Put these in my latest engine build.


http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=120820&stc=1&d=1313451176

http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=120821&stc=1&d=1313451176

Turned 690 HP on the dyno just the other day.

And they look even prettier in person. :D :cool:

Turned 690 HP on the dyno just the other day.

Assuming chassis dyno, if so :cool:

Yeap, on my dyno and I am liking what I have seen so far! Great job John! It drove and ran great even with the intercooler tank being blown. I will be building and engine here very soon with these pistons that will be well over 1000hp at the crank and we will really see what they can take.

so who makes those pistons. and how much? i like the design of them

Mahle pistons with the bowls machined by Fingers himself. I hope they work out well but only time will tell how much better they are over the standard Mahle pistons. I would like to see how they look with 50,000 miles on them and that's going to tell the story as most builds seem to fail a cast pistons at his HP level by then. I've got right at 100,000 miles at ~500 RwHp on stock Mahle pistons and still going strong but cross that line in power by much and the failures go through the roof.

yeah i am wanting to do a motor build in my dmax. but i wanna run 600 to 650hp on my truck. the truck right now has 235,120miles still factory head bolts and head gaskets in it.

They look good on paper and the FEA says they are 1-1/2 times stronger than stock. Static testing has them significantly stronger too. But the sample set is to small to be conclusive. Only time will really tell. To help abuse them, I kept them at 17.5:1 to actually increase the wear and tear. So far, 3000 miles and counting on the motor.

Chamber pressure testing is next week. We will see what they are really getting beat with.

Using stock pistons as a base: Cut pistons are weaker than stock, but the decompression goes a long way toward longevity for them and the current crop of forged slugs.

Two more people have stepped up to try them in more serious builds. Both will be at a lower compressions, but the target HP is a fair bit higher than mine.

so who makes those pistons. and how much? i like the design of them


As was stated, I cut the chambers into Mahle blanks. They are totally experimental at this time. Just can't help showing off my projects.

They look good on paper and the FEA says they are 1-1/2 times stronger than stock. Static testing has them significantly stronger too. But the sample set is to small to be conclusive. Only time will really tell. To help abuse them, I kept them at 17.5:1 to actually increase the wear and tear. So far, 3000 miles and counting on the motor.

Chamber pressure testing is next week. We will see what they are really getting beat with.

Using stock pistons as a base: Cut pistons are weaker than stock, but the decompression goes a long way toward longevity for them and the current crop of forged slugs.

Two more people have stepped up to try them in more serious builds. Both will be at a lower compressions, but the target HP is a fair bit higher than mine.

The first set that I am going to use will be used in a truck that we are pushing for 1000++hp at the crank in a pulling truck. Have had good success with cut and coated stockers and just plain stock ones as well but would like to find out if these will hold up better than the Forged pistons do. That is my hope and as John has said, time will tell.

so u think the longevity of the pistons be good as the stock pistons and better than the forged alumins?

so u think the longevity of the pistons be good as the stock pistons and better than the forged alumins?


That is the thinking behind it and that is what we are going to find out!

sounds like a good plan. cause i would like to do a motor build with long life and can take the 800 to 1000 hp with no problem

Very interesting. Any fears that the injector will be spraying onto the face of the piston instead of into the bowl at higher timing levels? I like the idea - but the injector spray going outside the bowl causes me to hesitate. I'm just now entering the planning stages of a "serious" engine build and will be watching with interest.

Spray will not be outside the bowl any more than with stock pistons.

Spray will not be outside the bowl any more than with stock pistons.

I see what you mean now - for some reason I was thinking that the bowl was quite a bit larger on a stock piston - that goes to show you how much I have been inside a Dmax engine. I went and looked at some stock pistons now and I see exactly what you mean.

Building two motors this month with these pistons in them so we shall see how it goes!

Will these pistons be available to the general public?

They are available now.

They are, however, still what I would call experimental. So far everything is looking good.

Would you PM me a price please? Making plans for an engine build about mid summer.

I'm hoping to see one of these in person.
My buddy who works at a performance engine shop said his boss just picked up ADDitional bobweight (says they needed quite a bit) and torque plates for a DMax and are looking to do a few.

I was talking with my roomate who is a machinist there and telling him the LITTLE knowledge I have about these engines and told him that piston life has been an issue and there are several things being done (like delipping the bowl). I then told him what Jon was trying. He came home the next day and said I think I saw one of those pistons you were talking about.

I'm hoping to get out of work early and make a trip there to see it in person. I met Jon out at Merchant's (probably doesn't remember it) and it would be cool to actually get to hold these unique pieces. If they prove to be effective as I think they might be, it would be cool to say I held a piece of history/innnovation :-)

That being said, I may give him a list of contacts on here if they are willing to share their tips and tricks when it comes to properly machining, assembling, and making these motors last.


They are available now.

They are, however, still what I would call experimental. So far everything is looking good.

Update- First shortblock I built with these pistons in it is alive and running in Vermont with an BatmoS366/74 and the customer says it is an animal! They say it has a completely different sound to it and boils 285's at 65mph. Brett Deutsch's short block is built and unfortunately it will be awhile before it is in the truck do to all the work he has to do to it for rules in Superstreet. He is build a new frame and everything for it. We are shooting for 9's with it so it will be a great test for these pistons. Time will tell. Got another motor going together soon in a twin setup with these so I will keep you posted.

I've heard others describe the engine note as being different with these pistons.

Mine should be up and running in the near future also :D

Keep us all posted I'm interested in how these engine builds perform and last

Brett Deutsch's short block is built and unfortunately it will be awhile before it is in the truck do to all the work he has to do to it for rules in Superstreet. He is build a new frame and everything for it. We are shooting for 9's with it so it will be a great test for these pistons. Time will tell.
did he have a 4 link or something like that? NHRDA changed the fuel cell & battery rules a couple weeks ago too

I talked with the NHRDA and they said I could not run in the super-street class because my rearend is narrowed and the engine did not come in that truck from the factory. I will have to race in the pro-street class. I'm trying to lose as much weight as possible and still drive the truck on the street, I'm leaving the a/c and all the power stuff on the truck( steering, windows, brakes)

did he have a 4 link or something like that? NHRDA changed the fuel cell & battery rules a couple weeks ago too

Still the factory trailing arm suspension with coil overs. That's why I don't know why they won't let me race in the super-street class. My truck fits into all the rules, now that they just made some changes to the rules.

thats great that there are unwritten rules that you have to abide by