Been told the stock pistons should be replaced...

celigts

New member
Is it true the stock gen2 3sgte pistons suck? A shop i wanted to bring my bottom end to be rebuilt is telling me there shit and won't rebuild it if I don't get new pistons.
 

toayoztan

Moderator
Is he saying YOUR pistons are crap (ie damage on them) or is he saying the stock pistons are crap?

If it's the latter, I highly suggest you find a new builder :wink:

Sure, there are better pistons out there aftermarket, but the stock pistons are not crap in terms of durability.

Bryan
 

Gary ST165

New member
celigts":17afwcc5 said:
Is it true the stock gen2 3sgte pistons suck? A shop i wanted to bring my bottom end to be rebuilt is telling me there shit and won't rebuild it if I don't get new pistons.

not so.

they only suck...if you find that there is low compression after doing a compression test!
or
after inspection that they are seen to be toast from poor tune / detonation etc

...otherwise the stock gen2 pistons are known to support 400 / 500 / 600 hp with supporting mods, eg excellent intercooling and aftermarket ecu map etc





why are you rebuilding, what has failed? big ends?
 

celigts

New member
Fucken eh guys. I knew he was wrong.

He generally said... Not even seeing the block and not even listening to me really at all. He literally said " don't listen to any forum members who say anything cuz all they do is read forums and know nothing!" as is he said that. I knew by reading projects and threads that the main reason pole replace is to go higher boost and I want maybe 350awhp.

That shop was the last shop who rebuilt this particular motor. They have no more records of this. Was told its been bored to a 2.2 but he said he would never do that cuz it's stupid. So I'm looking for a new shop haha.


He lost out cuz I wanted the shop to do my block, and bring all the parts to life cuz I don't have the time or knowledge to clean them properly.

The block has never been tested for leaks or compression. He said roughly 500 was to rebuild the bottom end.
 

toayoztan

Moderator
Yeah...I generally agree at times that forums and internet reading is not always accurate, but in this case, I can guarantee we are correct...the many projects both us and the MR2 crowd have done, proves the pistons hold up with proper mods and tuning.

Bryan
 

celigts

New member
Yea like if you real statistics I too would agree but as you And others have said they have been proven to work well for properly modded builds with mild gains.

It's nice to hear the guy was just being a little bit a dick about wanting to do the block.
 

Awesome-Trac

New member
Most the time I listen to forum members when it comes to the process of elimination which has saved me and my Trac countless times but in certain situations when it comes to reading things on here I try not to use the first simular symptom until I cross check everything cause assumption is the mother of all fuck up's
 

klue

New member
Main difference is
Stock pistons = will not withstand any knock
forged pistons = will take a hell of a lot of light knock, or some really hella bad knock to kill em

Stock pistons fail at the sqench area, or crack a ring land is pretty typical. 99% of the time due to knocking
 

celigts

New member
Knocking is caused by what? Then I can see his point but only by this. Isn't this also why we have knock sensors?
 

toayoztan

Moderator
Knock can be caused by improper/worn spark plugs, too much advanced timing, improper fuel, bad tuning, contaminants.

Thus, the piston does not inheritantly create knock.

Bryan
 

underscore

Well-known member
Bumping this back up, how common is knock cracking the ring lands on a stock Gen 2 RC engine with the boost bumped up a few pounds? I don't want to skimp out on new pistons if I need them but at the same time I don't want to waste a grand on pistons that I don't need.
 

Pipedreams

New member
Stock pistons are fine, until you get knock. So if you are experimenting, raising boost, tuning with bigger turbo etc and you know you ran into knock and cracked a piston, then oem could be fine if you correct the error that caused knock. BUT, if you are rebuilding the engine before modifications and you know you will be doing some tuning with bigger turbo etc you will be better off replacing the pistons with forged ones to add safety as stock pistons don´t allow much or any error.
 

underscore

Well-known member
The boost is going up a couple pounds but that will be it, the turbo, ecu, etc are all staying stock.
 
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