I'm not sure if he has or not. He did say he could build a stroker for the R56. At a price.

 

Also, this may be a silly question but I am curious. Since you bought the conrods from Carrillo and the pistons are from Supertech, how can you ensure the piston wrist pin and conrod are perfectly matched? I would think if you got the pistons and conrods from the same supplier this would already be done but I'm not sure what the machine shop is advising on this

 

I asked Supertech and they said that they should work, since Carrillo is the only real option for rods. But now I am kinda freaking out. Im trying to get exact specs to make sure but its a pain.

 

You just saved me a huge haste. They do not work. The taper of the Supertech piston does not match the rod. It matches the stock rod. So they are going back. CP pistons will be ordered promptly.

 

Question... possibly/probably ignorant, but why not use Carrillo pistons?

 

Not ignorant at all. It's actually a good question. The main reason I went with Supertech over CP (the piston side of CP-Carrillo) is the type of alloy used. There are basically two types of alloys used in forged pistons, 4032 alloy and 1680 alloy. The numbers correlate to silicon content. 4032 alloy has a higher silicon content, around 11%. 1680 has a silicon content of no more that 3%. Basically the more silicon the harder the metal, the less it will expand when heated up, and a slightly longer life. However the 1680 alloy has less silicon so it will resist knock better. And is better for high boost/power applications.

That help?

 

Very much so. Thank you. Eventually one day I'll be doing much the same thing you are. Your thread is part of the learning process.

 

Wow that really sucks ***. The supertech pistons looked really nice.

I think ABF motoring had some custom JE pistons made for their insano R56. I remember seeing pictures of the piston dome profile and it was definitely correct. It might be worth seeing what they did.

Good luck man. You are going down a road that is lightly traveled. I salute you!

 

Agreed It was a long thought out decision that now bit me and will cost extra money. Luckily CP has pistons available. They are the correct dome as well. I had them send me pictures to verify. The flat CP pistons that are on a thread somewhere around here are 9.5:1 CR.

 

This one made me chuckle lol I'm 19 so I always get the feeling I'm the youngest person in the MINI community

I understand your reasoning but I still cant help myself from wondering, especially since I'm getting to the point where I'm running out of mods to do and 50k is just ahead of the road for me...

 

I was 18 when I got mine, I know how you feel. As for the mods, you might as well wait to see if something happens. Start saving unless you are well off. Engine work is not cheep.

I was at the machine shop today, my pistons and rings are all in one piece. Why I was getting blowby is still a mystery. The shop is going to measure the pistons to see if one it smaller or one of the rings is slimmer. There was a slight blue tint in my cylinders. Generally associated with overheating. Tho I never had any signs of overheating and my temp gauge was never high.

 

So are the ones you are getting with the correct dome the 10.5:1 set? Just wondering, because I am looking at pistons myself.

Also, did you consider the mahle motorsport pistons?

Robbo

 

Yes, the 10.5:1 have to correct dome; including the vital teardrop. I did consider the Mahle pistons, but I read a lot of not so good things on one of the Subaru forms. The price didn't help either. Im not taking any more risks. CP is one of the biggest and most trusted names in pistons. They make the rods, so I know they will work together. Also there pistons are engineered to fit higher lift and larger valves. Just in case.

 

We use Mahle in most of our gigantic diesel engines at work. They are a solid company. Most of the failures seen on the R56 Mahle piston have been broken upper ring lands. I think there was some cost cutting involved and we got the best piston for the price. The fact that they aren't able to take additional pounding I wouldn't say is a flaw in their design, they are just not the best choice for the application. Now that you're mentioning loose tolerances in the cylinder bore it reveals the quality standards aren't as high.

 

I can agree Mahle is a solid company. I'm still going with CP to avoid any hastes.

 

This is the most sensible statement in this thread till now...

Supertech is a direct copy of the Mahle pistons. Same coating, same tapered wrist pin design, same crown design, a little different quality though...
On the other hand Carrillo is producing a rod which will match their CP pistons with straight pin ends. However, they can produce a tapered small pin end...

Why change the pistons, instead of modifying the rods?

 

So I had a nice explanation typed out and it accidentally got deleted. So you guys get a summary.

1. Dont want to modify rods to maintain strength. The width would be cut in half.
2. Pistons would need to be modified do to machining error in the valve reliefs.
3. Went with supertech due to the 4032 alloy,
4. Didn't go with CP because of 2618 alloy.
5. CP has modified valve reliefs to accommodate larger valves and higher lift.
6. CP will work with rods unmodified.

That was basically the gist of it. Also I believe you can get Mahle pistons that match the Carrillo rods since they are the only real option for aftermarket rods. http://new.minimania.com/images_temp...g2nme8250b.jpg

 

I wouldn't be game to modifying ANY of these parts once received. For how much they are, they should be perfect!

 

Exactly, my thinking. But the pistons imperfections bug me ill take really detailed pics for you so you guys so you can see i'm not crazy.

 

Of course you wouldn't...the manufacturer should though!

If they have imperfections, you have the wright to return them and get a full refund...

FYI the Mahle Motorsport pistons use a tapered small pin end too...just like the OEM Mini pistons.

 

Did you click on the link? Its a picture of the Mahle pistons.

http://new.minimania.com/images_temp...g2nme8250b.jpg

 

Here are the pictures of one of my pistons you guys will be able to se its not right.

 

Oh and I just got this in the mail, Flash tool.


Also, I am thinking about removing the cat from my Alta 3' DP and relocating it. I would like some opinions on this idea.

 

Please don't take my (and others) silence as disinterest; I'm highly interested in all the details, but I'm just lurking this thread.

Thanks for the updates

 

That's nice to know.