blu808

Hi. I pulled off my oilpan and found some Mahle pistons in there. I also noticed that there was a new hone, and that the rods had numbers hand scratched into them.

So I know the engine has been rebuilt, but the Mahle pistons are the real question.

I know Mahle makes pistons for the Ls1, but the ones in my engine look cast.

Any info on this?

The pistons say mahle, brazil, and some number like 118 or something.


Any help would be great.
Thanks.

Kingsize

iTrader: (13)

Sounds like they are Mahle's Hyper-Eutectic Pistons. They are similar to the factory piston design to be used in basic rebuilds. They are a quality piston, and should hold up just fine.

NemeSS

iTrader: (127)

what he said^^

bandit1

iTrader: (12)

What makes you think they are cast????? If its because of the color you should know that Mahle coats their pistons I have coated forged mahles in my 427 and they are great. In fact Mahle is one of the best pistons on the market.

blu00rdstr

bandit1

iTrader: (12)

Well to each their own, people often say mahle sucks, or JE sucks, or wiseco sucks, because they had a bad experience with em. When in truth under high power almost all forged pistons are the same except for material usually being 4032 (low-silicon) or 2618 (zero-silicon). But regardless the end products by Arias, CP Pistons, JE Pistons, Mahle, wiseco and Ross tell the same story. Today's performance pistons are produced with some of the highest technology machinery on the planet. While different engine builders or individuals express a preference for a particular brand based on their experiences, every single aftermarket forged performance piston will outperform a factory cast offering. Now that being said usually it is on the part of tuning or something else that causes the piston to fail. So I say again to each their own I happen to like Mahle and think they have a very nice forged piston offering. Years of experience, coatings, a quality product, and not to mention great customer service.

blu808

Thanks for the replies. I can tell they are cast by how they look on the underside.

Does anyone know if this would be stock compression ratio or if throwing some boost at them would be a bad idea?

Phil99vette

iTrader: (11)

I know you've had some issues with MAHLE pistons but I can tell you they are top notch. Kurt from Wheel 2 Wheel sells them and has tested the MAHLE pistons to over 1500hp.

CalSpeedPerformance

iTrader: (64)

depends on which alloy you use for an application. standard Mahle pistons that we use in a 4032 alloy work great in street motors with small power adders.

For high levels of power adders I prefer their 2918 alloy race piston.

Ive got W2W 2918 Mahles in my 403" turbo motor.

fenix999

iTrader: (17)

Mahle makes pistons for stock applications....and by that i also mean that the actual STOCK piston is made by Mahle. My 1999 LS1 firebird had original mahle and another 2001 buddies car had original mahle pistons in them. Either that or it was a bigggg coincidence

Bink

my 2001 z06 has mahle pistons - stock hypereutectic pistons. Gm replacements were mahle, also.
fwiw.

KingSS

iTrader: (1)

MAHLE pistons have been proven to work, even on boosted cars. As long as you get the tune right then your **** will work.

99mongooSS

iTrader: (4)

Ill stick with my diamonds

stevieturbo

Mahle probably make more pistons than any of those other brands, simply as many car manufacturers use them in their engines.

Mahle are without doubt one of the best piston manufacturers out there.

bandit1

iTrader: (12)

would have to agree I love diamond, ross, JE, and many others but just cant argue with experience

cam75w/ls1

iTrader: (2)

Mahle lover here as well. Have them in my Dodge diesel,Corvette,and now my 408Lsx build for the S10.

rcsfastmonte

iTrader: (1)

I did not know mahle made a cast or hyperutectic piston? I have mahles in my 408 ls2 makes over 1200hp to the crank 24psi on pump gas,people always blame parts when in reality its another problem like a tune or bad gas,detonation is a killer!
I have used many types of piston JE,Diamond and wiseco,they all make good pistons,but for the money the Mahle with their coatings are the best bet for me,I al putting them in my LSX 427 current build.

Redlines

iTrader: (15)

the stock LS7 I recently took apart had the Mahle pistons too, and they are coated

LTX355

iTrader: (15)

They usually supply gm. I remember back when i would take lt1s apart they were all mahles. I was close to buying mahles for my current build and maybe i should have at my power level goals with longevity in mind. that is probably why gm always uses something with high silicon to keep any engine noise to a min. No one would be more pissed then a customer hearing a noise coming from a new car. Others said for a 250 hit use the 2618 even if its going in a street motor. I then found a deal i couldnt pass up on a new set of diamonds so went that route.

Wnts2Go10O

iTrader: (12)

ne-ne-ne-necropooooosssssttt