Pistons

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DARTLARRY

DARTLARRY

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Can Someone Tell Me If Another Manufacturer Makes A Piston That Is Comparible To The Kb107. As Far As Price, Comp. Distance, Im Looking At Kb107 But Filing Rings Is Not Something I Have Done.but Will Try If I Have No Other Options. It May Not Be As Bad As I Think

Thanks
 
Filing the rings really isnt bad,you can even use a hand file if your careful and if you use std. type moly rings you wont have to open them up that far to get the right ring gaps.
 
Dam if you can rebuild your engine I will bet you can file fit your rings Larry. I use a points file, I put the file in the vice and just rub the ring up and down until you get the desired gap. Make sure you take the burs off as well.
 
Rebuilding The Engine Isnt That Big A Deal To Me I Just Have Never Filed Rings Before. Thanks Or The Adice.
 
overkill, but I think you can even get a filing tool on jegs site for like $40 and then you get a traighter cut.

Two things, make sure that you have plenty of gap, and most important, make sure the rings are filed very square not at an angle.

easy as pie you can do it!
:hello1:
 
I'm confused. I didn't know that the brand of piston made a difference with regard to the ring gap. Do these pistons come with file-to-fit rings?
 
DARTLARRY said:
Is The Kb107 Still A Good Choice. Has Anyone Heard Of Problems With These Pistons.
Click to expand...
I think they should work great,my brother has been running them for years in his 360 bouncing off the limiter at 7k.,only failures Ive heard of was due to improper ring gap and use of alot of nitrous.
'64 Cuda said:
I'm confused. I didn't know that the brand of piston made a difference with regard to the ring gap. Do these pistons come with file-to-fit rings?
Click to expand...

This is only for hypereutectics,they have a different material and run tighter clearences so when they expand they can butt the rings if their not gapped to the mfgrs specs.They dont come with rings but you can use pre gapped rings and just file them slightly to specs and it saves alot of money and work.
 
An unknown benefit of the KB pistons. Since you have to open up the top ring gap and fit it by hand a stock set of moly rings becomes a set of file fit rings. $80 versus $150. Think about that as saving $70 on your pistons.
 
I'm going to use these pistons. They're used & are part of a disassembled short block I bought. Here's the description that Summit has:

If you're looking for pistons with an unbeatable combination of performance and value, Speed-Pro hypereutectic pistons are for you. These pistons are manufactured from FM244 aluminum alloy, which contains 16 percent silicon for greater strength and wear resistance. They're also molded in the latest permanent-mold technology to ensure the precise fit and tight bore clearances that today's top engine builders demand. They're ideal for use in high performance street, bracket racing, and oval track racing, and will work perfectly with normal ring end gaps.


It says "normal ring gaps." That's kinda' vague. What ring gap should I use? The engine is a 360 with a .030" overbore. Any recommendations as to ring type?
 
I Was Going To Use Cast Rings. If Moly Rings Dont Seal Right Away They Never Will. The Factory Still Use Cast Rings. If There Was A Big Advantage By Using Moly Except Cost Wouldnt Factory Vehicles Use Them
 
Speed Pro Doesnt Have The Same Comp. Height As Kb107. The Kb107 Is A Zero Deck Piston. Also The Kb Has A Hgher Top Ring. So You Must Gap Due To Heat.
 
'64 Cuda said:
I'm going to use these pistons. They're used & are part of a disassembled short block I bought. Here's the description that Summit has:

If you're looking for pistons with an unbeatable combination of performance and value, Speed-Pro hypereutectic pistons are for you. These pistons are manufactured from FM244 aluminum alloy, which contains 16 percent silicon for greater strength and wear resistance. They're also molded in the latest permanent-mold technology to ensure the precise fit and tight bore clearances that today's top engine builders demand. They're ideal for use in high performance street, bracket racing, and oval track racing, and will work perfectly with normal ring end gaps.


It says "normal ring gaps." That's kinda' vague. What ring gap should I use? The engine is a 360 with a .030" overbore. Any recommendations as to ring type?
Click to expand...

You can use a std gap on those which most rings will come in around 17-18 if the engines bore/hone was good and that should be fine.The kbs do have a higher top ring and with the expansion rate if you butt the ring it will pop the head of the piston off,Ive actually saw one on a pontiac motor one time!.
 
If you go with Speed Pro's you need the H116CP to get a comparable compression height as the KB107. These pistons cost more than the KB107 but have an anti wear coating. The 405 has the same compression height as a stock piston and you will wind up with low compression.

FWIW, I filed as set of rings for the KB107's in my 360. It took about 1/2 an hour to file and check all 8 top rings. BTW, I stole some of my wife's nail boards to do it.
 
DARTLARRY said:
I Was Going To Use Cast Rings. If Moly Rings Dont Seal Right Away They Never Will. The Factory Still Use Cast Rings. If There Was A Big Advantage By Using Moly Except Cost Wouldnt Factory Vehicles Use Them
Click to expand...

All the factory stuff, domestic & import, use some sort of Moly ring. If the block is honed right, there will be no problem with sealing. This is even true with cast rings.
 
So Would The .010 Difference In Comp. Ht. Between The Sp And Kb Make That Big A Difference In My Overall Comp. Ratio?
 
Has Anyone Tried Mp Steele Head Gasket. And How Did It Help With Compression Ratio. Are There Any Tricks To Installing?
 
Funny this topic should come up, just came in from helping put my son's 360 lower end together. Which includes KB107 .030 over pistons and filing the rings to get a 0.032 gap. We used speed pro standard gap moly rings that like lead69 said came in out of the box at 0.018. We used a cheap ring filer from summit and a small hand file to clean up any burs. This was our first time filing rings and
it was really easy. here's a few pic's.
Richard

360 build up 006 (Small).jpg


360 build up 006 (Small) (2).jpg


360 build up 004 (Small).jpg


360 build up 008 (Small).jpg


360 build up 012 (Small).jpg


360 build up 003 (Small).jpg


360 build up 023 (Small).jpg


360 build up 024 (Small).jpg
 
DARTLARRY said:
I Was Going To Use Cast Rings. If Moly Rings Dont Seal Right Away They Never Will. The Factory Still Use Cast Rings. If There Was A Big Advantage By Using Moly Except Cost Wouldnt Factory Vehicles Use Them
Click to expand...

Virtually every new car since the early 80's has come with moly faced rings from the factory. That is why new cars can go 200K miles or more with little or no bore wear. Plain iron rings wear the bores much faster.

Don't confuse the ring material with the coating. All rings with the exception of some very high end specialty rings are made from cast iron or ductile cast iron with ductile cast iron being the premium material.

The rings then come with either no coating on the wear face, molybdenum (moly) or hard chrome plating (chrome has fallen from favor). The premium moly rings use a plasma spray process for appling the coating which is more chip resistant.

If you use plain iron rings the final bore finish needs to be rougher than with moly rings. Just tell the machine shop what you intend to use and they will give you the proper finish and sealing won't be an issue.
 
thanks ep87 for the photos it helped me see exactly what i have to do. im not worried as much about filing now.
 
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