What is a good piston for using with a mostly stock cam only motor? I am looking for a forged piston but might not be able to afford it so what are some good inexpensive forged pistons and non forged? If I get some non forged I might be able to afford some 6" rods for a higher revving motor? Thanks

 

Just look in Summit or Jegs. Keith Black are some good cheap pistons, also you might find some JE/SRP pistons for a decent price. If you want to stay cheap you should stay with a 5.7" rod. There's no difference between the two really. Only reason I'm running them is because I found a good deal on them. You might check out Mahle as well. That's what the stock pistons are, but they make good aftermarket ones as well.

 

Mahle Powerpack, not the cheapest, but good stuff.

 

The Mahle pistons run about $550 for a set i think, deff a good piston though. I believe the JE SRP forged line runs about the same but from what i have heard the mahle is a better piston.

 

Forged? look for probe. I didn't use them but some people swear by them and I seem to remeber them having a forged that was fairly cheap.

My je's came as part of a package deal.

 

I believe I have either JE or SRP coated forged pistons in my engine. They were part of a "complete" rebuild kit from Summit with pistons, pins, rings, gaskets, bearings, etc.. I think the entire kit was ~$550 or so. I'm sure it came with more stuff as well, but that was 2.5 years ago. The one thing I do remember is that my crank took 2 big($$$) chunks of Mallory metal to balance.

 

maybe find eagle?

 

Cheapest? Your labor costs will be 10 times the cost of the pistons. Don't be a cheapskate. Get the best.

 

I have the probes. They are an awesome piston
I paid for pistons and rings $475.00
those were the srs series
the fps pistons are on special right now
here you go check them out.
http://www.probepistons.com/pistons_...d_pistons.html
Also, look into keith black forged pistons they are a reasonable price too.

 

Mahle hands down, better made pistons than anything close to the price and with rings included they are considerable cheaper than SRP.

If you have the ability to actually appreciate how good these pistons are compared to Probe, SRP or anything in this budget Forged area these pistons are amazing for the price.

Bret

 

Speed pro makes some pretty good decently priced hyper pistons

 

I got some speed pro's for my engine. Its being built right now though so I cant really say how they perform quite yet.

 

A public confession. I've been wondering when the Mahles would be "discovered" as to their true quality and very good value pricing. And my confession is that I've been hoping that it would not happen, (that they would be discovered). Because maybe the price would go up and also the tiny little winning edge would vanish if everyone started using them. =)

I know Bret has been giving the tip on these pistons for quite some time now. Well, maybe it's a good thing if they get popular and Mahle starts selling more of the motorsports piston then they will possibly have more on-the-shelf sizes to choose from.

They sure make life easier for an engine builder due to the mild cost and high quality.

Karl

 

Your telling me Karl.... when you actually measure them they spec out wonderfull, not to mention they are a better design. These things save time for whoever is assemlbing your motor, and that's always worth the money.

Bret

 

And damn do they look good too