With pistons, with heads or a combination of the two?

Reason I ask is cuz I'm lookin at building up my bottom end for a turbo project I've had in mind for quite a while now. And I'm just now starting to get the ball rolling on finding parts and really doing my homework on all this stuff. Projected goal is 600 650 to the tires. Looking at building a 355 and adding a ptk kit to it. First off will an off the shelf piston handle the power level I'm lookin at making? Been looking at the 64cc srp piston that is listed at 9.8:1 c/r. Will this work if I added a head such as the trick flow. Would that put me at a low enough c/r to work with my goal. I have also been looking at the 58 cc je heavy duty inverted dome piston with a listed c/r of 9.2:1. And I could run a stock ported head.

Which out of those two piston would be my better choice. Or if yall have a third or fourth choice lay it on me. Been doin a lot of search already and its a lot of stuff to sift through.

Thanks
Joe

 

dish piston is gotta be the way to go. brand name is hard to say, everyone will say the big names until someone has a bad experience with one.j.e is good, or mahle is up and coming. i would consider going lower than the 9.8:1 you are talking about to hit 600+rwhp. you will need some serious boost or one hell of a engine. maybe 427? can be done but you probably already know it wont be cheap.

 

If I got the pistons that would set me at 9.8:1 I was going to get some dif heads with bigger exhaust chambers to lower the compression even more (like the trick flows).

What about dimond pistons?

I'm thinking somewhere between 10-15lbs

 

I sense that if you are looking at 600+RWHP, your power peak will be around 7,000 RPM, maybe higher. That will mean the cam will have to handle boost in that zone and your blower/turbo will probably be pushing 15psi.

Plan on an engine that will be romping in those upper RPM ranges (i.e. 4-bolt, forged everything, etc.). Intake and exhaust need extra massaging, along with heavy-duty valve springs, lifters, pushrods, timing chain, etc.

You need to overbuild everything by 20-50% in strength, or your life-span will be in days. You will need a custom cam and probably custom pistons. Your engine may be more bore than stroke and you need to accomodate for the piston speed. You will also have ignition issues, computer issues, and oil feed issues.

Also, don't forget that your clutch will be toast, so you need a Centerforce, plus some differential improvements are one popped clutch away.

Good luck, hope your wallet is nice and fat.

UD

 

For only 600RWHP I wouldn't mind using the stock crank with some Speed Pro power forged -22cc pistons, eagle H-beam rods 5.7 inch with some L-19 or ARP 2000 bolts. Port the stock heads, and get a custom turbo grind for a cam. You should be able to keep revs under 6000. That will hold and make that kind of power no problem with a good tune. And it isn't all that expensive. I wouldn't even think of a centerforce clutch for that power level, I'd be aiming for a McLeod Street twin hands down. Thats personal experience

 

I appreciate ya comein in here man. Nice for some people with real experience coming in and lendin a hand. I have a 224/236 xe cam with about 550 lift on a 114. Also no clutch for me right now as I have a built automatic.

What are your thoughts on dimond forged pistons? What would those speed pros put me c/r wise? Got any prices for these or where I can get them from?

Joe

 

Most of the big piston manufacturers make a pretty nice product when you're talking about $500+ for a set of pistons. I have a set of JE/SRPs going into my 383 right now. I believe the 22cc dish with 58cc heads should put you right around 9:1 with the stock crank and 5.7 rods.

The 224/236 isn't a bad cam, lots of people have made good numbers with it. I'm running one right now in the stock block. It really gets moving around 2500 rpm.

 

Yeah I already have springs, pushrods, cam timing chain, msd 6al, electric water pump, 1.6 roller rockers. So I have most of the supporting mods.

Where did yall get your pistons from?

 

I agree totally with smoknz, however.. in the long run, I have seen too many rotating assemblies consisting of the speed pro forged slugs with H-beam rods which weighed out close to or over a 2000 bobweight... if using the stock crank this generally means adding about ~150 bucks worth of mallory to get it to balance.. in this instance, by the time its all done, you will have almost as much in a set of JE/SRP slugs which weigh much less, and will be easier on the crank/rods if you decide to spin it up a little more. just from expoerience here.. by the time its done you might be sitting on a drilled up stock crank and paying for metal ya can't see, doesn't look good on the living room floor, and ya scratch your head if maybe you should have spent the little bit more at initial outlay..

I have done this.. if I could get my bucks back from that first motor I built.. believe me.. I would have gone with better pictons.

and this is not to say the slugs are bad from speedpro.. actually i think they are fantastic, but using them on a forged crank would require alot less heavy metal due to the counterweights having some extra mass before balancing.

Chris

 

They came in a kit I got from my friend's shop.