Who uses Mahle pistons?

[blazebolt]

I have been looking at Mahles for a while to use in my daily driver 2.3 engine build. I like them for the light weight and the fact that I can run tight clearances and not worry about piston slap. I will probably run boost in the low 20's (high 20's max) and since its a stroker, I won't be revving high. I've been reading up, but have been unable to find much information on these pistons. I'm wondering who is using these pistons (either the stroker or non stroker versions), how much boost you are running, and any comments you have.

Thanks

 

[D_Eclipse9916]

Just went with a mahle setup for my daily driver/ road racer 2.0. I have heard they are awesome for their coatings from the factory and lightness. I have "heard" but not really found any evidence about them having issues in the 30-40,000 mile range because of their short skirt design.

Hopefully she will be running by the end of this week so ill let you know!

 

[Defiant]

They're a well-established and well-regarded piston maker, and have been around forever.

 

[blazebolt]

I've read that they have been in the business a long time and make good pistons, but that was mainly for NA applications. I haven't read much about Mahle's being used in turbo cars. With their high silcone content people are saying that they are not as resistant to detonation. So I'm curious if anyone is running these in our cars and their longevity/reliability.

 

[MY1GDSM]

Mahle is making the pistons for the 4B11t in the Evo X... can't think of any other company that makes forged pistons being used as OEM off the top of my head.... I suppose Mitsu wouldn't trust them with out a good reson???

 

[maperformance]

We have been using them in our 9 second talon for years, holding up great thusfar

 

[blazebolt]

How much boost are you running and are you still using the same set of pistons or are you swapping them out every X amount of events?

 

[maperformance]

Low 40's I believe almost 800whp and same set

 

[blazebolt]

Well that pretty much sold me. It is as I figured. There was all this talk about the negatives with Mahle's and their high silcone content, but no real world examples to back it up, just theory. If they are strong enough to put you in the 9's for years, then they are definitely strong enough for my daily driver.

 

[maperformance]

For sure, shoot me a PM if you would like an unbeatable price on a set

 

[miragetbo1997cc]

I pick them because they last.Alot of Nascar engines are built with them.Very little prep to the crown to remove the sharp edges.

 

[D_Eclipse9916]

For sure, shoot me a PM if you would like an unbeatable price on a set

Definitely hit these guys up for a set, had mine within a few days...and that includes Christmas!

 

[maperformance]

Thank you for the kind words sir!

 

[blazebolt]

Already contact them and will be making my purchase from them once tax refund comes and I verify the block and head I have are good.

@miragetbo1997cc: How long have you been running them and what boost are you using? Do you daily drive you car?

I have been looking more into these pistons and the compression ratio has me a bit concerned. Do you think I will be able to run a 9.5CR on our crappy California 91 octane at 20 psi? I should also mention that I am running dsmlink and will run 10.5:1 or 11:1 AFR's depending on what is best.

 

[maperformance]

Other piston options for the 2.3l are pretty high CR as well, Wiseco for instance is 8.8:1 CR. You may have to tune more conservatively in regards to AFR and timing, but you will get the benefits of faster spool and increased hp in comparison to a lower CR piston at the same boost levels...

 

[blazebolt]

I thought I'd update this thread with some important information. I talked directly with Mahle about these pistons and it turns out they don't even make 9.5CR pistons off the shelf!!! They can make custom 9.5CR pistons for $195/ea with a 5 week lead time. The actual compression ratio is 8.5 and they also came out with a 9.0CR recently. This is for the 6 bolt stroker 4g63 pistons.

MIT130366i23 - 8.5CR (23cc dish)
MIT130366i19 - 9.0CR (19cc dish)