I am just full of questions lately. I have never built a V8 with anything much other than stock parts.... I am pricing pistons and wondering if it is normal for rings to not come with the pistons? (ICON 886s) I come from the offroad world and pistons always come with rings. I called my machine shop and they said they do come with rings and then i called some place on the net and they said they do not. The price was the same between the two places.

Do they or don't they come with rings? I also see them priced all over the place on the net. I don't know if that is because some places sell with rings and some don't. if they don't come with rings what do i want to look for in a set?

Can be frustrating trying to figure this stuff out. I am sure it would be the same if you were looking for performance parts for your 4 wheeler.

 

Some do, some don't.
Wisecos come with rings, Icons don't. SRP's don't come with rings but Mahles' do.

Get the pistons you want/need then get a quality set of rings to go with them if they don't already come with them.

 

What are peoples opinions on the Wiseco pro tru compared to the Icon... I ran Wiseco for many years in my ATV engines. Can i stay at 10.0 or just under with them?

 

I think they are both good pistons, but with Wiseco you get more for your money worth with rings, spiro locks, and wrist pins included. I run Wiseco's in my Chevy 383, and I never had an issue. A buddy of mine had run them in a turbo-charged 355 for 5 years, until he spun a bearing at Hot Rod's Drag Week in Tulsa on the last leg. Icon makes a good product also. I think you will be happy with either one. With Wiseco's and 80 cc you should be just under 10.1:1 compression, if you have 77cc maybe just 10.2.:1. KB I think have a bit more compression?

I ordered some from Icon 886's on my last build directly from Kieth Black, and they sent me Ford pistons, so I sent them back, and had some custom Diamond pistons made, since Olds stuff was on back-order for most companies. What size piston do you plan to use? I ask because I know Wiseco didn't have many at the factory in 0.30 over when I ordered mine a few weeks ago, and it will take about three weeks to make them.

 

Wiseco are good pistons. If you run them (15cc dish) with a stock 80cc head, .040 head gaskets and .005 deck clearance you will be at about 9.9:1 compression. As long as you run a decent sized cam, keep it relatively cool and have your tune pretty good it will be fine. I run 10.2:1 with iron heads on 93 octane without problems.

 

The Icon 886 is a 2618 aluminum alloy, the Wiseco is a 4032 aluminum alloy. The 4032 has more silicon in it and should have better scuff resistance. But they're heavier than the Icons. Both use 1/16, 1/16, 3/16 ring packs.
Wanting to run 10.0:1 really has little to do with the piston. With an iron head that's about all you want to go. With aluminum heads that's plenty safe.

And I've probably bought at least a half dozen sets of the Icons in the last two years, never been back ordered once. I guess I've been lucky.

Hope this helps.

 

How much heavier are the Wiseco's compared to the Icon and what did the stock pistons weigh? That leads me to another question. I understand lighter is better but how many grams does it take to make significant improvements? I am sure just 1 gram is not going to be that much but is 5 or 10 a large amount? I am just trying to get my arms around this.

 

Depends, is it a high revving 4" stroke application or a mid level 3" stroke one?
The level of effect will have to do mostly with piston speed. The greater the piston speed the greater the effect a heavier/lighter piston will have.
But with that said, typically lighter is always better if strength isn't compromised.