Background info: 383, bored .030 over, 3.75 crank, 6 inch rods. I have forged crank, will have forged rods and I want forged pistons. I am in need of -5cc dished pistons per A.I. They recomend Mahle. Not many people have heard of them, but from what I can find they look like the shizznit! They are like 550 for the kit that includes rings. So, any experience?

Experience with another brand perhaps? I will be ordering fairly soon, so please post away!

(No, I am not looking at gas ported ones anymore!)

thanks
Cody

 

Mahle are a fine piston. Then again, so is Diamond, Wiseco, JE, yada, yada, ya...

Bang for the buck, Diamond is tough to beat & are great quality. That coming not from me... but from guys who actually have the equipment to check ring groove concentricity, surface finish, flatness... etc.

-Mindgame

 

You should also consider the Probe SRS series forged
piston.

 

hmm, I have been refered to piston sbc125030f05, Mahle. Any experiences? I think I might want to go with this just in the craftsmanship alone... so, opinions?

 

I have that same part number set sitting right next to me

Mahle has been around longer than most other piston manufacturers and is the biggest in the world, you actually have mahle pistons in your stock LT1... they are kinda new in the american motorsports arena, but have made a great name for themselves already. IMO for the price, they cannot be beat.

 

Yep, have a set in the shop. One of the only 6" rod 383 pistons that don't require a oil support rail. Nice touch. They are also pretty dam light. I have them in a setup that has a sub 1600g bobweight. Considering that the stock bobweight is 1850g+ that's pretty dam light.

Bret

 

WHOA! cool. So, any that you might have for sale??? :-)

 

Not the ones in the shop! They are spoken for!

 

damn! lol.

 

Flatlander racing has the best price that I have seen outside my WD pricing, but I don't sell stuff on the internet so look at http://www.flatlanderracing.com/ they are $499

 

I just saw that... That seems to be the best price so far!

 

I am a big JE fan. But there are many good pistons available. Most problems are not bad pistons, they are pistons used incorrectly. Make sure you are getting the right piston for your application, regardless of manufacturer. For example, using HE pistons on a high boost motor, using a heavy piston on a high revving motor with light-weight rods and crank, and so on. The wrong piston from the world's best manfacturer will be less satisfactory than the "right" piston from a run-of-the-mill source.

Rich

 

Exactly - I don't use Mahle in a hot boosted application simply because I have had great experiance with JE, and stick with them for my blower and custom pistons. You need different pistons for NA vs boosted, so like Rich said, get the right ones.

 

well, from what I can tell, the Mahles are perfect for N/A, aren't they?

 

Yes.