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Picking out a piston/rod combo...what's your goto currently?

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kmetiuk

10+ Year Contributor
521
125
Mar 10, 2010
Edmonton, AB_Canada
Tech changes.....companies change management....materials get switched out for "better" ones.....vendor XX is sourcing Chinese steel....or any number of things can change how parts come out of various vendors so I am curious what's everyone's current goto setup for rods and pistons.

I've searched lots and read lots but as stated above shiiit changes all z time.

I am just planning out my motor build the last couple of days and have researched a lot and have a good idea of where I am going but I wanted to hear what peeps current opinions are on rods and pistons

Basically I am considering a 2.0, 2.0LR, or a 2.1 destroked (6 bolt preferable but there are some 7-bolts in the local pick a part) with a raised RPM limit of 10K.


My end goal is road racing....with only ~5000 km/yr of crusing around town or wherever. I rarely drive my DSM on the street as I HATE leaving it anywhere unattended. I have had 6 attempted break ins in the last 2 years alone. Each time I have to replace the door handles and pop the dents out....last time they were prying on my hood and really fcucked up the hood latch mech and rad support. I dunno why, but my DSM is a magnet for little punk bitches.


As far as racing goes a 10K RPM would clearly be advantageous but with the RPM at the high end for an hour or more at a time there is a lot to consider. Check my DSM profile for mods and you'll see I am well on my way with the mods to support road racing and if you check my build log I have the skills to do whatever I need too in order to hit my goal. Now I know there maybe issues with shifting at those high RPM's but I have a few ideas there too....plus its not like I need super low shift times b/c I am trying to get under 9.5s at the drag strip.


Current installed turbo is a Holset HE351VE which I plan to run at about 30 PSI (set at 22 right now as my engine suuuuucks) to keep the torque in the tranny down in the ~450 ftlb range. I don't need nor want any more boost than that as tranny longevity is the main concern. However, to max out the Holset I need more RPM's to get near that 69 lb/min choke...plus its road racing so more power band is clearly better as well.


For anyone that's curious or pessimistic about using such a HUGE turbo for road racing: I have ran the math on the comp map and I used the pressure ratios that I am seeing at XX RPM logged in DSMLink along with the VE's from my SD table at that PR and RPM to calculate the lb/min using the proper equation. I assumed a 100F intake air temp as it varies so much and it's average-ie-ish from the logs. The lb/min calculated very VERY closely matches to what DSMLink was logging at 22 psi. I was surprised how accurate the comp maps were so with that confidence I bumped the pressure upto 30 psi and extended the RPM range to 10K and found I am around 62 lb/min calculated which is fine as the comp efficiency is dropping off already anyways.

Since the HE351VE has a 24 CM turbine housing (or a 1.85 AR) I have MORE than even housing to push that much boost at that RPM....and with my elec controller moving the vanes I am getting full boost (22 psi) at ~4000 RPM in 3rd gear (logged...which is the surge limit anyways and I actually had to tone my controller down a bit to just ride that limit) and by 4500 in 2nd gear (logged). So with the raised RPM limit I am looking at a near 6000 RPM power band which will be suuuuuper fun on the track. I have tested and tested and tested the shiiit outta my controller and if I am at or above 4500 RPM in 2nd or above gears; the boost takes 0.88 seconds to hit +20 psi according to Link. When racing your rarely (if ever) below 5000 RPM so insta boost and a huge azz power band should make for some awesome fun. :D

This is still on stock cams as well which I plan on changing to move my peak torque to the 6000 RPM range. From histograms of the RPM from logs of other racers I see that the majority of your time is spent in the 5000-7000 range anyways so its not like im at 10000 RPM for an hour straight....more like 5000-7000 range for ~70% of the race duration.

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So that's my plan and based on that I need MOAR RPM to hit that 6K RPM power band so my thoughts on engines are:

2.1DS: seems like a hassle to deal with the block if something goes south in the future so that's pretty much off the list...but dat rod ratio tho. :D

2.0: Clearly the easiest to build and find the rods/pistons for but the rod ratio has been concerned since road racing will have that RPM up high for an hour or more straight.

2.0LR: With a rod ratio of 1.77 vs the 1.84 of the 2.1 and the 1.7 of the 2.0 this seems like a good middle ground. From what I have read there are several 2.0's that have been rev'd upto 10,000 RPM without issue so a better rod ratio gives more peace of mind.

The rods/pistons availability is also part of the consideration. Clearly 162mm and 156mm rods are not as readily avaiable as the 150mm...but they are out there currently. Pistons with the 1.130" comp height are also found easily currently so that doesn't seem to be an issue....so it basically comes down to brand and model of rod and piston.

Not sure what to get for rods/pistons as far as brand/model so here we are....what do you like and why?
 
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When it comes to pistons, I like Wisecos. It is all I have ever run in my cars. Wiseco HDs in my Galant even though I made over 700whp with the regular Wisecos. Rods.....I like Pauters. They are rather heavy though. I did want a rod that I could fit a 22mm pin in my 6 bolt setup that was off the shelf. That led me to Manley TT but I didn't like the weight too much so ended up going with MAP Howard rods which are lighter....but still steel.

FYI, I made 700whp+ on Eagles years ago. :)
 
Running a larger diameter pin is not needed at all. We run .235" wall wrist pins and have never had an issue. 22mm is just a bandwagon thing. I intend on moving to a .300" wall wrist pin in our mirage of we hurt our current motor beyond repair any time soon.

Plain and simple and has held big boy power for over 15 years for me. Pauter rods for steel and GRP solid beams with arp 2000 or higher bolts. Arias pistons (I use a custom, heavier piston (more meat) than an off the shelf.

We just finished a road race motor a few months ago that is working well with Arias pistons and .235" pins with Manley I been rods. He was able to get the rods for about $350 less than the pauters so it was not a hard choice for him.

Lighter is not better in a serious forced induction engine. The girth in the serious and expensive parts is there for a reason.
 
Running a larger diameter pin is not needed at all. We run .235" wall wrist pins and have never had an issue. 22mm is just a bandwagon thing. I intend on moving to a .300" wall wrist pin in our mirage of we hurt our current motor beyond repair any time soon.

Plain and simple and has held big boy power for over 15 years for me. Pauter rods for steel and GRP solid beams with arp 2000 or higher bolts. Arias pistons (I use a custom, heavier piston (more meat) than an off the shelf.

We just finished a road race motor a few months ago that is working well with Arias pistons and .235" pins with Manley I been rods. He was able to get the rods for about $350 less than the pauters so it was not a hard choice for him.

Lighter is not better in a serious forced induction engine. The girth in the serious and expensive parts is there for a reason.


Glad you could chime in @biglady112 ....I know you have the experience to backup what you state. :)

Its not a cost thing for me (i mean to a point of course) so it comes down to what will last for a few seasons of heavy road racing (5-6 weekends a yearl, 3-5 races a weekend @ +1 hr each).

I was thinking of bigger wrist pins (22mm) but you are right a thicker walled wrist pin would add just as much meat as going from a 21 to a 22. So I will look at a thicker walled wrist pin instead as you suggested.

Since my plans don't have me boosting over 30 psi at peak torque I believe that what is the important design point is the RPM's. I will be going 2.0LR and will be aiming for 10K RPM for the redline so I believe that the weak point is the rod cap and the bolts. So high strength ARP's there as you suggested for sure.

A heavier rod stress the rod caps and rod bolts though correct?

I think I need to find the middle ground for rods....heavy enough or meaty enough rod to take the ~30 psi of boost and light enough to not rip the cap off at high RPM's.
 
The large 22mm wrist pins are not any thicker than off the shelf 21mm pins. Same wall thickness for each family of pistons. Unless you specify what you want like me. I buy direct from arias. I do not deal with third party vendors on anything I buy.

Get an I beam rod. Don't sell yourself short and settle for an H beam. Make it easy on yourself and just build a regular 2.0L. At the end of the day it is still a tiny four cylinder and no matter what you try to do it is still a small your cylinder. No compliment of stroke is going to help you. That will only hurt you in durability and your rpm goal.

The ideal way is to torque by stretch. I have only ever done that to one engine and it ran no better or worse than if I were to just torque them down to what ARP and the rod manufacturer ask for.

I can't think of a manufacturer that does not have ARP's included with the rod. You won't have to source those out. Just don't settle for the 8740 bolts.
 
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High compression is a waste of your time. Our cylinder heads are garbage and why have all of the compression with none of the gain and a smaller tuning window.
 
High compression is a waste of your time. Our cylinder heads are garbage and why have all of the compression with none of the gain and a smaller tuning window.

I totally agree there. I'd like 8 or 8.5 CR. Low RPM TQ is just not where my motor is going to operate.
 
High compression is a waste of your time. Our cylinder heads are garbage and why have all of the compression with none of the gain and a smaller tuning window.
This dude again, lawl.
You want to have a dog off the line, go ahead. I see your shop must be slow since you have all this time to post useless information.
 
He's not wrong. If your going after some record setter go for it, but for an average guy high compression is wrong.
I disagree. Completely. Look at the industry, newer cars(with turbo) have 10.5 compression. Man us OEMs must know nothing..

Dude asked for a tried and true from users. This worked for me without any problems. Do as you wish. At least I wont have to worry about you winning any event I enter.
 
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Lol, ok.....
You want a dog "Out of the corners" then go 8s in compression.

I think your confused.....why would I be in low RPM in a corner? You want to be in as high RPM as possible.

From the gear calcs; when downshifting into a corner (the low radius hairpin at my track) the lowest RPM I would be at is 5500 RPM. That would be a downshift from 2nd to 1st which is well above the 4000 RPM max spool point I'm seeing on the HE351VE.

Past that, the slowest corners at my track are all 2nd gear corners (not 1st) and you can easily take them at 80-100 km/hr which is in the 6000-7000 RPM range in 2nd so I'm well into full boost. Keep in mind that if I am over 4000 RPM my controller can quick spool that holset to +20 PSI in 0.88sec so I have insta boost anywhere over 4000 RPM...even in 2nd gear.

TL;DR: I dont need "off the line" or "out of the corner" low RPM TQ because I simply wont be in low RPM and my holet controller spools so damn fast that out of boost TQ is just not a concern.
 
I disagree. Completely. Look at the industry, newer cars(with turbo) have 10.5 compression. Man us OEMs must know nothing..

Dude asked for a tried and true from users. This worked for me without any problems. Do as you wish. At least I wont have to worry about you winning any event I enter.

Yes i did ask for tried and true but I'm curious about brands/models not to start a flame war about high CR vs low CR.

Since your here now, what is your goto brand/model of rods and pistons and why?
 
Then why ask us for our opinion if you are just going to throw it back at everybody. Do as you f***ing wish, at least we dont have to worry about you winning any events.

You are now not worth my time. Go google it.
 
Then why ask us for our opinion if you are just going to throw it back at everybody. Do as you f***ing wish, at least we dont have to worry about you winning any events.

You are now not worth my time. Go google it.

No one threw anything back in your face. Sorry I don't agree with the high CR you think i should run. #sorrynotsorry

You just trying to pick fights today hey?

I asked brand/model not what CR or bore oversize or rod length.....just what brand/model.
 
I disagree. Completely. Look at the industry, newer cars(with turbo) have 10.5 compression. Man us OEMs must know nothing..

Dude asked for a tried and true from users. This worked for me without any problems. Do as you wish. At least I wont have to worry about you winning any event I enter.

Yeah the OEM's are doing higher compression with turbo's, they also generally have a much more quicker burning chamber with better charge motion control, better knock detection strategy, and probably direct injection. They also are not trying to get 3-400hp/l.

You cannot deny that a 10.5:1 4g has a much smaller tuning window than an 8.5:1 4g. Couple that with the fact the majority population of dsm'ers have a hard enough time keeping a stock car running well, and it becomes clear that high compression is a bad choice for the average guy.

Anyway, I've been running JE's and Turbo Tuffs for several years and I am very very happy with the durability and performance. My first motor ran the light duty wiseco's, and they failed.
 
As above, new cars also have direct injection, and more advanced electronics to run that compression. We can't compare.

Spool difference based on compression ratio is negligible. If you aren't on E85 or race gas, stay 9.0:1 or below. I like Wiseco pistons too, and Carrillo makes some nasty rods.
 
Higher CR is a good thing if you have a really good tuner, and it helps to have the money to make it happen, it's better to have a safety net of lower compression on a street/track car.

Now back on topic: I like the arias pistons myself, and will be giving them a shot in a future street build, but I also like the wiseco brand I honestly think they both are good, and I second the corrillo rods if you can afford the cost, then get their H beam rods.
 
As above, new cars also have direct injection, and more advanced electronics to run that compression. We can't compare.

Spool difference based on compression ratio is negligible. If you aren't on E85 or race gas, stay 9.0:1 or below. I like Wiseco pistons too, and Carrillo makes some nasty rods.
Higher compression makes more torque out of boost. Lower compression actually spools the turbo at an earlier rpm.
 
Higher compression makes more torque out of boost. Lower compression actually spools the turbo at an earlier rpm.

I don't think compression will affect my spool. Using the VGT actuator I have the HE351VE spooling as fast as it can. :) :D :hellyeah:
 
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