Questions on whitch rods and pistons to use.

[snea]

I'm going to be building a 6 bolt engine for my 95 Tsi AWD but I don't know what to look for in pistons and rods. I have looked a little bit into pistons and rods from SBR and I found a set of pistons by the brand name of Mahle. I also thought that H-beam con rods were stronger than I-beam con rods, but over there they make that sound incorect.

Has anyone used Mahle pistons, and what are the better $300-$500 set of rods?

[Pimpin Dsmstyle]

http://www.dsmstyle.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=67

check out LSE. They could probably help you out.

[Pimpin Dsmstyle]

Really though, If you aren't going for over 400 whp or so, you'd be better off to use OEM parts and just run the stock block.

[rst95eclipse]

What are you're goals?

If under 400hp, go with 1g rods and 2g pistons.

If over 400hp, I'd go with Eagle rods, Ross/Wiseco pistons, Clevite bearings, and ARP hardware.

[TheLBUGAWD]

eagle rods suck balls. Crower for the win!

-Colin

[Shane@DBPerformance]

Yea, Eagle rods can only hold 900 or so whp.

snea, don't put all your faith into what you read on SBRs page. They sell a massive amount of parts, but they aren't exactly into real world testing like Buschur, AMS, RRE, etc. They focus more on finding more stuff they can sell.

[Super Bleeder!!]

Originally Posted by TheLBUGAWD

eagle rods suck balls.
-Colin

really? maybe you should tell Shane and AMS that, i'm sure they'd appreciate the update.

[snea]

the thing is, is that I'm not sure how much power I want to end up with. I want to run around 300-350 daily, but want to end up higher than that. I don't want to have to build my short block twice. I want to have a near bullet proof rotating assembly, without spending bocu bucks.

[TheBlizzard]

If you ask anybody that has done build ups that support the horse power that they want to make at the time. Then later they always want to make more and end up re-doing shit to fit their needs. I am sure the concensus will be to do it one time and be done with it, then you can bolt on parts and go with it.

[dumb_ricer]

Eagle/Wiseco for you.

[snea]

Well I was thinking I would go with eagle rods, but has anyone heard of pistons made by mahle?

[niterydr]

I've used Mahle's, but I perfer Weisco's. They are very available, and are of good quality.

[snea]

What didn't you likeabout the Mahle piston. The reason I'm looking into them is because they are so light, but then again, are they so light that reliability will be compromised?

[Shotgun!]

Mahle is a very good brand. Their pistons are great, their service is not. If you found a place that has what you need on a shelf or can get it to you in a timely fashion, bang a gong, get it on.

[snea]

Hahaha, allright. Thanks Grey Wulf.

[dumb_ricer]

Yes, Mahle also makes a great piston.

They are hard anodized and then the sideskirts are teflon coated. They are also very light. They come standard with "heavy duty" wrist pins, which does make them slightly heavier, but not heavier then wiseco's. The skirt's on them is pretty much non existant, but tolerances are tighter then most pistons, so who knows if we will have issues with that.

I say if you have to ask what combo to go with, just get the tried and true 800whp method and do eagle/wiseco.

[snea]

Well, I'm not one to follow blindly. I know wiseco has great products, but like I said before, I only want to build this short block once, and I want it to be built RIGHT! I think, from what I've read and been told, I'm going to go with the Mahle pistons and Eagle con rods.

Thanks everyone.

[JET]

I would be careful with the Mahle, I don't know of anyone using them in a DSM personally. I know Shane put down nearly 700whp with them and there are several of us in MN with over 500 whp with them in. For a street car short side skirts are bad. They don't offer as much support and will scrape the cylinder walls more. For a race car that is an easy way to lighten the piston and make more power though.

Wiseco's also have a higher silicon content than a lot of pistons. This gives them a expansion rate close to the cast iron in the block. The key to that is that the hole doesn't have to be extra big when cold, so you get less piston slap on startup from a cold engine. I would definately go Wiseco. If you think saving 10 grams on a piston is significant for a street car, you need to do some more research.

[niterydr]

Originally Posted by JET

I would be careful with the Mahle, I don't know of anyone using them in a DSM personally. I know Shane put down nearly 700whp with them and there are several of us in MN with over 500 whp with them in. For a street car short side skirts are bad. They don't offer as much support and will scrape the cylinder walls more. For a race car that is an easy way to lighten the piston and make more power though.

Wiseco's also have a higher silicon content than a lot of pistons. This gives them a expansion rate close to the cast iron in the block. The key to that is that the hole doesn't have to be extra big when cold, so you get less piston slap on startup from a cold engine. I would definately go Wiseco. If you think saving 10 grams on a piston is significant for a street car, you need to do some more research.

*DING*

Honestly,the Weisco's are all around a better piston when you "add it all up" when concerning a street car.
1) More available
2) More support
3) Usually cheaper
4) Great piston design for a street/strip car, the weight savings are probably not worth it. I guarantee I can find something else in your setup that will rob your of more power compared to the few gram weight savings.

[Super Bleeder!!]

just to clarify, in jets first paragraph he is NOT saying shane and him use Mahle pistons; they use wisecos.

you probably got the idea from the 2nd paragraph, but i thought the first was oddly worded and that i'd just point that out