Mahle, Arias, Woessner or JE pistons best?
 

Hi all,

I am about to order pistons for my 951 2.8 ltr. stroker engine.
I already have lighter rods but need pistons that have a relocated pin placing.

Tough part is to choose between the different producers of pistons.
I don't know if Mahle (OEM supplier) is the best option or if the JE, Arias and Woessner are just as good (and light) only cheaper.

Anyone here having any experiencesmwith the said manufacturers? I heard from one that the Woessners could be a little bit "rattling" but it is only hearsay and not something I know for is true.

The engine is by the way to be used for street and track days but will not be loaded up on boost or RPM all the time as I like my things to last :-)

Cheers

Niels

PS: If anybody have a surplus of such pistons then I may be interested! Most people do a 3.0 ltr. these days so there might be some stranded projects out there :-)

Hmmm unless, I'm missing something (and I my be) anyone rendering an opinion is gonna need to know about the block prep?

JE tends to chatter because of the ALU they use. Clearances with them are very important for expansion.

I used Wossner in my build and have no noises that I can notice. Sounds just like the factory engine did, as far as mechanical engine noise. From what I hear, Wossner is easier to work with as far as getting exactly what you want.

If it bothers you at all, the bottom of JE pistons still have chevy valve relief material. They can remove it, but at an additional cost.

If your cylinder walls are factory, you should use Mahle, or another manufacturer that has pistons designed to run in our bores. I'm using JE, but my bores were Nicom treated by www.uschrome.com. Nicom or sleeving allow you to run most aftermarket pistons.

Some folks have used JE in the factory bores, but they had the pistons coated. I, personally, would not use pistons that had to be coated. Coatings wear off, and why do this when you have proven options like Mahle.

Give Chris White a call or PM him, he will tell what works best for your situation.

I had to call JE earlier, and I asked about your current build. Andial had the Mahle pistons made for their 2.8 motors, and there aren't very many, if any, available.

Mahle plated their pistons for the factory bores. JE also does this and their plating process is called "tough skirt" The pistons can be purchased from Engine Builder Supply 800-462-3774, EBS only deals with Porsche cars, and know their business. You will HAVE to use chrome rings. JE does not use a coating, it's an actual process somewhat like the Nicom coating process.

Know all forged 2618 pistons use the same alum and have the same expansion no matter the manufacturer. JE pistons will not have chevy valve relief material unless you order pistons for a chevy. Any modern piston manuf will work fine as long as the build is done correctly.

You are looking at $650 for a set with the tough skirt plating, and about $80 for chrome rings.

Good luck with your build. A well sorted 2.8 is one fun car, and MUCH cheaper than a 3.0 build.

Being in Denmark, he may have issues related to allowable materials and coatings due to EU pollution standards, etc., but I'm just speculating.

EU pollution standards pertain to emissions, not your piston of choice. I enjoy learning, therefore teach me why EU pollution standards have anything to do with correct piston choice for a 2.8 motor with factory Alusil 951 blocks?

My intent to the original OP, is to help him get proper pistons available from current, KNOWLEDGEABLE vendors. Andial, the best of breed 2.8 stroker motors, is out of business. Too many folks have failures from builders not understanding what works within the factory bores.

Thanks.

I have no problem with anything that you said in this thread...at all. I was speculating that certain coatings and processes may be unavailable over there, I was not stating that they were. As I said; I was merely speculating.

I'm a bit dismayed by what appears to be an aggressive tone, on your part, towards me. Perhaps I've misread that, or took it wrong?

ehall,

My input within this realm is to provide advice without any conflict of interest. My aggressive tone, as you state, was not towards you. Whether you took it wrong is irrevelant.

I apologize for my candor, know it was not intented to you directly.

Trust me, if we had any issues, I'd never state it openly.

Kindest Regards,

George

I have Mahle pistons and Pauter rods in my 2.8 l. I had to do an engine rebuild a couple of years ago, but the pistons were readily available then. I do not remember how long my rods are. I would be careful about relocating the pins in my pistons due to clearance issues. Good lock on the build.

How about we all drop the tones and continue on topic here.

The initial forging used to make 944 pistons from JE is a chevy forging. Unless you specify, they will have the relief material on the underside of the piston. I have seen this personally on four different sets of JE pistons in three different states, ordered for four different engines by four different people. They will machine the underside for an additional charge. I was initially going to use JE pistons in my build, and have had many conversations with Chris White about them. I ultimately ended up going with wossner, but that was not because I did not like JE. Weather or not they have changed the design of their pistons with-in the last year or so, I do not know, but my personal experience with holding JE pistons in my hands, is that they DO in deed have the extra material underneath.

The only reason I bring this up is because the OP mentioned weight.

Wossner on the left, JE on the right.

http://reutterwerk.com/forums/attach...1&d=1283861075

Photo courtesy of Chris White of www.944enhancement.com

I'd be inclined to go with Wossner, after a few discussions with Karl Poeltl who owns Racer's Edge, and is also the North American distributor for Wossner. I would, however, defer to whatever Chris White would say if it differed.

If you want to run stock alusil bores without the NICOM-process or sleeving your only choices are Wössner and Mahle. They make pistons with the correct Alusil compatible coating. Forget the other makes.

Mahle is a safe choice when it comes to quality, but the choices are somewhat limited.
I run Wössner in my 3.0l 16v turbo and haven't heard of anyone with problems with Wössners. A benefit with Wössner is that you can customize everything.