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I am building a Howell V-Twin and I am at the piston and ring stage. Has anybody made their pistons with 12L14. The prints call for cast iron cylinders, rings and pistons.
Early IC engines were slow running and generally had iron pistons. They can be made a much closer fit because the coefficient of expansion is much less, and they will generally wear a lot better. The extra mass is no benefit, and becomes a problem at higher speeds, which is one reason why alloy pistons are used in faster running engines. Another important consideration is thermal conductivity, and an alloy piston will conduct heat away from the crown better than iron. Again, with a slow running, low compression engine this is less of a problem. For full-size engines, I would guess a reasonable limit for iron pistons would be somewhere around the 2000 rpm mark, but this just a slightly educated guess.b.lindsey said:Can anyone think of a reason why the extra mass of C.I. would be of benefit?
Hi,nx06563 said:I am building a Howell V-Twin and I am at the piston and ring stage. Has anybody made their pistons with 12L14. The prints call for cast iron cylinders, rings and pistons.
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