Best Pistons Choice ?

[rbs14kouki]

hi everyone , i looked around on the forum to have more info on pistons and size for the rb26dett .

used the search button !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i found this thread and look at everyone set-up ...

http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/Rb...;hl=what+piston

CP and Arias were the top choice but its a pretty old thread

i want to know what is the best pistons / rings combo :

- JE

- CP

- WESICO

- ARIAS

- ACL

- Mahle

thanks in advance for your help

and sorry if my english is bad , im french !!!

[The Dan]

Mahle would be at the top of the list

CP, ACL, ARIAS come second

JE and WISECO Third

This is only my opinion as I have used all but Arias. I know of quite a few high hp cars running Arias pistons.

The queastion is really not what is the best piston, but which one you can get and is there a local dealer that can supply parts or sort out warranty if things aren't right.

If you get the full set of pistons interstate or from overseas you can almost bet every time that the locks will be wrong or the rings will be missing or one ring missing, or the end gaps are too large to begin with. Any number of issues that I have encountered with every set you mentioned....(except Arias coz I haven't used them obviously).

I've never heard of an engine failure from any of the pistons you have mentioned just because it was the brand it was. They will all do the same thing essentially. Some extra thought and engineering has gone into the Mahle piston over the rest but that's why I put them at the top. All of the other are just as likely to melt if your tuner is an amateur.

[rbs14kouki]

Mahle would be at the top of the list

CP, ACL, ARIAS come second

JE and WISECO Third

This is only my opinion as I have used all but Arias. I know of quite a few high hp cars running Arias pistons.

The queastion is really not what is the best piston, but which one you can get and is there a local dealer that can supply parts or sort out warranty if things aren't right.

If you get the full set of pistons interstate or from overseas you can almost bet every time that the locks will be wrong or the rings will be missing or one ring missing, or the end gaps are too large to begin with. Any number of issues that I have encountered with every set you mentioned....(except Arias coz I haven't used them obviously).

I've never heard of an engine failure from any of the pistons you have mentioned just because it was the brand it was. They will all do the same thing essentially. Some extra thought and engineering has gone into the Mahle piston over the rest but that's why I put them at the top. All of the other are just as likely to melt if your tuner is an amateur.

thanks for your reply !!! i will try to find some mahle here in canada ... if mahle are not available i will go with CP the are everywhere on ebay here and in local shop !!!

Edited October 7, 2008 by rbs14kouki

[Angus Smart]

thanks for your reply !!! i will try to find some mahle here in canada ... if mahle are not available i will go with CP the are everywhere on ebay here and in local shop !!!

Hey, i just ordered mahle pistons from the usa, and pauter rods..

http://www.importperformanceparts.net/

they were the cheapest place i found to buy them from. they are somewhere around New york, so wont take too long to get to you.

[The Dan]

Hey, i just ordered mahle pistons from the usa, and pauter rods..

http://www.importperformanceparts.net/

they were the cheapest place i found to buy them from. they are somewhere around New york, so wont take too long to get to you.

How much were the pistons and rods?

[msnismo]

Arias in my car... although the ring gap has been tweaked a little from the specs they recommend

Picked up from CRD for a decent price no dramas.. everything there including the sticker... lol

Although I wasn't looking for the cheapest, I needed them that day and it was 4pm on a friday! From memory they were $1290 .. all up it was $2k with rods (eagles)

NYTSKY (dave) actually gets a good deal on pistons and rods (CP I think, could be another brand though) ... the link is in his signature.

Most go 20 thou over which is 86.5 for the pistons

[writeoff]

When I had my RB26 rebuild designed at Willall Racing, Peter Hall recommended CPs over the other brands (although he hadn't tried Mahle but believed they were very good) because he said the rings were better. He said the actual pistons all the major Japanese brands (Tomei, HKS, Trust etc) were good and very similar but in his experience of building drag GTRs as well as numerous other high performance GTRs the rings failed.

I chose 86.5mm CP.

[The Dan]

When I had my RB26 rebuild designed at Willall Racing, Peter Hall recommended CPs over the other brands (although he hadn't tried Mahle but believed they were very good) because he said the rings were better. He said the actual pistons all the major Japanese brands (Tomei, HKS, Trust etc) were good and very similar but in his experience of building drag GTRs as well as numerous other high performance GTRs the rings failed.

I chose 86.5mm CP.

Just thought I'd add a useful piece of info to that:

To the best of my knowledge I don't think HKS, Tomei etc actually make their own pistons. They use companies like Mahle, ROSS, Cosworth etc to make them to their specs.

And yes, the rings are known to be better on the Mahle set. A lot of other companies like JE, ROSS etc use Mahle rings. CP use their own. Good choice on the CP's BTW

[Angus Smart]

How much were the pistons and rods?

ended up paying 1800 landed.

[The Dan]

ended up paying 1800 landed.

That's a great price.

You can get the Mahle pistons with eagle rods for about the same ~$1650-$1700. I've never used the Pauter rods before, let us know how they look and how well they work once you have it running. It's good to get feedback on those sorts of things

[Angus Smart]

[den001]

mad rods ay...

i got a set goin into my block with cp's as we speak... shit all over the eagle and scat shit..... possibly one of the best rods every made bar carrillo

also, cp pistons use a nippon ring, same as genuine nissan, this is why they have a superior ring seal, some aftermarket ring kits will not bead into the bores of a rb26 properly and they will glaze creating blow by, low comp, and shit power output...

Edited October 9, 2008 by den001

[Martin HKS]

Just thought I'd add a useful piece of info to that:

To the best of my knowledge I don't think HKS, Tomei etc actually make their own pistons. They use companies like Mahle, ROSS, Cosworth etc to make them to their specs.

And yes, the rings are known to be better on the Mahle set. A lot of other companies like JE, ROSS etc use Mahle rings. CP use their own. Good choice on the CP's BTW

Cannot be sure of other brands but HKS definately make their own. I never thought they did until I visited them earlier this year and saw it first hand. I also know Cosworth make Jun and Ross used to make ACL but they are now changing to Mahle when they finally get their act together.

Also there are only a few ring manufactuers in the world so most Piston companies purchase from different suppliers pending their needs. We sell Total Seal Rings which most of these companies purchase from and repackage for their own branding.

As to what is the best piston - that is a broad statement and there are many different choices pending your needs. For most street applications all the above mentioned will do the job. As for a race engines I know that more than 75% of V8 Supercars use a JE Piston above anything else. That has to spell something about the other brands........

Cheers

Marty

[N1GTR]

Hey, i just ordered mahle pistons from the usa, and pauter rods..

http://www.importperformanceparts.net/

they were the cheapest place i found to buy them from. they are somewhere around New york, so wont take too long to get to you.

Did they give you a breakdown of price? I need pistons, got rods already

[shanef]

Something else to note when using CP piston rings, the oil ring carries lower tension than that of an ACL oil ring.

Also Cp's rings have a coating (forget what it is) and can flake off/degrade, ACl's rings have the treatment embedded into the ring

[Beer Baron]

Just thought I'd add a useful piece of info to that:

To the best of my knowledge I don't think HKS, Tomei etc actually make their own pistons. They use companies like Mahle, ROSS, Cosworth etc to make them to their specs.

And yes, the rings are known to be better on the Mahle set. A lot of other companies like JE, ROSS etc use Mahle rings. CP use their own. Good choice on the CP's BTW

yes many companies sell pistons that they have made elsewhere to their spec. but you picked a bad 2 examples. both HKS and Tomei do make their own pistons and both are top shelf.

[NYTSKY]

Bang for buck i would go with CPs.

I just ordered a custom set.

86.5mm bore

1.2mm Top ring(upgraded)

9.0:1 CR

Cost me $1100 delivered.

[Swiper the Fox]

yes many companies sell pistons that they have made elsewhere to their spec. but you picked a bad 2 examples. both HKS and Tomei do make their own pistons and both are top shelf.

Doing a Tomei 2.8 kit at the moment...the pistons were quite a bit out of balance compared to the latest design CP's i have used in the last few engines ive done including NYTSKY's.

Bang for buck (to steal Dave's quote) id use CP's or ARIES

[Swiper the Fox]

Doing a Tomei 2.8 kit at the moment...the pistons were quite a bit out of balance compared to the latest design CP's i have used in the last few engines ive done including NYTSKY's.

Bang for buck (to steal Dave's quote) id use CP's or ARIES

UPDATE: on the Tomei's they were that far out the balance pads on 4 of the pistons had to be completely removed and the pins had to be slighty countersunk to get the weights right...shocking!

[rbs14kouki]

i dont want to star a new thread !!!! so i will ask here first

i just received my pistons (MAHLE) for my rb26 ... and there are not the same as the stock or the JE i had before my engine blew !!!

the side skirt of the piston on the MAHLE is shorter then the stock and JE ...

does some of you guys have them in your engine and do they have the same design ?!?!?!

here are some pics ...