Wiseco pistons?

[Gearhead4G63]

Ok so at first all I was hearing was good things about wiseco, now all I hear is bad things on em, people saying they swell up and can lock up the engine, what's you guys take on this?

[97gst5887]

I ran them with an evo3 for about 40k miles with out any problems.

[nitrouskris]

The non HD like to crack right under were the locks for the pin goes. I stoped using/saleing them all together.

Most shops push the hell out of them because the cost is low and the mark up is really great on them

[My1GLaser]

I have put 18k in 4 years on my 9:1 Wisecos and I'm happy with them! I ran .003 PTW clearance and I have run about 35 psi so far (53-54lb/min airflow).

[Fotowntalon]

I sell about 5 sets of Wisecos a week, (10 sets in the busy season) and see very little problems. Most problems I see with pistons in general come down to either a shitty tune, or in proper application.

[dsmpat95]

Piston to wall clearance needs to be right. I have over 30,000 miles on mine.

[jayson427]

all pistions swell up some more then others depending on what metals are used. if you dont follow the clearences they give you right out of the box then yeah you might have issues but thats with any pistion on the market. Wisecos have been around for a long time, i went with je only because i got a better deal on them.

[DJChunter]

I am really good friends with a wiseco engineer, and I can say that the piston design changes and updates frequently but also good machine work will play a big roll in how long any thing lasts!

[DSM IN MN]

I was told by Nate @ MAP that there are a few 800 HP cars locally running standard Wisecos. The HDs are not REALLY needed. Get your machine work done right, and have a good shop tune the car.

[jrohner]

Originally Posted by nitrouskris

The non HD like to crack right under were the locks for the pin goes. I stoped using/saleing them all together.

Most shops push the hell out of them because the cost is low and the mark up is really great on them

All four of mine each had two cracks.

I'm wondering how the people that say, "well I have X miles on mine and they're fine", know for sure -- do they really pull them out and check them? It's not like mine didn't run fine with them cracked. They will be fine until the skirt breaks off and destroys your engine; they might last years with cracks, who knows.

[nitrouskris]

Originally Posted by jrohner

All four of mine each had two cracks.

I'm wondering how the people that say, "well I have X miles on mine and they're fine", know for sure -- do they really pull them out and check them? It's not like mine didn't run fine with them cracked. They will be fine until the skirt breaks off and destroys your engine; they might last years with cracks, who knows.

did you call wiseco about the cracks ??? They ended up senting me HD for free and paid for half of the machine work.

[andrewshowers]

They are not bad, but when it comes from push to shove, I will take manley every time! I had a set of wisecos and they weren't bad, but I replaced them with manleys. Every piston in my set was exactly to the gram the same weight. I was impressed with that.

[camaroz89]

I run them in my 1g only issues i had was they look so nice i didn't want to install them or get a clear block haha

[PsYcHoMaNtYsS]

thanks for the reassurance. i def had my mind set on getting Wisecos also. good to here theyre still a trusted brand

[dsmusmc]

Every company will have there flaws especially with mass production. Unfortunately you hear more about the bad then the good.

[Gearhead4G63]

Originally Posted by Fotowntalon

I sell about 5 sets of Wisecos a week, (10 sets in the busy season) and see very little problems. Most problems I see with pistons in general come down to either a shitty tune, or in proper application.

This deffinatly seems like it would be the reason for failed pistons.

When u buy a set of wisecos does it come with the recomended gap?

[nitrouskris]

Originally Posted by Gearhead4G63

This deffinatly seems like it would be the reason for failed pistons.

When u buy a set of wisecos does it come with the recomended gap?

yes they do

[Gearhead4G63]

Originally Posted by nitrouskris

yes they do

Is it the proper gap? Also I was talking to a guy he was saying that lower compresion is better for boosted cars is this true as well?

[boosted99_420]

I bumped up my compression to 9.0:1 wiseco for making power goals more easy to reach but I wouldn't go any higher unless I was running e85.

[gabytech]

ptw clearence is key... most ppl who's carrer aint been an automotive techician think they can rebuild an engine just cause they know how to make an oil change or change brakes. Then at engine failure they blame it on the pistons or whatever part failed. Ive been in the automotive industry for over 10 years now and even have seen UTI or Wyotech students that have just graduated and started at a dealership repair shop have NO clue how to work with cars, imagine those ppl who think they can modify their cars themselves and work a 8-5 regular job... Engines are more complicated than most ppl think. Ive been building engines for almost all of my carrer been a Mercedes Benz USA certified tech and even have built AMGs engines at the dealer and so far havent got any comebacks... Word to the wise, if you dont have any experience rebuilding engines stick with just changing the oil and brakes in your car and leave the hardcore work to us automotive technicians...

[justinh722]

Just curious, how did u get your "experience" in building engines? Hands on training and research? How is anyone gonna learn if they dont try? The internet is nothing but information and i give props to people that wanna learn how to do things themselves. You were a novice at some point in your life too.

[Breezio69]

My experience with wiseco is with a small engine application, same none the less... ran a high compression race motor in a quad, big bore stroker. started having problems after less than 30 hours, tore the motor down and the piston was cracked all around the wrist pin, in the bottom webbing of the piston... Was replaced by a JE piston, far better looking as far as craftsmanship, never had a problem with over 250 hours till i sold the quad

Just goes to show problems can run ALL the way down thier line up of pistons

[awdspyder98]

Ive been running Weisco for about 4yrs.. The same pistons for the last 3 yrs. Ive boosted up to 32 psi . I just did a rebuild to jump up to 10.5cr pistons and the ones that came out were not cracked at all. Ive had positive results with Weisco and will continue to run them. I say its more the tune and machine work than anything else . the flaw I see in Weisco (if u call it a flaw) is that the recommendation of ring gaps are pretty off for high boost applications. For stock applications its dead on though from what ive heard but in all honesty.. Who runs stock dsms..lol

[Fotowntalon]

From my experience, whenever there is an engine failure, people tend to blame the most expensive internal part, seems like with these engines, that tends to be the pistons.

As far as JE vs Wiseco, you know they are owned by the same company right? Soon going to be producing both names of pistons in the same plant in Ohio.

[gabytech]

I might have learned theory back at automotive school, but I watched and learned from other automotive technicians back at the dealership repair shop before even repairing engine internals .

I can understand how some ppl want to learn and do their work themselves. Like I said to each their own. I might want to design my own dream house, but I'm not an architect or a graphic designer. I might get together with the architect and graphic designer to discuss my ideas, but they're the ones that trully knows their stuff. There is a spanish saying "Al cesar lo del cesar". What it means is, leave to ceasar what belongs to the ceaser.

[Gearhead4G63]

I've been working under a hood for three years now, I've done rebuilds before, this doesn't really have anything to do with whether or not I can do the work this has to do with getting the engine bored properly good pistons then a good tune. This is just about the piston, not who's the better mechanic.

[nubi4life]

I was gonna run some wiseco standard pistons in my tsi. Now I'm skeptical myself. I'm going to talk to my machine shop to make sure my block was bored to OE spec in accordance with my pistons. You should do this also.

[Fotowntalon]

Originally Posted by Gearhead4G63

I've been working under a hood for three years now, I've done rebuilds before, this doesn't really have anything to do with whether or not I can do the work this has to do with getting the engine bored properly good pistons then a good tune. This is just about the piston, not who's the better mechanic.

Apparently you haven't read this thread, it does have to do with who is a better mechanic. Improper installation and specs, ruins parts regardless of quality of the product.

[gabytech]

gearhed4G63, you say it has nothing to do with been a better mechanic and say you've been working under a hood for 3 years, yet you asked and I quote your above post "Also I was talking to a guy he was saying that lower compresion is better for boosted cars is this true as well? " ... A person who understands how an engine works knows the answer to that question without knowing about high performance modified cars... If you knew whats happening inside the combustion chamber you wouldnt ask this question, so how come you think you know how to rebuild engines or diagnose a engine failure without knowing how a 4stroke engine works... Like I always say, theres a huge difference and gap between automotive mechanics and automotive technicians. Mechanics are just R&R techs and technicians diagnose faults and problems. In order to diagnose a faulty engine, first you have to understand how the engine works in order to find out why the fault happened in the first place... Kudos to those who want to wrench and modify their own cars, but if your job is a 8-5 office job, leave it to us whos real carrer are under hoods...

I bet most people think the piston is moved up and down by the crankshaft... ITS NOT !!!! The crankshaft job aint to move the pistons up and down...

[Gearhead4G63]

I do understand and comprehend how an engine works, yes I know the higher the compression the bigger the stroke. I'm knowledgeable about the fact that bigger injectors make a bigger combustion. Im very aware with what goes on under a hood. I'm fairly new to the boosted world, yes I know how a turbo works. But still trying to understand the effects on the cylinder. From forced induction. We don't need to trolling here.