The V8 Owners Forum -

Hi All, I wonder if any one can advise me on piston choice and compression ratios. It's currently a 3.5 @ 9.75:1 I believe, and the plan is sticking a Wade R034 on 20% underdriven, which I have been told will give me about 6 psi.
Is it necessary for forged pistons at this level - and if so where can I get some from, i have seen some on V8 tuner, but they seem a bit vague about what you are getting? Also what sort of compression ratio should I be looking for, and presumable this can be higher if I went the forged route? I will probably change to composite head gaskets.
It's a bit of a slow project, and on a budget - but I don't want to skimp on critical area of the build - look forward to your ideas!
Thanks!

Hi
with 6 psi you will be safe with 9 to 9.25:1 so the pistons you have and composite gaskets will be fine. With only 6psi the standard pistons should be fine, you could probably get away with the tin gaskets but the composites will be more forgiving on the ignition side without intercooling and fully recalibrating the distributor.
Best regards
Mike

Thanks Mike thats a great help - there seems to be a lot of differing information out there. I'm not after loads of extra power, just a bit and a big blower through the bonnet !
As far as ignition goes I plan to ditch the distributor and go megajolt with coil packs so I can map it more precisely.