Tech: Pistons & Rings
Putting the Squeeze on
The Importance of Compression Ratios and How to Measure Them: Since race pistons in domestic V-8 engines move up and down in excess of 100 times per second, replacing them is a normal part of a racer’s routine. NHRA Top Fuel and Funny car teams replace them after...
Ovality and other guarded racing piston shapes
By Titus Bloom: Gibtec, makers of custom billet competition pistons reveals... Below their ring lands, pistons are neither round nor do they have parallel sides. Instead they have a larger diameter towards the bottom, between the base of the piston and the piston pin...
Impressive diesel gains: 2.1lb weight-saving per cylinder
Irvine, CA: At CP-Carrillo, two hybrid combinations are in the final stages of testing. One is designated for the common rail 5.9 liter Cummins using a Duramax pin size and compression height with a rod length of 0.856in longer than stock. The other combo is developed...
CP-Carrillo: X-style pistons for power-adder engines
Irvine, CA: CP-Carrillo is introducing a new X-Style series of pistons for power-adder engines. Available for Top Alcohol Hemi applications with plus or minus 4.467in bores and Hemi canted valve for Pro Mod with plus-or-minus 5.000in bores, these pistons include...
The curse of the round wire lock
By Bertie Scott Brown, January 28, 2015 When a round wire lock, the spring-loaded device that retains the piston pin within the pin towers, comes out while the engine is racing, it releases a frenzy, a chain of events that most engine builders describe as...
Nitrous: the race tuner’s biggest challenge
By Fergus Ogilvy, February 4, 2015 Starting a competition piston company in the second decade of this century could be a bleak proposition. Finding new customers isn't easy. Engine builders have a stubborn tendency to remain faithful to their existing suppliers,...