Hot Rods Eddie Meyer Heads...Egge vs Offenhauser Pistons?

Im just about to order my engine parts for my ‘49 Merc engine. I’ll be using Eddie Meyer (original) heads but I’m not sure as to what pistons to order, Egge versus Offenhauser.

Apparently there may be a difference regarding the dome. Knowledgeable advice welcomed!

 

I can’t answer your question but I will say that Offenhauser does not manufacture pistons. I believe that is only a licensing agreement for Speedway Motors to use the name and have no idea who makes the pistons for them.

 

I bought the Egge pistons,,,,,,,4 ring .
Because they were extremely reasonable on price,,,,,,and the rings look good .
I’m only gonna run 3 rings,,,,,,so there won’t be any excessive friction .
The Egge pistons look top notch,,,,,and for my application,,,,,,plenty strong enough.

Tommy

 

Didn’t know that about Offenhauser. I’m not doubting the quality of the Egge pistons I just want to see which work well with my Eddie Meyer intakes...

 

Hi Jeff ,
You have to keep in mind,,,,,,there is a big difference between a Hemi,,,and a Flathead .
And to get the Hemi compression up there where it needs to be,,,,,,Ross is about the only way to go .

Tommy

 

Ok, so's we're talking 3 rings instead of 4 on an oem-style piston design, probably cast. My understanding is that the 4th ring was both for oil control, & piston stability. (Added friction was no-cost "value"added...). I'm aware that racers would use 2 rings, & heard of some using only 1 ring, but these were for very short n hot applications, also = short life. Info on suitability & durability/longevity of using only the top 3 rings on a 4 ring piston, please? Seriously. Because I've come to the conclusion that modern design pistons & rings are the way to go - albeit expensive. I get using oem-style pistons for a very lowbuck approach or low perf application, or restoration, but not the whole ring-pack. ??? Education is welcome. .
Marcus...

 

Hi Marcus ,
You’re right,,,,,the modern ring packs with thinner rings are supposed to have less friction,,,,and help promote more power .
Can it be felt in an everyday application,,,,,,probably not ?
How often are these old cars run in the upper rpm,,,,or even driven for that matter ?
Most of them won’t have an extra 500 miles added to the odometer,,,,,, when the family has your auction .

The Ross pistons are top notch,,,,,best quality there is probably.
The Ross units with a metric ring pack are a little more expensive than the normal rings ,,,,so bear that in mind .

The 3 ring ,,versus,, 4 ring has been discussed here a few times,,,,,with the consensus being,,,,,do what makes you happy ,,,,LoL .
Leaving the bottom ring out won’t hurt a thing .

I purchased the Egge with regular rings,,,purely because of economy ,,,,,I didn’t need the best pistons .
If I really get after it,,,,my engine might would produce 200 hp,,,,,,well within the limits of a good cast piston.

Tommy

 

As for the 4 th ring,,,,,I’m sure Ford did it for a reason,,,,,,maybe to aid in oil control,,,,maybe a little added stability,,,,who knows .
Here is what a factory stock piston looks like .
Notice the slanted groove cut into the skirt,,,,I’m ***uming to help aid the expansion of the pistons ?
These pistons were made before they were machined with a barrel shape,,,,,,,modern ones are barrel shaped cold,,,,,then get round after warm up .

Tommy

 

Hey, Tommy;
Thanks for replying.
I made an ***umption(oops) that the 4th ring would be eliminated, when it could be the 3rd, so I can see it working ok.
Marcus...

 

No you’re right,,,,,the bottom ring is the one to leave out,,,,,if you so choose ,,,,on aftermarket pistons .
With the factory style pistons with the slot in them ,,,,,,I would definitely run all the rings .

The top three rings need to be in place .
I have heard of racers leaving out the second compression ring,,,,,,but I would never venture there for a street engine that needs to be efficient and last .

Tommy

 

I've got an original set of Eddie Meyers on my 59AB and Egge pistons. I don't know whether the heads had been previously milled or not. 2 things I discovered, first I need to index the plugs so the electrode runs north/south otherwise the valves make contact with the electride (Isky Max-1 cam). And second, I had to make a little room in the head over the piston to provide adequate clearance.

 

I have to wonder how much HP would be gained, especially in a street engine. Then I also have to wonder if oil control won't prove to be more important in the long run......since its a street engine. If you were building a flathead g***er or dragster and searching for every last hp, might be worth doing, but for the street and mildly modified I'd go with controlling the oil rather than a minor HP gain.

 

Thank you to those of you who mentioned and use our products . Yes, our cast pistons are designed in the original oem style for restoration and lower performance applications.
Our customers such as H&H Flathead do use them in some builds , the Ross Forged pistons are great for higher performance applications too.
Www.egge.com

 

To no one in particular.......... I would think that if a piston was designed to use a 4th ring near the bottom, that the piston would not have the same skirt to wall clearance thats used when pistons are using a standard 3 ring set-up. Would it not end up allowing piston rock because of additonal clearance? I don't know that is the case, so I'm asking how much clearance do these pistons have on the skirt?

 

I tend to over build so I've always had the engine builder use Ross pistons in my Flathead builds. Never any problems to date. I could have probably used Egge?