Forged LS7 pistons are now available for "off-road" use.
- 12.0:1 CR available to be ordered 12/21
- 11.4:1 CR available after 1/1/06
- deeper valve pockets (only 2) for higher lift cam
- whole piston is anodized (not just the ring grooves)
- skirt coating available
- 50 grams lighter than OEM cast pistons
- have a gas accumulator groove
- Napier 2nd ring
Dished pistons for forced induction are being developed. These tentatively will be available 2/06.
In addition I also have access to NASCAR Titanium Wrist Pins with a Casidiam Diamond coating
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Sound like blower time. Maybe Whipple will make a blower for the car.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DJWorm
Forged LS7 pistons are now available for "off-road" use.
- 12.0:1 CR
- deeper valve pockets (only 2) for higher lift cam
- whole piston is anodized (not just the ring grooves)
- skirt coating available
- 50 grams lighter than OEM cast pistons
Dished pistons for forced induction are being developed.
Good news, The C6 Z06 should have come from the factory that way.
It wouldn't have met emmissions requirements. Dodge found out in 99 when they had to go with Hypereutectics from forged pistons in the Vipers. The metal expansion properties for the forged piston allow a lot of blow by before the piston warms.
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Performin' Norman
I am not trying to be a smart ass...but this is a legitament question. If you would ask all of the name brand makers such as JE, Diamond, Wiesco, CP, Mahle they would all say "Ours are better".
The application must be considered. Cast may be better for the street; forged, obviously is better for high HP and forced induction. But what differentiates forged pistons from each other.
Weight is a consideration. Lighter is better....but can you get it too light?
The strength of material and type of rings and features is also important.
I thought better for pistons reflects internal design (which is often reflected in how light you can go for a specific application), quality control (both in material and manufacture), and design features (around ring sealing and pin oiling, sometimes around crank clearance or compression height).
Generally, I thought Wiesco, CP, and J&E were the top draw in the US, with Diamond, Ross, J&E's SRP line a step behind, and a few $$ less.
These are not inexpensive pistons. Would they be better than pistons from the piston manufacturers? Or are they a private label from one of the manufacturers?
A custom LS7 piston could be easily ordered as a custom, with compression height and valve pockets specific for the desired application.
Coatings could be applied to any piston. By doing the coatings separately, you can control what you are using. And if coating, you can also add related components (valves, combustion chambers, etc.).
I'd be very careful with this. Forged is NOT necessarily better than cast. A sophisticated geometry (e.g. strategically placed ribs and other shapes) can be cast allowing better management of stress and mass. While the forging process itself can produce better localized material properties, it's tougher to optimize the structural geometry and put the material where it does the most good. The result can be a heavier piston, and reultant larger loads on the rods & crank. These skyrocket at high engine speeds (roughly like crank speed squared). With mass being so critical here (as evidenced by the factory Ti rods), my bet is that the LS7 team looked at this very carefully and went with castings as the better overall choice. I don't know what alloy they selected, but there are some pretty decent castable alloys out there.
To be sure, forged pistons are often the right choice. I'm just not so sure here.
Remember, these engines have to make it through warranty and live. That's a lot harder than makiing it through the much shorter life of a race motor. If forged was right out of the box, they'd have done it as the cheaper bet than blowing motors.
Also, forged pistons are typically fit with larger cold clearances owing to their differing granular structure, but I doubt this would affect emissions. The sealing is done by the rings or you've got real problems.
Bottom line: Mods to this motor had better be carefully engineered or you're asking for trouble.
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2006 Z06 2LZ LMB/Ebn
Prior 'Vettes: 99 Coupe MR/Oak/Z51/MN6, 02 Z06 EB/Blk, 04 Coupe MR/Oak/MM6
Misc. Projects: 61 Jaguar E-Type, 65 Pontaic GTO Sports Coupe
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