LS7 Pistons
Sorry to steal your thread a little but I am looking for two stock LS7 pistons if anyone is taking them out to upgrade to forged. I broke two psitons, long story, short budget. GM only sells std bore with the Ti rod attached! Send me a note please.
Not sure yet. Looks like the ring end gaps were too tight or air was trapped between #1 and #3 and it locally over heated. Rings butted, ring lands popped a piece of the piston crown off and cracked #3 cylinder. Or the pistons are defective since they both cracked at the exact same spot. GM is not doing diddly so I am out 14K for an engine with 2 hours running time because the warranty lapsed while I was building the car around it. Hoping to sleeve the hole and put in two pistons to get it running again w/o dumping a lot more cash at it. Photos:
http://www.performancecarfactory.com...2_itemId=53649
http://www.performancecarfactory.com...2_itemId=53649
Staging Lane
Joined: Apr 2007
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Wow - sorry to see that. So that was a crate LS7 then?
We are each building our own flavour of the GM LS7 using LS7 block, heads and intake. Forged internals will hopefully keep the lower end together.
We are also making appropriate changes/upgrades to the valve train to keep the gremlins out. Other than LS7 1.8 rockers - anyone knwo what the other rocker options are for GM LS7 heads?
We are each building our own flavour of the GM LS7 using LS7 block, heads and intake. Forged internals will hopefully keep the lower end together.
We are also making appropriate changes/upgrades to the valve train to keep the gremlins out. Other than LS7 1.8 rockers - anyone knwo what the other rocker options are for GM LS7 heads?
Originally Posted by jkittleson
They can't be more expensive than Katech...
Just talked to Jason and their pistons are 159.00 ea, plus 35.00 ea for pins.
WTF? 1552.00 for a set of pistons. That is insane!
Just talked to Jason and their pistons are 159.00 ea, plus 35.00 ea for pins.
WTF? 1552.00 for a set of pistons. That is insane!
We are not a piston warehouse. We make short runs to supply the LS7s we build. Thats what they cost. The pins I quoted you are DLC coated. DLC coating is very expensive. Before coating, the pin is only $6.
Originally Posted by pcf_mark
Sorry to steal your thread a little but I am looking for two stock LS7 pistons if anyone is taking them out to upgrade to forged. I broke two psitons, long story, short budget. GM only sells std bore with the Ti rod attached! Send me a note please.
It is going to be hard to find. The only way to get the piston off the rod is to drill out the pin clip.
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Joined: Apr 2007
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Originally Posted by Katech
We are not a piston warehouse. We make short runs to supply the LS7s we build. Thats what they cost. The pins I quoted you are DLC coated. DLC coating is very expensive. Before coating, the pin is only $6.
I was going to go with Wiseco.. I can't have my "buddy" get better pistons than I am getting.. but I am trying to determine why they would be better and what advantage they are going to be giving him?
Originally Posted by RC45
Would these pistons be good for quicker revving? Or less parasitic drivetrain loss? Higher strength?
I was going to go with Wiseco.. I can't have my "buddy" get better pistons than I am getting.. but I am trying to determine why they would be better and what advantage they are going to be giving him?
I was going to go with Wiseco.. I can't have my "buddy" get better pistons than I am getting.. but I am trying to determine why they would be better and what advantage they are going to be giving him?
They are slightly lighter than stock. I don't know what the Weisco weighs. Our pistons have accumulator grooves, detonation bands and they are hardcoat anodized. You're getting a piston designed by the same company that worked with GM to develop the LS7. We have them in 9:1, 10.4:1, 11:1, 12:1, and 14:1 compression, 6.067 and 6.100 rod length, 4032 and 2618 material.
Staging Lane
Joined: Apr 2007
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Originally Posted by Katech
They are slightly lighter than stock. I don't know what the Weisco weighs. Our pistons have accumulator grooves, detonation bands and they are hardcoat anodized. You're getting a piston designed by the same company that worked with GM to develop the LS7. We have them in 9:1, 10.4:1, 11:1, 12:1, and 14:1 compression, 6.067 and 6.100 rod length, 4032 and 2618 material.
Streetability, smooth idling and manners are not a concern - I just want the baddest meanest nastiest LS7 using the GM LS7 heads, LS7 intake and LS7 throttle body.
Thanks for the tip on the pin retainer. I have not pulled them off yet but was hoping someone had a few laying around. Looks like I need a set of pistons too. Is a rebalance required with the Katech set?
Thread Starter
Teching In
Joined: Jul 2007
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I'm sure they are a very nice piston, but they cost over 2 times the cost of the best pistons on the market.
No offense Jason. Katech makes some of the nicest products in the business and supplies to a specialized crowd. R&D is expensive, thus the parts are going to be expensive. Wish I could afford a set, but my budget is a little tight considering I am building an LS7 from scratch. =)
No offense Jason. Katech makes some of the nicest products in the business and supplies to a specialized crowd. R&D is expensive, thus the parts are going to be expensive. Wish I could afford a set, but my budget is a little tight considering I am building an LS7 from scratch. =)
Last edited by jkittleson; Jul 20, 2007 at 08:50 PM.
Originally Posted by RC45
Interesting - since you guys helped GM design the LS7, what cam specs (and your optimum piston) would you use with the LS7 throttlebody, LS7 intake and LS7 heads to achieve the highest possible HP and torque with 93 octane gas?
Streetability, smooth idling and manners are not a concern - I just want the baddest meanest nastiest LS7 using the GM LS7 heads, LS7 intake and LS7 throttle body.
Streetability, smooth idling and manners are not a concern - I just want the baddest meanest nastiest LS7 using the GM LS7 heads, LS7 intake and LS7 throttle body.
GM's stage 3. It has incredible valvetrain control considering how agressive it is. Or stay tuned for more Katech cams.
Don't forget about Diamond's pistons as well. They have a whole line up of LS7 specific pistons that cost about 900 bucks, and include pins/rings as well. You can add custom work to them too and most of them are good for 150-200 shot out of the box. They come with CH for 6.1 or 6.125 pistons, but not as many options for CR as Katech has.
