I'm looking to get some forged pistons for my 305 and was wondering if there is much of a difference in quality between the different manufacturers? I was wanting TRW but everywhere is out and federal mogul say the wait will be 7 weeks.

The other manufacturers I can think of are Keith Black, Speed Pro, JE and Trick Flow.

What do you guys think?


Oh, and if anyone can find someone with the TRWs in stock I may feel obliged to sending you a little something.

Thanks for the time.

Robert

 

What CR? Pin type? Ring position? Do you have a TRW part number?



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Vader
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Depends what you want the engine for. Any choice you make will require having the engine balanced. TRW (SpeedPro) pistons are heavy. JE are race pistons and you're going to pay big bucks for them. They're very light and have very deep valve reliefs for high lift cams.

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I just rebuilt a 305 for a friend...its getting a 150 shot...we went with KB piston very cheap and they are rated for nitrous....they were like 186 for the set
hope that helps

Chris

 

Vader,

The part number that I have is from summit racing and it is: TRW-L2486F30.

The reason behind fitting forged ones was because of a supercharger next year.

Thanks for the help

Robert

 

if you're running a power adder i'd run forged. trw and most lower priced forged pistons are heavy. the more expensive pistons are light, very light usually, and often made for racing only. i'd stay away from hyper pistons in a power adder because of the heat transfer is much greater and you have to watch the ring end gap.

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So, what would be the draw backs of forged pistons that are light and made "for racing only", other than price? will the cheap "heavy" ones last longer in a engine(theoretically)or will they have more negatives like more strain on the rest of the engine and/or poor tolerances in manufacture leading to premature failure. I'm just wondering anyways, it's not really important right now to me. If I wanted to make/buy a 383 to make ~500hp N/A(if that's possible)and somewhat street worthy,also with perhaps a 150 shot occasionally. Would that engine be able to last say 40,000 miles=(2-3 yrs driving and probably ~50+ runs at the strip) 1 more thing. Anyone know how much a LT1 manifold can support for horsepower N/A(in a 383 or 350)?

 

Heavier pistons just means there's more recipricating weight in the engine. I still use TRW pistons in my race car mainly because they were cheaper. Some JE or SRP pistons would be my next choice.

If you buy heavy or light pistons, you still need to get everything balanced. It just with the lighter pistons, the engine isn't trying to spin as much weight. A 3 pound piston trying to pull the con rod off the crank at TDC creates more forces than a 2 pound piston.