WISECO Forged Pistons

Rated 800+ HP

100% Made in USA 🇺🇸

Highest Rated Piston Builders in the Country!

The Wiseco fully forged pistons are rated very high in the street/strip performance industry. They offer several price levels of pistons, starting with the Pro-Tru Street version made with 4032 forged alloy. The next level up would be the Pro-Tru series that are much more expensive and made from 2618 aircraft alloy.

Our custom made Wiseco pistons are very close in comparison to the premium series as they are made using the 2618 aircraft alloy.

Some engine builders use the non-forged hypereutectic pistons, and we find them to be very risky for any carbureted street rod engine. We would not even consider using such pistons. If the pistons are non-forged or forged 4032 alloy, they may fragment from the effects of detonation. This can then allow the connecting rod to destroy the block, crank, and cylinder head. Those types of pistons are fine for stock or very mild engine builds, but should never be used in carbureted engines built to high horse power levels. These type of pistons, especially the hypereutectic version, will not stand much detonation. The forged 2618 alloy piston is so much more resistant to the effects of detonation, and heat. 

Compression Height

Our Wiseco Forged pistons are custom designed with an increase in compression height. This has many advantages. Here are a few facts about compression height and deck height.

Our custom made Wiseco pistons have a compression height that is .015 taller than nearly all catalog pistons on the market. We find this to be a very valuable feature.

Since nearly all catalog pistons on the market sit .025 below the surface of a virgin block, the only way to achieve a zero deck using such pistons would be to cut .025 off the deck surface. This compromises the integrity of the block, in our opinion. Should you decide to leave the block deck higher up, using such pistons creates a new issue of having a very poor quench/squish zone. The only way you could really take advantage of a catalog piston is by having a block that needs to or has already been butchered down to 9.00 deck height. Having the piston sitting flush with the deck is very desirable, regardless of the fact that your overall compression ratio is slightly higher than if it were sitting below the deck. 

On very rare occasions, you may end up with a block that has the piston out of the hole by a few thousandths and this not a problem at all. Most head gaskets are approx. .040 thick, and should you end up with a quench zone of .035, then that is perfectly ok. Should the pistons sit out of the block beyond .005, then you may want to use an .050 thick head gasket. There are several brands of these on the market. The late model GM block that is included will in most cases allow the pistons to sit flush with the deck or very close to flush.

Another good feature about our pistons having a taller compression height is that the ring land above the top ring is much stronger by being .015 thicker. When pistons encounter the effects of detonation, it is not uncommon to see pistons with the ring land above the top ring broken off. The thicker ring land also makes a better heat sink.

You may have noticed that our Wiseco custom made forged pistons are referred to as Racing Pistons on our packages. This does not mean that the pistons are for racing only. This is a generic term, referring to their ability to be used in high performance applications as well as for street rod use. These pistons are perfectly designed for use on the street, as well as for medium to upper level drag racing. 

2618 Aircraft Alloy

Our custom made Wiseco forged pistons are made from 2618 aircraft alloy. We find this alloy to be much more suitable for high performance engines than the common 4032 forged alloy. You will usually see the higher end pistons on the market using 2618 aircraft alloy. 

Why go with 2618 forged pistons? If you encounter certain tuning issues, detonation is highly probable, and its effects can cause severe damage to your engine. The 2618 forged piston is able to withstand the damaging effects from detonation to a higher degree than the lower cost 4032 forged pistons, especially non-forged hypereutectic pistons such as Speed Pro or Keith Black, and many others. 

Our Wiseco forged pistons will clear most any valve size on the market with ease, even with the use of large lift cams.

We have built thousands of engines using the Wiseco pistons. The engines have been for street rod and strip use. We have seen no problems, nor have there been any complaints. They are an excellent product in every respect.

These pistons are also suitable for use with nitrous or blower setups. For the slight increase in cost, this is the best value on the market.