Wiseco pistons quality

[ls2 cruiser]

I have not used them before and have heard a couple of bad reports. Anyone like to tell of their experience.

[VT 2 EXEC LS1]

will post some pics when i can....
i have some of my 890kms old pistons
not pretty...............
cheers

[ATOMIC 8]

Used them in both bikes and cars and never had a problem..

[288vxgts300]

Have them in a methonal 350 never had problems .

But like anything there will be failures,but that can be caused by many other things.

[ls2 cruiser]

Have heard their quality control might be a bit lacking. Any more experiences?

[VT 2 EXEC LS1]

1.... pin size too small
2.....machined intake valve relief into top ring land,
3....noisey and too much piston/bore allowance/clearance running
will post pics soon
btw..these are for a 4.005" x 4.000" lsx
cheers

[duke5700]

Shouldn't the person building the engine check those kinds of things?

[VT 2 EXEC LS1]

all the rotating assembly went from supplier to engine shop,
engine shop did machine work on block and assembled short....
last words when delivered to me was all perfect.....
it still saddens me that they charge so hard and dont deliver...
and before anyone jumps "its a performance engine..so no warranties apply"
sucks dosent it
cheers

[zorro]

Was this wiseco issue or the engine builder?

[ls2 cruiser]

VT2 exec, The clearances should be checked by the machinist and engine builder, so that is not the piston manufacturers fault. The pin being too small for the piston would be manufacturers fault but should also be measured by the engine builder before assembly. Who machined the valve reliefs into the top ring land was that wiseco or the machinist/engine builder?

[gmh308]

1.... pin size too small
2.....machined intake valve relief into top ring land,
3....noisey and too much piston/bore allowance/clearance running
will post pics soon
btw..these are for a 4.005" x 4.000" lsx
cheers

Item 1, odd. How far out were they?
Item 2, perfectly normal. Lots of pistons like that. Safer.
Item 3, engine builder responsible.

But for item 3 it depends on what use you were running them for. Regular streeter with off set pins, run pretty tight, should be no start up noise and no run noise. Street/Strip, pretty well likewise maybe on the loose side a little noise cold start. Blown/turbo they should be run looser and probably a tad noisy cold start and get quiet once engine is fully warm. Race/blown/turbo - be worried if they were quiet.

Most Wiseco's are 2618 low silicone forging. They need a lot of clearance. More than 4032 forgings and stacks more than a cast slug. Not a good choice for regular street use though, they live the shortest of any piston under light use, and the longest under heavy use, though Wiseco's offset pin helps this as it cuts slap/rock down.

Oh, and most of all, were they made for a 4" stroke in a regular LS short liner? 4" looks like an LS2 block. Liners are really too short for a 4" stroke, but a piston with the right profile and length of skirt manages to get around most of the disadvantages of the short liner to prevent excessive rocking at bottom dead centre.

[VT 2 EXEC LS1]

the pins are a .001" smaller than they should be...
on the piston box they instruct extra .0015"bore clearance for cast block
engine builder(well i cant comprehend he didnt flag it,small pins/extra bore clearance)
valve reliefs are as cut by manufacturer..these pistons were 9.0:1 for boost/6.125"
block is lsx series 2 block
the piston noise in this engine did not quieten down at all,it actually got noisier at running temp..
these pistons actually rocked across the bore as much as on the thrust!!!!!!!!!
this engine had not even been put into boost (890kms on light tune and soft w/gate spring)
so as you can imagine...no happy
positives to come out of this,are
i get to work on my car r + r engine...yah
manley flat tops fitted now(hone to size now .010")
pacemaker headers fitted
2.200"intake valves fitted
new dual pac spring kit
new retune,and maybe some e85 this year!
just trying to concentrate on getting it back on the road
just for all out there....this may be a one off thing...but beware
as i said before if i had seen these pistons before purchase, i wouldnt be typing this.....
cp bullet...wiseco...be careful what you purchase dont just take the salesmans spiel.........
will post pics today fyi
pms only for any sensitive info regarding anything else
cheers

[Stelth]

Can you please specify the exact part number of the Wiseco pistons?

Something doesn't add up, as many cars going around with big power using these type of pistons.

I have a set of the "of the shelf pistons" for over 10,000km in my car with regular track and street abuse.

12psi 650 rwhp and no issues and at around 7thou piston to bore clearance the engine is very quiet, cold and hot.

That's just my experiences.

cheers

[gmh308]

the pins are a .001" smaller than they should be...
on the piston box they instruct extra .0015"bore clearance for cast block
engine builder(well i cant comprehend he didnt flag it,small pins/extra bore clearance)
valve reliefs are as cut by manufacturer..these pistons were 9.0:1 for boost/6.125"
block is lsx series 2 block
the piston noise in this engine did not quieten down at all,it actually got noisier at running temp..
these pistons actually rocked across the bore as much as on the thrust!!!!!!!!!
this engine had not even been put into boost (890kms on light tune and soft w/gate spring)
so as you can imagine...no happy
positives to come out of this,are
i get to work on my car r + r engine...yah
manley flat tops fitted now(hone to size now .010")
cheers

Sorry to hear you had some much drama with this plant.

0.0015 piston to bore? Thats for a naturally aspirated street only build and it is tight. If they are regular 2618 Wiseco's they would go in at at least 0.0035 on a blown motor - depends on length of run in. 0.0055 not unusual, and as stelth points out, he is running at 0.007. If you were going to be in sustained boost within a couple thousand k's you would need to be at the loose end of the picture.

The noise if worse when warm would the pins if they were so slack. Good engine builder = check all clearances. Trust nothing. Pns too small, or pin bore too big?

All piston manufacturers make mistakes with pistons. Mahle, Wiseco, Diamond, whoever. They all need checking. That's what engine building really is. If no checking it is engine "ssembly" :)

Normally a piston these days is manufactured for an LS block to drop in at the right clearance if the bore is finished to factory specs. Have seen reputable machine shops make some really simple mistakes. Especially if you are starting with a CI LSX block.

[288vxgts300]

My pistons are quiet,and have been flogged many times ....

Good engine builders don,t assemble faulty parts,no matter what the brand they are.

[duke5700]

Like the two sets of Mahles I got for my engine.. 4.030 bore etc etc. On both sets had a piston out by 7 grams on the first and 13 grams on the second I think. I can't remember now. Still pisses me off.

Still both issue where found before engine was assembled...

[VT 2 EXEC LS1]

gmh308,
the piston to bore clearance was checked by independant builder/shop on teardown,
clearances ranged from .0085"-.0088"
and the small ends of the rods were perfect size....pins in new pistons were spot on.....
conclusion.....pistons were unserviceable from the start and people will not put there hand up to claim it there fault.....
just sucks to be us people with our hands in our pockets.....
cheers

[gmh308]

gmh308,
the piston to bore clearance was checked by independant builder/shop on teardown,
clearances ranged from .0085"-.0088"
and the small ends of the rods were perfect size....pins in new pistons were spot on.....
conclusion.....pistons were unserviceable from the start and people will not put there hand up to claim it there fault.....
just sucks to be us people with our hands in our pockets.....
cheers

That's big, no wonder they were noisy. :( Sounds like a consistent mistake if they were all ranged 0.0003. Would guess the 4.005 was not taken into account properly. Then they are at 0.0035.

Have seen Mahle do similar, forget to clearance the piston. Blank look when they are sprung.

Sometimes it sucks to be downunder with US made products. Costs too much to send them back. US companies count on no warranty returns from Oz.

[ls2 cruiser]

What about Ross pistons? Any experience or comments?

[peter b]

Sometimes it sucks to be downunder with US made products. Costs too much to send them back. US companies count on no warranty returns from Oz

Thats if you buy direct from the US they have loopholes to get out of providing warranty per say and most common comment you will get is "They are for a performance engine and therefore nullifys them of any obligation"

However there is good news to those who choose to buy within Australia. All Australian Importers HAVE TO BY LAW PROVIDE WARRANTY within reason of course and this warranty does not covers engine builders who don't check things. Within reason if the part is faulty and unserviceable they will be warranted.

So when considering buying direct from the states have a small thought about what if something is wrong.. Esp if buying a crate engine what if the engine dies really quicky can you afford to send the whole engine back.

[ls2 cruiser]

You are dead right Peter B. What about Ross pistons? Has someone had experience.