what is the advantage of forged pistons over cast and is it worth paying a couple hundred more for the forged?

Question

67 El Camino 327 bored .020 flat top 67 cc heads 284 duration .488 lift elderbrock hi rise and 3160 holly performance carb it's powering a 400 turbo. Performance engine but not a race car made for pulling trailers.

if anyone want's to talk more about cars, send me email with your addy on it.

Answer 1

Forged pistons are needed with either high compression engines or with turbo/blower/nitrous. Cast pistons wont hold up to the stess involved and will crack or burn. For your vehicle, cast is fine. If you want to go with more compression for a bigger cam, then yes forged will be a good idea. That way you wont be worried that a piston failure will lunch your new engine.

Answer 2

It really depends forged pistons are stronger than cast pistons.

In the real world however you may be wasting money. You will definitely need forged pistons if you are running higher compression and or higher revs. The higher pistons speeds could rip a cast piston apart or the higher compression could cause erosion on the cast piston domes.

Generally you get what you pay for if something is more expensive then generally speaking it is going to be better. Forged pistons are made of a better material. Good cast pistons are fine for most applications and generally don't have a lot of porosity.

];-)

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Answer 3

Forged pistons are not only inherently stronger than cast, they are a much more precise product. The weights will probably be much close to each other and tolerances will be smaller. You'll have a smoother running engine capable of higher revs and with less break-in required.