Pistons

[Arbman Al]

Hi All,

I am going to have to have a re-bore on my engine, and was just looking at piston prices.

Most suppliers seem to be around the £200 mark for a set, and LD Parts are £480 for their set.:shock:

Are they that superior in quality to justify more than double the cost?

Any advice or experiences gratefully received.

Rgds...Al.

[Stagdad]

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arbman101 wrote:

Hi All,

I am going to have to have a re-bore on my engine, and was just looking at piston prices.

Most suppliers seem to be around the £200 mark for a set, and LD Parts are £480 for their set.:shock:

Are they that superior in quality to justify more than double the cost?

Any advice or experiences gratefully received.

Rgds...Al.

Al

Cheap ones are probably county where as I'm sure Peter at LD would be trying to supply something a bit better,he might even have some old stock.

Apparently the county ones vary in weight quite a lot(i've seen them referred to as lawnmower pistons somewhere:shockand would need balancing.

Cheers Steve

[StagnJag]

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I've heard a lot of less-than-positive stuff about County pistons on here, but I have never heard of anyone stating that they have had any problems with them in service...

Just a thought.

Dave

[Arbman Al]

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StagnJag wrote:

I've heard a lot of less-than-positive stuff about County pistons on here, but I have never heard of anyone stating that they have had any problems with them in service...

Just a thought.

Dave

That is what I am needing to find out Dave, as I do not want to have to do this again for a few years.
Rgds.......Al

[Andy Rundell]

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Hi Al,

I think i'd give Peter at LD a call and hear first hand why they are twice the price. I suspect they are significantly better quality, but it is a big price difference.

cheers.......Andy

[Mark S]

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Peter's description states that they are AE pistons.

Hepolite were bought out by AE,I fitted a set of AE +20 thou pistons in my engine. They are Mk1 design without the dome in the centre so give a slightly lower compression ratio with Mk2 heads, which ismore suitable for unleaded.

I got minefrom Rimmers for a much more favourable price, about four years agobut they seem to be more scarce these days.

I found the the quality and tolerances were excellent.

Mark.

[TimShoubridge]

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arbman101 wrote:

Hi All,

I am going to have to have a re-bore on my engine, and was just looking at piston prices.

Most suppliers seem to be around the £200 mark for a set, and LD Parts are £480 for their set.:shock:

Rgds...Al.

Hi Al,

Unfortunately, us mere mortals have to add VAT to that £480 .

Tim

[Stagdad]

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TimShoubridge wrote:

arbman101 wrote:

Hi All,

I am going to have to have a re-bore on my engine, and was just looking at piston prices.

Most suppliers seem to be around the £200 mark for a set, and LD Parts are £480 for their set.:shock:

Rgds...Al.

Hi Al,

Unfortunately, us mere mortals have to add VAT to that £480 .

Tim

Tim

Are you suggesting that Stag pistons are VAT claimable for a tree surgeon .Thats one hell of a chain saw you've got yourself Al:P

Been on here before, but what the hell

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=E9x8rB...eature=related

Steve

[Andrew S]

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I have just had mine rebored and had to make the same decision. I was looking at Peter's pistons but as they were + 40's and I needed + 20's I bought elsewhere. I have fitted County like all the engine rebuilders do in the UK and there are no known problems and the fitter has never had a problem.

One aspect to think of is that if you are running your MK2 on unleaded, that you would be better off fitting the flat top pistons rather than the domed, which are not only very rare to get and costly, they may also cause pinking due to a lower octane fuel. Just a thought and the feedback that I received whilst researching for my bits.

Theword County is snarled at in my opinion and it is associated with India and in my opinion, there is only cause for this with any parts that need special treatment such as hardening.This is not based on anything in particular, but parts that are made cheaper abroad to the same spec as the UK, it is essential that the tempering or 'finishing off' is carried out by experienced engineers / manufacturers.

You are correct when saying that they are different weights and I had mine balanced to within 6 grams between high and low and at the same time had my con rods balanced.

The pistons can be bought from Rimmers, but I went elsewhere due to slightly better deal.

Cheers

Andrew

[StagnJag]

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Stagdad wrote:

TimShoubridge wrote:

arbman101 wrote:

Hi All,

I am going to have to have a re-bore on my engine, and was just looking at piston prices.

Most suppliers seem to be around the £200 mark for a set, and LD Parts are £480 for their set.:shock:

Rgds...Al.

Hi Al,

Unfortunately, us mere mortals have to add VAT to that £480 .

Tim

Tim

Are you suggesting that Stag pistons are VAT claimable for a tree surgeon .Thats one hell of a chain saw you've got yourself Al:P

Been on here before, but what the hell

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=60Tamp2fHhg

Steve

I was going to post that but you beat me to it!

Here is a pic instead!

[Stagdad]

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Looks like they felt the need for nitrous aswell :shock:

[Arbman Al]

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Stagdad wrote:

TimShoubridge wrote:

arbman101 wrote:

Hi All,

I am going to have to have a re-bore on my engine, and was just looking at piston prices.

Most suppliers seem to be around the £200 mark for a set, and LD Parts are £480 for their set.:shock:

Rgds...Al.

Hi Al,

Unfortunately, us mere mortals have to add VAT to that £480 .

Tim

Tim

Are you suggesting that Stag pistons are VAT claimable for a tree surgeon .Thats one hell of a chain saw you've got yourself Al:P

Been on here before, but what the hell

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=E9x8rB...eature=related

Steve

If you are going to have one, may as well have a big un

[Arbman Al]

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Thanks for all your replies, and comments guys.

I will discuss this with the guy doing the re-bore, and see what he says. He may have is own supplier for pistons.

Rgds.....Al.

[Sheepdip]

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Stagdad wrote:

Al

Cheap ones are probably county where as I'm sure Peter at LD would be trying to supply something a bit better,he might even have some old stock.

Apparently the county ones vary in weight quite a lot(i've seen them referred to as lawnmower pistons somewhere:shockand would need balancing.

Cheers Steve

As a matter of interest I weighed my 1700 mile old but cleaned county pistons with con rods attached on a kitchen scale (as a check on balance). Ok the electronic scales may not be perfect but each result was repeatable - and came out at 0.1g max difference. I thought this ok but may check with more accurate scales.