Custom 4032 pistons

[Inline__engine]

Hi

Can anyone point me in the right direction of a good contact to get some modern quality custom 4032 pistons made for a normally aspirated street engine? im wanting some nice modern features such as gusseted skirt and skirt coatings etc

i have all engine specs, a sample piston and CAD model of a dome that gives me the correct CR but need a contact who i can work with to get it into production. Im not afraid of paying money for quality.

i can get some 2618 pistons but i want something more suited to my application with quieter performance, better wear characteristics and i dont need the added heat capability that a forced induction engine would.

TIA

[FordPrefect56]

Wossner will let you design in just about any feature you like, even on a single set I'm told.

[Inline__engine]

Do you have a contact there you've used before?

[227bhp]

They won't deal direct, you'll have to go via a dealer, they usually direct you to PEC.

[stevieturbo]

Presumably it's some obscure application that there isnt something already available ?

Speak to Dave at Performance Unlimited.

[Boosted LS1]

I use Ross in the US and they'll work from a sample. I've never had to send them a drawing. I just give them the bowl volume I want and a few specs and away they go. It's never cheap though. On the other hand, I once worked with JE and that was really difficult in comparison.

[Tango13]

http://www.cambridgemotorsport.com/

I gave them a sample piston and some cash, three JE pistons, rings & pins turned up about 3-4 weeks later.

[hoffman900]

CP-Carrillo and Mahle are the two premier piston manufacturers. Not sure about getting Mahle to design you something, but CP can design what you want.

CP is Calvert (Calvert brothers) and P is for Pankl. They have also since bought Carrillo rods a couple years ago.

CP was formed when Wayne Brooks and the Calverts sold JE (they were the owners). The Calverts linked up with Pankl and Wayne retired. He has since opened up Racetec pistons. They're not really in the market your looking for however (beautiful Pistons though).

CP:
http://www.cp-carrillo.com
Racetec:
http://racetecpistons.com
Diamond:
http://www.diamondracing.net

Diamond would be another source.

JE is good, but not what it was.

The Wossner stuff while I'm sure is high quality always looked unfinished to me.

For a girder / box style piston, for sure go with CP.

I've also attached a piston I've had Racetec do for me for an air cooled application

Edited by hoffman900 on Monday 30th May 15:01

I sent them a ton of pertinent information, picked out my ring pack from Total Seal, send them a chmsber mold, and sent them a Wiseco piston and basically said "make me something better".

Edited by hoffman900 on Monday 30th May 15:31

[Boosted LS1]

^ Interesting post, thanks.

[hoffman900]

Boosted LS1 said:

^ Interesting post, thanks.

Also look at Gibtec. One of the very smart players from Diamond Pistons started it.
http://gibtecpistons.com

[westwood35]

The best piston manufacturer is Omega Pistons in the West Midlands, and you deal direct with them!!

[hoffman900]

westwood35 said:

The best piston manufacturer is Omega Pistons in the West Midlands, and you deal direct with them!!

Omega is good- though lots of UK shops seem to source their stuff from the US. Except for MAhle, you deal directly with the manufacturer.

If you look at examples like from the BMC A-Series , the stuff CP produces is a lot nicer and lighter than the Omegas made for Swiftune.

Mahle
CP
Gibtec
Diamond

Is what is in top level NHRA, FIA, NASCAR, World of Outlaws engines etc in the US.

Some examples from the mentioned outfits.

Edited by hoffman900 on Monday 30th May 18:58

Edited by hoffman900 on Monday 30th May 18:59

Edited by hoffman900 on Monday 30th May 19:05

[Inline__engine]

Thanks for everyone's suggestions. I guess as noted that I’m needing to go through a dealer but one that is willing to work with me a bit not just take my money and just spit out any random design with the right crown +/- cc to give the desired CR as IMO there is more to it than that.

It’s not an obscure build and plenty of 2618 slugs are available but am not aware of any in the higher silicon alloy and even less engineered with consideration of combustion requirements.

I’ve got some suggestions for dealers to contact now so I will make some inquiries and see.

On a similar note has anyone taken a silicone or epoxy mould of their cylinder head and sent that off ? What approach would the piston designer do differently with the chamber mould?
i could see them being able to minimize some crevices especially on a high comp engine where dome might need to closely follow the complex chamber but on a mild 11:1 build any real advantages? Would they shape it so the mixture is forced closer to the hot side of the head ?

[hoffman900]

You need to work with the manufacturer. Pistons can be pretty complicated.

All but Mahle go direct.

I've used Bondo to make a piston mold. One really important piece of information to give is valve drop and if you know it, valve lift at TDC (and 10* on either side). This will have some impact on where your top ring can be placed. In a NA application, you want this as high as possible to minimize crevice volume

And yes, they will.

[Inline__engine]

hoffman900 said:

All but Mahle go direct.

are you saying you can go direct to all companies except Mahle?

[hoffman900]

Inline__engine said:

are you saying you can go direct to all companies except Mahle?

Yep. You can work directly with the piston designer with any of them.

[227bhp]

hoffman900 said:

Inline__engine said:

are you saying you can go direct to all companies except Mahle?

Yep. You can work directly with the piston designer with any of them.

Wossner won't in my experience.
Omega will just take the piston and Fred will just make himself strangely unavailable for the next 12 months (unless you're waving a £10k+ order in his face)

Edited by 227bhp on Tuesday 31st May 10:11

[FordPrefect56]

Inline__engine said:

What approach would the piston designer do differently with the chamber mould?
i could see them being able to minimize some crevices especially on a high comp engine where dome might need to closely follow the complex chamber but on a mild 11:1 build any real advantages? Would they shape it so the mixture is forced closer to the hot side of the head ?

You are being vastly over optimistic if you think the makers of pistons know much, or indeed anything at all, about chamber shapes, burn speed, crevice volumes. They acquire a working knowledge of what might or might not break under a given loading (but no guarantees of course) and that's about as far as it goes. You give them a shape to make - they make the shape. End of.

[stevieturbo]

227bhp said:

Wossner won't in my experience.

Maybe somewhere in China there might be lol

[227bhp]

stevieturbo said:

227bhp said:

Wossner won't in my experience.

Maybe somewhere in China there might be lol

What are you saying about Wossner?
It wouldn't surprise me if they were made over there, but then if they do the job.....
I do agree with what was said earlier that they do need a degree of finishing off though.