4.1L forged pistons

["More Boost"]

does anyone make off the shelf 4.1L forged pistons? i was told any forged 4.1 piston would have to be custom made, (JE piston inc.) I have been on the phone and online with several piston manufacturer's with no luck. can anyone help? thanks, Gregg

 

[brian]

does anyone make off the shelf 4.1L forged pistons? i was told any forged 4.1 piston would have to be custom made, (JE piston inc.) I have been on the phone and online with several piston manufacturer's with no luck. can anyone help? thanks, Gregg

I believe Full Throttle can supply them.

 

[Powder]

I'm in the same boat as you are and all the research I've done indicates we are stuck with doing custom unless you want to try running the Hypers. I'm considering wiseco pistons through Weber Racing because they are a vendor and seem knowledgeable about these cars.
What cam are you planning on using?
MLH

 

["More Boost"]

212/212 roller i think, at first i was afraid it might be a little much. but, i see guys running bigger cams on the street and are very happy with them. i'm still researching this though.

 

[Powder]

I've seen write ups stating the 4.1L will comfortably handle 218/218 in a roller and still be streetable. I'm going to stick with a flat tappet because this car will never have many miles put on it and I'm way over my budget already after changing my mind on the hyper pistons. FYI, Weber Racing quoted me a set of Wiseco .030 over pistons with rings, pins and keepers for $775.00. I felt comfortable with them but my machinist wants to know what brand/type the rings are before I commit to them.
If you find a good deal on pistons please let me know and I will do the same for you.

Merle

 

[boostingbuick]

I have got four years on my JE's with no issues. My wallet was lighter so I went faster.:biggrin: Good luck on the build guys and you won't regret it. I Love the extra grunt.

 

[TurboCrazy]

4.1 pistons

For those looking for budget pistons for a 4.1, try these. Contact JE Pistons and ask them about piston part# 103908. I'm not sure what they will cost nowdays, but when I bought them for my 4.1 years ago they were a hell of alot less than the $750+ for full custom pistons. I hope this helps someone, because I've got 5 hours of looking invested in finding the piston sheet to get this #(I knew I hadn't thrown it away).:biggrin: If anyone checks this out, let me know what you find out.

Brandon

 

[Powder]

For those looking for budget pistons for a 4.1, try these. Contact JE Pistons and ask them about piston part# 103908. I'm not sure what they will cost nowdays, but when I bought them for my 4.1 years ago they were a hell of alot less than the $750+ for full custom pistons. I hope this helps someone, because I've got 5 hours of looking invested in finding the piston sheet to get this #(I knew I hadn't thrown it away).:biggrin: If anyone checks this out, let me know what you find out.

Brandon

Thanks for the info Brandon. I will check with JE on Monday or Tuesday and post my findings.
MLH

 

[CTX-SLPR]

Diamond should still have my piston design on file but you'd probably want to alter it slightly to get it higher in the hole. There was some confusion on mine and they ended up 0.030" down when I only wanted 0.010" down.

 

[TurboCrazy]

CTX-SLPR, That leaves you lots of room to deck the block flat if you have to rebuild it! j/k

 

[KWIKR 1]

Looking for something like this ?


eBay Motors: Buick GN turbo v6 4.1 JE Pistons (item 320175917865 end time Nov-04-07 16:01:21 PST)

 

[dlafont]

Pistons

Thanks for the info Brandon. I will check with JE on Monday or Tuesday and post my findings.
MLH

Poweder, Let me know what you find out... I'm looking for replacements for my speedpro hypers.

Don

 

["More Boost"]

i called JE today with Brandon's part# and they said yes it is a custom build piston 3 weeks min. to get $121 per piston = $726 a set this may be our only option

 

[Powder]

i called JE today with Brandon's part# and they said yes it is a custom build piston 3 weeks min. to get $121 per piston = $726 a set this may be our only option

More Boost, I also called JE late today and spoke with Randy who quoted me $105.75 each for a total of $634.25. His extension is 219 if you want to call him and buy them at that price. He said because they have the previous build data on file it makes life easier for them. (cheaper)
These guys are inside salesmen and can probably quote any margin they think someone will pay. Randy isn't as greedy as the person you spoke with.
Also, these pistons are a 4.000" bore which would equate to a .035 overbore.

Thank you Brandon for providing this information to us. These are one of the best pistons available for less than I was quoted for Wiseco's!! We owe you a cold one!

 

[Dreamcar86]

More Boost, I also called JE late today and spoke with Randy who quoted me $105.75 each for a total of $634.25. His extension is 219 if you want to call him and buy them at that price. He said because they have the previous build data on file it makes life easier for them. (cheaper)
These guys are inside salesmen and can probably quote any margin they think someone will pay. Randy isn't as greedy as the person you spoke with.
Also, these pistons are a 4.000" bore which would equate to a .035 overbore.

Thank you Brandon for providing this information to us. These are one of the best pistons available for less than I was quoted for Wiseco's!! We owe you a cold one!

Have you given up on calling Weber? Wiseco pistons are great pieces and are competitively priced.

 

[TurboCrazy]

Powder, glad to help.:biggrin:

The price they quoted Powder is a pretty good price! Consider this, I paid
$550 for the same piston 14 years ago! It is hard to believe it has been that long. Good luck guys.

Brandon

 

[Powder]

Have you given up on calling Weber? Wiseco pistons are great pieces and are competitively priced.

My machinest agrees with you completely and I will use Weber for some other parts because they seem like good people to do business with. The fact that JE is on the left coast made it easier for me to do business with them for this one item.
MLH

 

[Powder]

Powder, glad to help.:biggrin:

The price they quoted Powder is a pretty good price! Consider this, I paid
$550 for the same piston 14 years ago! It is hard to believe it has been that long. Good luck guys.

Brandon

Hey Brandon, do you remember what compression ratio these pistons are? My calculations show them to be about 9:1.
Thanks again for pointing us in this direction.
MLH

 

[TurboCrazy]

You would be correct. 4" bore (which I recomend) and 9 to 1 compression. Throw in the Hard Blok, bore it with torque plates and beat the snot out of it.
I ran as much as 27 lbs of boost with this set-up (1007 headgaskets). Keep in mind, I didn't have real good heads on it. With good heads, it would have run 10.50s with no problem. Have fun!!!

Brandon

 

[Dreamcar86]

My machinest agrees with you completely and I will use Weber for some other parts because they seem like good people to do business with. The fact that JE is on the left coast made it easier for me to do business with them for this one item.
MLH

I completely understand. If you have questions and need help from Weber ask for Brian. He knows our engines inside and out and is extremely knowledgeable. Good luck with your build. I am doing the same thing right now.