Although they manage to produce engine components to fill a gigantic part number portfolio, Mahle Motorsports is always looking for new opportunities to complete their catalog. To that end, they have three new part numbers on display this year.
“We’ve got the 2.3-liter EcoBoost PowerPak piston for the new Mustangs. There’s a new small-block Chevy 21-degree angle-milled head deal for circle track racing that works with the Dart 49cc Iron Eagle head without having to buy a custom piston, and there’s also a new piston for Ford’s 347 crate engine program,” says Mahle’s Trey McFarland.
The EcoBoost piston is part of the PowerPak Plus line, which means that they’re constructed from 2618 aluminum alloy on a slipper skirt forging. From there, the pistons are triple-coated with Mahle’s phosphate dry film to prevent the pin bores from galling, and then the company’s Grafal skirt coating is applied. Finally, the piston had hard anodizing applied to the top ring grooves to help protect the piston from the high temperatures and pressures that the EcoBoost’s direct injection presents.
The small-block Chevy PowerPak Plus pistons have the same phosphate film lubricant and Grafal skirt coating; they also feature gas ported top ring grooves to help seal in the combustion. In the interest of reducing drag, Mahle has fitted the pistons with 1.0 mm, 1.0 mm, 2.0mm thin steel ring sets.
Lastly, the PowerPak pistons for the small-block Ford sealed crate engine applications are shelf-stocked in incremental bore sizes: 4.125-inch, 4.128-inch, 4.130-inch, 4.132-inch, and 4.135-inch, to maximize the number of rebuilds available to the engines. They also include the dry phosphate coating and Grafal anti-friction coating on the skirts, and are supplied with steel piston pins, round wire pin locks, and a lightweight, low-drag ring set.