Hi all , I finally get too post ! I'm going the forged route,which is better Diamond, JE, Ross etc...? I'm rebuilding my 346 and i'm looking for the strongest, light weight piston I can get ! Strong enuff too handle 150 shot and used primarily for motor ... Any help would be great....

 

call Chris at diamond
support the companys that support the board
plus he dreams about pistons 24 7

 

I ordered Diamonds the other day for a motor that will see a minimum of high teens boost wise.

 

I vote for the JE pistons for light weight and build quality, but diamond if you need a quikck turn around. Took me 5.5 months to get my JE's but they were worth the weight.

 

i just bought diamonds today
i primarily liked the price

 

agree with stroked but dont be in any hurry. took me about 4-5 months to get mine

 

Are lunait pistons in general heavier than diamond or je?

 

I'd say Diamond, JE is pricey and their customer service left a lot to be desired.

 

One thing to keep in mind when you are comparing the two is the material they are built out of. The JEs are a 4032 material with is primarily used for NA applications. The Diamonds are 2618 material which is just a little heavier but more suited FI or nitrous motors. The weight difference is marginal and the Diamond pistons will handle up to a 200 shot right off the shelf whitout having to wait for custom JEs.

 

Are you sure the JE's are 4032 - the last set I got of JE's was definitely 2618 (LT1 application though) - from what I understand it was the JE/SRP series were the 4032 while the actual JE line was 2618?

 

Actually Chris you are right. Sorry.

It baffled me because I could have swore that the JEs were 4032 so I pulled a few sets off of the shelf and they were 2618. I then pulled an old box that we had for a motor we built some time ago and they were 4032. So at least I knew I wasn't totally losing my mind. I then called JE and talk to a tech and the shelf stuff was originally 4032 and they later changed everything to 2618.

Also I weighed a Diamond and a JE and they are almost identical.

Paul

 

I love the wealth of info our sponsers chime in with...oh, and your opinons too PSJ.

 

so which one is the best choice (toughest) when thinking direct port 300+ on a large bore/stroked application?

 

All of these companies pistons will hold up to a 300 shot, but will the rest of your rotating assembly. JE customer service sucks, but they are still the best quality of the three from what I have seen. No crank reluctor clearance issues. If you want customer service and a quiker turn around then diamond is the better deal. You just have to way your options.

 

I believe you can get both 4032 and 2618 from JE - depends on the model of the piston. I just called them about some pistons and they told me the ones I was looking at were 4032.

Regarding the 4032 vs. 2618 - don't you want 4032 for a mostly NA motor because they can run tighter in the bores than 2618? I thought 2618 was used primarily for racing/boost/N2O apps?? Please correct me if I am wrong!

One lesson I have learned the hard way - for a daily driven, primarily NA engine, get the ones that allow smaller wall clearances (and then make sure the machine shop uses the minimum clearances from the piston manufacturer) or your gonna have one piston slappin machine!! Mine slaps terribly due to large clearances!

I know it is not due to the pistons, because if they had been installed with the minimum wall clearances on the card in the box, it would not slap this bad for this long after startup.

I would recommend taking the time to really do your homework and talk to the machine shop in depth concerning your use of the engine and your expectations of them. Even after doing what I thought was a good job of both, I am wishing I had done more.

 

Nytmare,

 

NYTMARE, are

 

NYTMARE, are you looking for

 

NYTMARE, are you looking

 

NYTMARE, are you looking for pistons for