Pistons
 

I went to the PRI show and really didnt get my ? answered as to coated pistons. I talked to one company that said what i did to the piston in my engine would not have happen if the top was coated. Talked to ross and they said that they dont think there coating would even hold up to that temp.

This is what happened to the piston, no nos jet on a fogger nozzle blew hole in piston. :oops: This was my first time burning up a piston running nos after 30 years of useing nos.

I going to pull the motor and hope that nothing else is wrong, fingers crossed as i just built it. What do you guys think about coating the pistons, i know that it dose keep the temp down on the pistons and transfers it to the walls.

Robert Fla

I doubt the coatings would of helped no matter what brand IMO

I too don't think coating would have helped. I know you haven't pulled the engine down yet, but i would not be surprised that if you found the whole side of the piston is buned up. Putting that much nitrous in one hole has to be devistating to the cylinder and the piston.

JMO

Zip.

Re: Pistons
 

We have thermal coatings and anodized pistons done for some nitrous engines we do.

How much nitrous are you spraying?

CNC i have a big shot plate 280 and a pro fogger 350, plate off the line and fogger high gear with gluide. I had just rebuilt the motor so was just taking it easy on it. I had the plate on at the hit with 150 and turned it off when i hit the fogger with 150 about 400ft out and about 800ft pop and pulled the shoot and shut it down and cant beleive it put a hole in the piston. I have two foggers but only put one back on when i rebuilt the engine.

I have a good engine with good parts so i know it can handle it, Merlin 3 race prep block, bryant crank,carrllio rods,je pistons,brodix heads all jesel setup,rockers,belt drive,dry sump.

My big ? is that one person says coating would have prevented this from happen that only dose coating and ross says that i dont think so.

My thing is is it worth spending the money coating. I wanted to ask here the racer there opinion.

I dont know if you guys know Marty, he has the Flintstone,Scoobydoo dragsters. He is a friend of mine and had his pistons coated and the coating came off some of the pistons and he dont run nos so that said i am up in the air on this. I have no problem spending the money if its going to be worth it. How much more power is there to be had. Pros Cons hell i dont know. I want to try and do what ever to make it the best i can one more time. Give me your best opinion good or bad.

Thanks Robert

Robert, i'm probably going to get blasted for this post, but i don't care. Most of the engine builders on this site are just trying to sell their product and that's O'k, but they don't always offer the best advise. First of all you can't run a piston with over a 150 shot of nitrous, when the ring land is between .150 and .187 down from the piston top, coated or not coated, and a lot of the pistons have the top ring land raised for gas and a quick seal. It's the same with a blower motor which i run sometimes. The heat is extreme on nitrous and a blower moter. I personally like the Probe pistons because the top ring land is down .437, and good for nitrous or blower, you also can't run a 1/8" top ring, due to distorsion, and they have to be steel, due to the heat involved with nitrous.
I've built a couple nitrous motors in the last couple yrs and i used Probe pistons due to the lower ring land and they are both surviers with 250 shots.
I personally don't like nitrous, but i'm in LOVE with blown alcohol motors, and they are close too the same.

JMO

Zip.

well zip. i dont see why you should get blassted for that. its speacks volumes of truth.i dont get that deep on building engines anymore. i havent for a long time. but you are 100% dead on on this one.i dont like nos either, but for different resons i quess. to me and probably only me, i think nos is for a engine that cant get the last of the power out of it.its not mechanical hp.i like to think that when i did build engines that i squeezed every bit of hp out of it with the parts and machine work i put into it. is this coming out like im trying to say?cheaters juice.lol.and i only had one shot to get a engine built. i couldnt afford to have a atomic bomb go off in the cyl.and have something come un-glued.and it will in time.some short ,some long, but it will happen.

x2 All this started when the bratty rice burners could not stay up with the detroit HP.

Zip thats what i want to here. I have ran nitrous for 30 years or better with very little problems, most of them were small blocks and a ton of nos. I have allways had the ring land moved down on bb. I love to gruge race and there is races that i run that i dont run the nos.

I know a lot of guys say thats the only way I can make a motor run, i really dont care what they say because its what i like. I have seen guys run on motor for years and try nos for the first time and love it.

The coating on the pistons is what i really would like an honest opinion on. I know there is always i chance of burning a piston on a bbc because of the intake valve release in the piston is close to the ring. I also seen were the the head was coated.

I would like to also say that i built a ls5 into a ls7 with oval port heads ran trw lead sled pistons 3/8 rods two bolt block stock steel crank 620/640 solid lift cam and put 250 on plate and put 350 passes on her with out one problem and every pass was on the button. The car was a 69 ss chevelle that i ran nmca 1991 9.40 at 3810lbs with out me all factory car. To me racing is all about having fun nomatter what you have (no rice burners) so each to there on as long as your having fun!

You are a brat DD :lol:

Wazup, if this is your first burned up piston in 30 years of using nitrous without using coated pistons, Why would you change anything now? That's a pretty good,( Da#* Good) track record :D
I wouldn't want to change a thing!
Just Saying 8)

A coating may have helped, but we all know what happens when they go lean "boom".

The 150 is really not that much on the big block.
Was only 1 cylinder hurt?

As for coatings every piston company will offer something different.

the # 8 was the one was the only piston that i took a look at and it dose have hole in it, but a do have oil running out of the driver side exhaust. What would it cost to have a set of piston cost for 3.800 stroke 4.561 bore 6.385 rod coated 12.5.1. The piston in are je now none nos.

Well I'm going to set it up with more and you know thats going to create more heat and thought it would help and if not then wy spend the money. have allwas run it conservative with my jets staggered on the fogger side. I want to put in the plate as much in it as the track well handle out the hole and then turn the fogger on with the plate still on too. I have never coatedmy pistons but evry one keeps saying i need do that and should make more power.

Well you asked how much and the game plan is to put as much as i can put in with the track conditions, I made a mistake on the cylinger that the jet was missing.so that was self inflected. I want to try and get the direction i want to go so i'm not wasting more time getting it back together. I would like to know is there more power coating them and the heads, I just dont want to spend the money if the heat is going to just flack it off.

Pistons
 

If you want to help the top side of the piston to withstand more heat, a hard coat anodizing process will do that. Some top fuel pistons are treated that way. This can be done at an anodizing plant other than at the piston company as they send it out anyway to a specialty company. Hard coat anodizing is better than just a heat coating sprayed on top, I believe. It will go about .002" into the piston and add about .002" on top.

Then a skirt lubricant coating can be added to the sides to help with scuffing from the extra pressure of nitrous. Most piston companies or specialty coating company will offer this. Be prepared for delays as the piston company sends them out and they are not in control of the coating company scheduling.
I have been thru this with JE and others and it always takes longer then they say.

Zipper i only paid 5000.00 for this engine running and put a cab on it and a dist it and ran it and went 9.39 at 139 on motor When i bought it off RJ the guy did'nt sayit was a offshore racing engine so that said i new i was going to tear it down and put my brodix heads on it nos cam 800 lift new intake and a lot of nos for some of the gruge racing i lkie to do. Ido have other races i do also. I couldn't pass up the deal on this motor for the price so i'm stuck with it for now so i am going to make the best of it and spray the hell out of it within reason.

The engine had been sitting for a long time and when i pulled it down it looked like new so i let the guy at the machine shop talk me into putting the same pistons back in and when i mean new in had no wear.

I still havn't heard much about the coating on the pistons.
Zip i will check into the probe piston and also been looking at CP pistons

Robert you have a PM.

Zip.