Factory vs. aftermarket pistons

[Random]

Hi all, I'm building up a 2.0 duratec aka MZR engine in my garage right now. Garrett T3 60/63ar planning on a compressor upgrade though (rebuilt 84 300zx turbo... got it from flea bay on the cheap) externally gated, gsxr 1000 itb's adapted to a dcoe manifold. I have some forged steel rods coming from the UK that are reputed to be good to 600hp/9000rpm although I'm thinking closer to 400 and 7500-8000 as a goal as I plan to keep the stock crank, that and the turbo I have would be hard pressed to flow at those rpms even when upgraded. Now that you have an idea of what I'm doing my question is this.... how much abuse/hp can stock mazdaspeed3 (MZR) turbo pistons take before they break up. Wiseco pistons (also ebay @ around $500) should stand up to most anything within reason and these are a definite option. I haven't looked at pricing for the factory/jobber pistons yet. Which do you think is a more viable choice? Am I wasting my money going for the high end aftermarket parts when different stock parts may suffice?

BTW just in case anyone is thinking upon reading this that I plan on keeping the stock duratec pistons that have and just changing the rods... I'm not everything I've read suggests that both the pistons and rods come apart after about 220hp.

Thanks for your time,

Ted

[Mazda_Powered]

Welcome to CP, my suggestion would be to reflect upon your current parts and make a proper judgement call.

Personally if I spent all the time and money on the parts listed above, I wouldn't want to leave chances up to OEM pistons, even thought meant for boosted applications...It's just one more thing that can go wrong and cause a lot of issues down the road...like needing a new block or cylinder head lol.

[jay]

+a lot. Don't even bother cutting corners with your pistons, man. Makes about as much sense as forged pistons on stock rods. Once you start preparing, you better prepare it properly, lest the weak link in the chain rise up and turn your whole investment into a paperweight. 5 bills in Wisecos is money well spent.

[Random]

That's fair enough 500bux is not really much money compared to doing this all again... that being said not the first time I've nuked an engine and chances are I'll blow this one up too eventually! I've (read "my wife" has) got to go in to these things with both eyes open ya know! She's remarkably understanding actually!
I'm just was curious as to what results others had with a stock MZR-T bottom end and how far anyone had pushed it past the factory 275ish hp. Believe it or not this is a budget build after a fashion, so far including all of the crap listed above, a fidanza flywheel and the initial cost of the engine (07 focus 34,500km from pick a part on sale $125 inc core) I'm still under $1500 to date, that being said I've been pretty patient about waiting for parts as my engine has been on a stand for 2.5 years. Pistons are the next big purchase which will be in a month or so... and perhaps I should buy the vehicle to put this into one of these days soon too. Not going to be a daily driver I don't think. I already have a fun car for that which I don't have to pamper along. What do you all think a B2200 that will run mid 12's? I think its funny myself and totally stealth.

Cheers,
Ted

[Mazda_Powered]

B2200s are a nice truck if you can find them in good shape. I own a b2600i...actually 4 of them LOL since i can never find used parts for them...only one's on the road too which is funny...

Only issue I have with the older B series trucks, is how plain the interior is, and how few options they came with...

Why not an rx-7??

[gorgonheimer]

I say an 84 or so courier

[Random]

B2200s are a nice truck if you can find them in good shape. I own a b2600i...actually 4 of them LOL since i can never find used parts for them...only one's on the road too which is funny...

Only issue I have with the older B series trucks, is how plain the interior is, and how few options they came with...

Why not an rx-7??

Well I don't care about the interior per-say as all I'm going to be doing is putting back and forth to the drag strip so amenities are not too important all it has to do is be barley street legal... the other option is building a super 7 replica which would be scary with that much power... and then there's the crash survivability thing too think about... but 400hp in a 1200lb car would be extreme and probably unlike anything else on the road, it would make regular super cars seem mundane.
Ford couriers are really cool but mother nature has pretty much reclaimed them all in my part of the world.

[Mazda_Powered]

Point made lol.

A super 7 replica would be insane if you have the knowledge and experience, but definitely would be easier to start with a vehicle and strip it down to where you want it lol.

B2200 sounds like a winner to me lol

[gorgonheimer]

Got a clean rust free b2000 extra cab...
Pm me.

[Random]

Got a clean rust free b2000 extra cab...
Pm me.

Thanks I appreciate that but texas to b.c would be expensive just in transport alone never mind importing it and getting it inspected etc. transport canada is a bit of a pain in the butt. B2000/2200's are cheap and easy to find around my neighborhood and if I have to tow/limp/push it to my place so much the better, I really don't care if it runs. It turns out that I'm really going to cheap out on the truck itself and am only going to spend about $500 on it on the outside and if I can get it cheaper all the better!

The 7 clone is actually a contender too believe it or not, while I'm not an expert fabricator I have most of the tools and equipment in my garage to build one and I actually started on a frame last summer which I promptly screwed up and then took a sawsall to it. It turns out my frame table had a hell of a warp in it. Twisted cars are... unsafe. But we learn as we go along right. I did mention that I have a very patient wife right?? There is a ton of info for locost type cars and god knows there are so many options that you can get paralyzed with a project before you even start, that seems to happen to most people.

Cheers,

Ted

[XelderX]

Get better pistons. If a piston fails all those little piston pieces go straight through the turbo. And with regards to the 7 clone...I would tell you to get a Brunton Super Stalker kit, but I'm not sure supercharged GM V6 motors and S10 pickup trucks are readily available where you are.

[Random]

Get better pistons. If a piston fails all those little piston pieces go straight through the turbo. And with regards to the 7 clone...I would tell you to get a Brunton Super Stalker kit, but I'm not sure supercharged GM V6 motors and S10 pickup trucks are readily available where you are.

Stalkers are really cool! There is a company in Calgary that imports the kits at around 10 or 12k as I recall. S10's and S15's are even more common than Mazda's around here. The supercharged 3.8 is a little tougher to come by but SSEi Bonneville's are starting to make their way to the scrappers on a more frequent basis now albeit sans supercharger on every one I looked at last time I went wrecker walking. The kit I'm fond of is from GBS http://www.robinhoodsportscars.co.uk/ the only problem being a distinct lack of sierra donors around north america, even the XR4TI (more or less the same car) are difficult to come by in delapitated enough shape that you wouldn't feel bad about chopping it into little pieces. Anyone not familiar with stalkers (the good kind) should take the time to do a youtube search and watch a few vids, very very impressive. I agree about the decent slugs I'm not overly worried about the turbo but I've been on the receiving end of a melted (well actually it was more turned inside out on one side) piston.

Cheers,

Ted