

Yes...the VITARA 75.5mm oversized pistons....D16Y8...power listed in my sig. Mileage....3K+

 

nippon racing piston can handle more then oem sleeve with the right piston ring gap.

 

Do you have any experience with these pistons? What would that piston gap be? What is the reasoning behind running a larger ring gap than the OEM spec on cast pistons? Sorry for asking so many questions, but I'm trying to gather as many info as possible to help other builders and to make a decision about running those pistons with a set of forged rods.

 

at first...dont go oem spec for TURBO ENGINE. 2nd the right tune is the key. i can destroy forged pistons on 5 pulls.
they are many nipponuser on youtube.

 

I asked my tuner 2-3 years ago and they recently had a stock sleeve b16 at 400 to the crank. He said the same think i told on the other thread.
350 to the crank is a good target for thos pistons. He did 2-3 other higher but he wouldnt reccomend. All that on greece. And that on 100 ron thats slightly better from 93 on the states.

 

I have no first hand experience of owning them but I also researched this set up for my build. I ended up getting a halfway decent deal on wiseco pistons and eagle rods so my advice is if you have the patience and the extra few bucks, wait for a good deal on the good stuff. If you have multiple blocks and you dont really care i think you could have a good set up like a lot of the youtubers who’ve run them, but just depends on your situation.

 

Having name brand pistons and rods doesn't guarantee solid numbers. I've had that same combo on a B18B turbo setup in the past and it was "aiite", nothing to brag about.

 

Yeah, but name brand sure makes it easier to get the right ring gap and solid assembly to make the power you can bank on.

 

Correct. The "Assembly" does. And once assembled correctly, the system will be no better than the weakest component in it. Cast pistons will be a limiting factor in making big power. Forget who's name is on the piston... a forged alloy piston (4032 or 2618) WILL be stronger than a cast aluminum piston. This is not supposition... it is science.

This is typically a quality thing... and higher quality parts make proper assembly easier.

 

Agreed.

 

Larger ring gap is needed on cast pistons because they expand more than their steel forged counterparts, larger gaps keeps the rings from seizing up. There's even some differences between the 4032 alloy that some forged pistons like Mahle and Supertech use, and 2618 which is what most CP, Arias, and JE pistons are if I'm remembering right. It's important to look at what the material is, what your target power is, and what the gap specs are. Sometimes it's important to leave certain things to interpretation depending on what your goal is, but must pay attention to the details and not jump to conclusions.