All-new performance engine designs don’t show up in the marketplace every year – instead, engines have a five-to-ten year life cycle, if not longer. But when they do, piston manufacturers need to engineer product quickly as ROSS Racing Pistons has done with their new LT1 slugs, co-developed with the team at Livernois Motorsports.

The factory pistons in the LT1 are hypereutectic aluminum, which work very well for quiet-running, smooth performance in OE applications, but adding boost or other power enhancements typically doesn’t bode well for their lifespan.

The Gen V direct injection engine platform in the new Corvette Stingray is a bit of a departure from the norm, and performance shops like Livernois often see owners looking for modifications not long after cars hit the showroom floor.

Developing a piston for a direct injection application is not like building a slug for a typical OHV or OHC engine; there are other factors that need to be considered.

“The main thing to consider is the shape and placement of the injection bowl; the piston here is in the same location and shape as the stock piston with small radius changes. Misplacement of the bowl could lead to less efficiency; GM has spent countless hours developing and testing the placement of the bowl and since we are using a stock head and we know it works great that is what we are using at this time,” says Ross’ Chris Madsen.

The LT1 forged 2618 alloy piston shown here supports the requirements of the engine with boost and other enhancements the gang at Livernois builds for their customers. They’ve been instrumental in providing assistance to the ROSS team during the piston’s development.