Will those cast pistons stand up or will they cause me grief on a 2002 RT10?

[Tim]

Will those cast pistons stand up or will they cause me grief on a 2002 RT10?
Max bolt on power for a 2002 RT 10 and keeping it normally aspirated.
I realize that the best bang for my buck is to go to with a Supercharger but I don’t want to have to worry about the cast pistons so both it and the Nitrous are out of the question.
I’m already running a 3” high flow cat back into a 3” Corsa with the smooth tubes and K&N’s.
So, how safe is it to change out the heads for something like the Striker Heads with the roller rockers and maybe a cam?
As far as headers it is a tossup between the Belanger and the B&B. Do I go with the 1 5/8” or jump to the 1 ¾”?
It sounds like I may very well pick up another 100 hp.
Will those cast pistons stand up or will they cause me grief?
Thanks
Tim

 

[plumcrazy]

if youre gonna do heads and especially the strikers, why not just do the pistons ? the hard work is almost done at that point and its already halfway done, just do the pistons then and be done with it.

rule of thumb....if you're worried about the pistons already and are "thinking" of a s/c, heads,cam....YOU WILL NEED PISTONS !!!

i guarantee it

 

[Camfab]

The pistons will work fine. Better ring seal, longer rod and factory machine work. Stick with the 1 5/8" header for more torque, just make sure the header flange port is sized properly and you have merge collectors.

 

[Purdue_Boiler_Viper]

Plum is right about changing the pistons if you do the heads.

But, many of us are using the Roe SC with 5 psi of boost and the cast pistons. I have seen few issues reported.

You will get a big increase in torque and HP, and a much cooler looking engine. The install is not too difficult if you have basic mechanic skills.

 

[ViperJohn]

The cast pistons will hold up fine if you stay normally aspirated.

 

[PowerKraus]

The cast pistons will hold up fine if you stay normally aspirated.

Yes. And also do yourself a favor and get a VEC so you can adjust your WOT timing. I cannot beleive they did not put a knock sensor in these cars. Good grief.

Anyway, with the VEC, I am able to adjust my WOT timing. I feel alot safer when pushing the motor on pump gas, less of an issue on slower burning race gas (less opportunity for pre-ignition = detonation). Point is, I too am considering a head/cam upgrade, and increasing the compression, so timing becomes more critical.

The cast pistons are atually very strong and can take the horsepower, but they cannot take any detontation, cast is strong, but brittle. Detonation is one of the primary culprits to their premature death. So.....fuel your motor properly (the right AFR), and time it so you don't knocker it, and enjoy.