Rafa, i wish i could guide you in your search for info on rings but i can't, it's a question i have been trying to find an answer to myself...i think i'll just take the word of someone who knows what they are doing on the rings and get whatever they say...

Pistons, i dont know about you, but i am starting to like the idea of taking my stock pistons out of my motor and have them cleaned and ceramic coated (top only)
you may want to consider this yourself...stock ones should be around 8.8:1 and that should be good enough based on my limited knowledge

ARP-get it! You dont have to worry about your stock ones anymore, it is not just marketing hype, im no metalurgist, but their repuation is what lead to them being the unanimous choice with almost every engine builder and permormance shops and stores, not their marketing...everyone endorses them pretty much for free cause they are that good

ps-you only need the head ones only since those are the ones that matter the most

Hey Dan, you bring up a couple of good points:

About the pistons; I can't consider that option (one of the problems of living overseas). I would've loved to be able to ceramic coat mines but it would mean about 3 weeks of downtime.

About the studs; if I decide to take the whole engine out I plan to balance the crank and hone the block. If I do so, would it be wise to keep my current bottom studs?

Thanks

I personally plan on replacing my main studs with a set of ARPs and I'd think it'd be wise to do so in your case just for peace of mind. Stronger and reliable can't hurt. :) And if you do take everything apart, don't forget about the main and crank bearings!

As far as pistons, maybe see if someone up here from the states can source you a set of OEM pistons and have them coated and then shipped to you so that you don't have to wait on yours to get done?

Rafa, i can't answer that since i really dont have any experience, i would assume so, but its not one of those things anyone ever talks about...if you got the money and like the peace of mind, do it, otherwise, don't...
Im sure there is someome in laRepublica that does cermaic coating...ask around...

i'll try to share some info i found on the subject

if you need me to do some leg work for you Rafa just let me know, i'll help you out...

Read this:
Pistons can also increase their performance characteristics with ceramic coatings. Coating the piston's crown and top will cause heat reflectivity, driving a percentage of any detonation energy back into the fuel burn zone, to increase fuel burn efficiency. It will also lower carbon buildup, which reduces detonation quality, as it builds up on the piston's crown and increases the risk of detonation damage to the piston crown surface. By protecting the crown and land diameter surfaces, it will allow for a leaner fuel mixture.

Piston skirts can be coated to create an excellent dry sliding surface during engine start-up and will help eliminate skirt slap during initial engine run-in. Using a dry coating will fight against scuffing and abrasion of the piston skirt during its stroke travel inside the engine block cylinder. The inside of the piston can also be coated with an oil-shedding coating to cut parasitic drag and return oil to the sump faster. Ceramic coatings can also be applied over the piston ring contact face of OEM hard chromium, which provides lowering friction between the ring face and cylinder inner bore surface scuffing, and also improves wear resistance.

Hey Dan, I appreciate the offer and will take you up on it :) (don't worry I'll try not to inconvenience you too much).

I got this from Samnavy's thread: "Originally Posted by Mach929
does anyone make hypereutectic pistons for the miata, from the reading i've done these would bridge the gap between stock cast pistons and fancy loose fitting forged ones."

Could someone provide additional info about these pistons please? Which option would you suggest; coating the pistons or the hypereutectic (wow, that was complicated! :o, I hate the fact that I hadn't even heard that word ever!) ones suggested by Mach929?

Thanks

On the next page of that thread, Ben points out that Mazda OEM pistons are hypereutectic.

lol; and I'm so brilliant that I took the quote from Ben's original reply to Mach929 post! :bang:

Hey Rotor, Manny's going back to Atlanta on the 10th. Any chance you may need something from here?

Thanks man

Haha!

Not that I'm aware of, although I'm not completely sure what things you might have where you are that may be of interest to me. Tell Manny that he is more than welcome to call me and I'll try to meet up with him again. Hopefully with more success than last time. lol

No problem Rafa, we'' make arrangements once you know exactly what you want/need so you don't waste any money on uneccasary stuff/shipping
ill do some research and find someone reputable, i might as well go ahead and get my pistons coated at the same time if you decide you want yours coated

I ran 380hp on a stock non-coated pistons. I like the stock pistons, and would highly recommend a good coated set :) Too bad I don't have any to use in my motor build.

looks like its about $100 for all 4 pistons, they do the samd blasting and use two different types of coats, heat reflecting on top, and oil shedding on skirts and bottom for lubrication purposes etc.
i talked to these people in WA state, Performance Coatings...seem legit, on top of Google search result, sound like they are top notch, maybe Kelly knows them...

ps-Marc, when im done with my house (2-3months) ill hit you up for some rods, i hope they'll still be at $320

Hey Dan that sounds like a great deal. Would you mind asking them what rings they recommend?

Many, many thanks

Rafa

Hey Eric, he'll be there from the 10th to the 15th this time; and, no, he won't need to try a turbo Miata this time :giggle: but I'm sure he'd like to meet up with you. He said he had a blast last time around. Many thanks.

The offer is still standing ;)

Regards,

Rafa

This is the kind of news I like to hear! BTW. check your paypal ;)

Many thanks,

Rafa

the guy is not a miata guru, he is into mazda trucks, but he did say that he does not like to coat rings fo some reason, they refuse to do rings and pins

we still need some insight on rings i guess, i wish i knew the answer

Thanks Dan. All I've read so far is that the rings and the rods are the first to go on Miata engines. I already solved the rods issue. I have to tackle the rings and pistons.

I'll see if I can find additional info on ring sizes and which to use. One other thing; do you know who sells original Mazda pistons? I figure I can buy them and have them sent to you once we find a company to coat them.

Regards,

Rafa

new ones are not expensive, but you really dont need them, buy used ones and save money...the guys that do the coating sandblast them first and the coat them, new or used, no reason to waste money on new ones