For a 700 HP or so motor build, would you use oem lb7 pistons? Why or why not? (Somewhat of a budget build)
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Curiosity.....Pistons?
- Thread starter coker6303
- Start date
Their proven to withstand the power, not for years, but for a OE part, they do very well.
Im still partial to not delipping the pistons, but I also like the reasoning behind doing so.
Edit; Forgot to also add that im also weighing the facts on coating the pistons as well, I'm not sure that it's necessiarily worth it.
Im still partial to not delipping the pistons, but I also like the reasoning behind doing so.
Edit; Forgot to also add that im also weighing the facts on coating the pistons as well, I'm not sure that it's necessiarily worth it.
The object is to have a very reliable 700hp motor. If the lb7 pistons are going to be an "iffy" choice then it won't be used.
The point is to be reliable but not go overkill on the build. The build money needs to be put in the areas that we will get the best return.
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The point is to be reliable but not go overkill on the build. The build money needs to be put in the areas that we will get the best return.
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IMOP a de-lipped and coated LB7 piston will hold up fine , they will hold those power levels just fine , over 1k hp is where they make me nervous , you might also consider using the cast Mahle performance pistons , we have used a few sets , and thats what is in my race truck right now, from simple measuring they seem to have a bit more meat in the wrist pin area , and arent too much more $$ than new cut and coated LB7 pistons .
I would not hesitate to use the lb7s and the coating is cheap IMO and worth the heat dispertion alone.I have a number and address on a place in houston that does the coating,they did mine. :thumb:
Imo they hold up fine, forever? no, but do forged pistons hold up forever? nope. I ran cast lb7s that were delipped, and had valve releifs cut for 2 1/2 years. 1 year running high 10s, the other year and a half pulling. I did crack one this year, but they had seen some stress. I havent had my engine on a dyno yet, but id say the numbers are pretty decent. I did go to forged after i cracked one, but only time will tell how long they will hold.
my truck had seen way to many high egt runs and 4 years of pulling/ drag racing. Most around 650ish hp and the last being around 720ish my pistons were stock and looked like new on top.....the other side was a different story but that was from bent rods lol. Im putting stock delipped lb7's back in
Still curious, I don't think mahle race pistons will be much more than used lb7s anymore. Being that I will need to buy rings and the cost of the machine work to delip them aloing with 200 or so for the actual used pistons. I may HAVE to get race pistons anyways now because my cylinder is scarred abit.. 3 months later, do you guys still have the same opinion that lb7s are good for 700+ hp?
I ran stock uncut in my lly zf truck @ 700rwhp for 3 years...never an issue, ran my wifes stock lly to 700 for a complete pulling saeson, just tore the engine down, #4 was flaking on the top but other than that they were fine, her current engine has delipd, fycut lly pistons in it @ over 900hp with a complete pulling season, dyno tuning and some street miles on them, all seem well, still undecided if i will pull the engine to look at them befor the new season starts or not! Just for the record....the next engine will have mahle motorsport pistons in it!
I bought a set of brand new Mahle cast cut and coated pistons only because they were an extremely good deal. I'm trying to debate on reselling them to buy forged or just keep them. I'm trying to start buying parts for a spare motor and keep it reasonably priced. Would you risk it running 1000-1200 hp?
Coker, sounds like your on the same game plan as me. Im gunna reuse my lb7 pistons and have them cut. Coated im still on the fence for. You need to also look at if your gunna still run stock injectors or bigger tips and just how much fuel your gunna throw at it (ie: run a s366 with lots of fuel to hit that number or a s475 and much less fuel and so on). Ill be spinnin my twins pretty hard to hit that number but im only gunna run stock injectors (my money tree ran out and i need the truck back), so they will be my limiter and not exactly the best setup for stock pistons using big pw.
Im after a reliable motor but wont be running 700hp everyday. I feel its too much for the street and yhe 550hp i was at before was plenty of fun. The 700hp will only come out on those rare "lets go wake the town up" occasions but im sure the first few months ill be wanting to play on it alot
Im after a reliable motor but wont be running 700hp everyday. I feel its too much for the street and yhe 550hp i was at before was plenty of fun. The 700hp will only come out on those rare "lets go wake the town up" occasions but im sure the first few months ill be wanting to play on it alot
I plan on running cut and coated pistons in my build. I want to be around 800 hp maybe more with an occasional nitrous shot.
I ran them for 3 years, one of them had a lot of low 11sec passes, and a few 10 second passes till i broke a crank. Ran the same pistons for a whole other pulling season, and half of the '11 pulling season until i cracked one. I wasnt suprised i cracked one tho considering i was staying on the line for a minute and a half at 1800 degrees+ trying to light the turbo, thats hard on any parts.
I would guess ive been in the neighborhood of 1000, maybe over this last season, maybe not. I put Mahle forged in my motor after i cracked one.
When you say mahle cast? You mean the race pistons or the stock? Cause aren't our stock pistons cast mahles aswell?
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i have faith in my lbz pistons.... 160k on them,they have seen plenty of abuse
Now throw some fuel at them and see what happens haha
I should be more clear on "way to many high egt runs" I have had my manifolds glowing so bad on a few truck pulls back in 07 that they were almost white and people thought my truck was on fire running up at the end of the track and telling me to shut my truck off. They also said i pulled, Backed upto the sled, Then started pulling off the track before they had started cooling off. They later found out it was just the manifolds glowing lol. Everytime i would race or truck pull i would peg a 1600* pyrometer like it was nothing. Im pretty sure i could have pegged a 2000* which i have just upgraded to after i blew up the engine. I have ran a 10 pound bottle of nitros through the last engine with about 4 quarter mile passes. The 5 or 6 quarter mile passes ( im using my road testing spot as 4 of those passes) have had no nitrous but i ran a 50/50 mix of water meth. You can see my pistons in my block on my engine diagnosis thread and they still looked brand new other than the spot in the one were i sucked a turbo through the engine. With that in mind i wouldn't worry about a 700ish hp truck with stock lb7-lly pistons. I think you will be fine.