As one of the largest piston manufacturers in the world, MAHLE Motorsports has the opportunity to work on interesting projects and develop new products on a regular basis. One such project is an NHRA-approved piston for the 427-cube Chevrolet COPO Camaro, built from forged 2618 aluminum alloy. A notable feature is the hard-anodized top ring groove to prevent microwelding of the compression ring.

The slipper skirt forging is standard across MAHLE’s Power Pak lineup of pistons; its use means reduced bobweights and better acceleration potential.

MAHLE finishes each piston skirt with the company’s GRAFAL anti-friction/cushioning coating, and the entire piston is coated with phosphate dry-lubricant. which offers a number of benefits. The 468-gram piston uses a 12cc dome.

“The phosphate coating assists with ring break-in and preventing galling in the ring lands and piston pin bores. The piston is available in various bore sizes, but because of the technical nature of this particular product, there is only one part number in our catalog,” explains MAHLE’s Craig Lancaster. “Once a customer calls, we’ll direct them into the correct product from there.”

The company also has a brand-new Focus ST EcoBoost 2.0 piston, which has features of its own to set MAHLE apart from the pack.

Piston designer Tony Ford explains, “This piston is an 11.0:1 version for the 2.0L direct-injection engine. We’re also going to make this piston in the stock 9.3:1 compression ratio and a 10.0:1 compression ratio so we can cover all the bases as far as what people could want. We’re already seeing people modify these engines to a higher level, and the higher compression is not an issue with the direct injection.”

The piston has many of the same features as the COPO piston, like the GRAFAL and phosphate coatings and hard-anodized top ring land. One would think that the 11.0 compression ratio might be an issue when fed by a turbocharger, but Ford says that’s why this particular item is built from 2618 alloy. With the direct injection, the higher compression ratio is not an issue. The 9.3 and 10.0:1 pistons are built from 4032 alloy and are more of a street-type piston.

“These are built thicker than we would typically design a sport-compact style piston, and that’s because the cylinder pressure levels for direct injection are approaching diesel engine levels. It’s harder on components so we have to make them more robust – with the direct injection, the turbo, and the raised compression ratio, you’re putting substantial stress on the component,” says Ford.