Tech: Pistons & Rings
Clarifying piston balancing with a few words from Kaase
By Titus Bloom: “It’s hard for me to be persuaded on the merits of piston balancing,” said a leading oval track engine builder recently. “While operating, the piston is being thrust up against one side of the cylinder wall,” he continued, “wedged in one direction on...
Unique buttons: piston pin retention designs for Pro Mod and big turbos
By Freddie Heaney: Denver Colorado: Gibtec Pistons has announced unique piston pin retention buttons. Their latest design for Pro Mod and big turbo racing engines incorporate a radial locking feature. The advent of the piston button and its subsequent popularity came...
Competition piston rings and what the OEMs taught us
By Sam Logan: In our racing world we tend to think of ourselves as the elite corps. But in pistons and more particularly piston ring design, it is not our racing brains that are the driving force but those of the Original Equipment Manufacturers. It would be a...
Gibtec Pistons: Guide to top ring placement from Pro Stock to Street
By Sam Logan: Denver, Colorado: Though piston maker Gibtec was established a mere two and a half years ago, the individuals behind it have specialized in Pro Stock billet piston development since 2003. Notably, during this period their skills contributed to...
Flatness: How gas ports and flat ring grooves succeed with lightweight racing rings
By Sam Logan: A great many modern drag racing engines are equipped with lightweight piston rings. These rings require combustion pressures delivered through gas ports to achieve complete ring seal. Horizontal gas ports are used in oval track racing pistons to avoid...
Custom Pistons
Any experienced racing man knows that the components of a successful race car should be compatible—all working in concert. But this formula is never more critical than with engine builders. Professional race engine builders are profoundly aware of how engine parts...