[laitch]

I,m on a budget and wondering if I,ll be safe using cast pistons in my small block chevy buildup? I,ll be at around 350 H.P. and 380 Tq.and probably never see above 5500 RPM. Building a cruiser rather than a race car. Would it better to use the hypereutectics? I see the cast pistons advertised as "budget" which gives the impression of "cheap". Did,nt auto manufacturers use them for years and still use them? Thanks.

[DoubleVision]

cast pistons would survive in your case, but on the flip side of things, most after market pistons are 20 shorter on the compression height, which really defeats the purpose. a stock 350 piston has a compression height of 1.560, most aftermarket cast ones are 1.540, which kills quench and hurts compression. so i`d go with the hypers, Speed pro offers hyper pistons at a excellant price and the ring gaps don`t have to be widened. i am unsure of there compression height being i`m yet to find anywhere online that offers them, PAW offers them, so you could maybe call them and get the details, if you do, let me know.

[TurboS10]

The cast should be fine. I am unaware of the height differance, but I would definately research it. You might get a qaulity set of cast pistons like TRW with the oem compression height. I would give summit a call.

Chris

[mustang66maniac]

In my engine rebuilding book it says cast pistons will work with n/a engines up to 1hp per cubic inch and 6200rpm. Hypereutectics are for engines with more than 1hp per cubic inch, but still can only be reved to 6200rpm.

[woodz428]

the difference in pin height is a common practice, it allows for block and or head machining with out bumping compression up in a normal stock type rebuild. When I was running a machine shop, chevy heads usually needed resurfacing/milling to make them flat again, so if you are doing that or decking the block it probably won't have much effect on quench or compression.