The overall design of the original equipment, or OE, piston is fantastic. It’s proven itself in many high-horsepower builds. At Cannonball Garage, we’re always looking for ways to push the limits of McLaren engines to world-record setting levels. So, let’s talk about how we’ve taken that great design and made it even better.
CSO PISTONS
Like OE pistons, our CSO pistons for the McLaren M838T and M840T engines start as forged blanks, which are then precision-machined to our exact specifications. Forging provides superior strength and durability compared to cast pistons, especially under high-stress conditions, enhancing performance and reliability.
The OE piston is a symmetrical slipper-style piston design. This minimizes friction, reduces weight, and maintains strength. We chose to start with the same basic design. “Weight is always a consideration. With design and material choices, our team worked hard to keep the overall weight as close to OE as possible. This ensures your engine stays balanced while benefiting from all the upgrades we’ve packed into these pistons.
To improve on the OE piston, we moved the pin bosses further inward, allowing us to use a shorter wrist pin made from 9310 alloy steel which is lighter yet stronger than the OE pin. This gave us the ability add material in critical areas of the piston, increasing the strength while maintaining our weight target.
Crown Design
One thing we made sure to keep in our design is the OE crown. This is a critical feature that maintains the tumble and swirl of the incoming mixture, ensuring optimal combustion. Messing with that can disrupt airflow dynamics and reduce efficiency. By retaining the OE crown design, we’ve preserved the proven performance characteristics of the original while integrating our enhancements.
Our pistons feature a PTFE skirt coating, just like the OE pistons, to reduce friction and wear. We’ve also hard anodized the ring grooves. This treatment improves durability under extreme conditions, ensuring long-term reliability.
Radial Gas Porting
Here’s another key upgrade: radial gas porting. This improves the top ring seal, ensuring the maximum amount of force gets transferred to the crankshaft instead of turning into crankcase blow by.. It’s a feature you won’t find on standard OE pistons.
We use high-quality ring sets made in Japan, compatible with OE Nikasil and iron sleeves and our upgraded CSO ductile iron sleeves. These rings deliver excellent performance and durability, no matter your engine’s setup.
So there you have it – a deep dive into our CSO upgraded piston design. We’ve taken a fantastic OE design and enhanced it for strength, performance, and durability. If you’re ready to take your build to the next level, contact Cannonball today.