Date:         Tue, 16 Sep 2003 15:51:54 EDT
Reply-To:     BenTbtstr8@AOL.COM
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Ben T <BenTbtstr8@AOL.COM>
Subject:      Re: Piston question...
Comments: To: mwmiller@CWNET.COM
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"

In a message dated 9/16/2003 12:08:32 PM Pacific Daylight Time,
mwmiller@CWNET.COM writes:

<<An eyebrow? This raises most everything [and no smart-alecky comments from
BenT and his ilk either.] >>

What would you have me say. Mr. Miller?

"...Great for use even with a stock rebuild as they are higher quality than
the current O.E.M. parts available out of Brazil!..."

IIRC these are from China. I guess Chinese quality has now surpased even the
Brazilians. (eyebrows raising)

"....Ideal for use with our K&N Filter, Exhaust Kit, Rocker Kits, And Best
selling Eprom Kit. With all of these upgrades to your Wasserboxer your 2.2L will
make MORE power and bottom end torque than the "MEX-ECONO" inline 4 cylinder
conversion,and last JUST AS LONG OR LONGER. "

OK, so MEX-ECONO is a new place in South Africa. Or maybe even America since
my inline-4 was brewed here in San Francis-econo.

"...Most of our customers with 2WD non-camper Vanagons are reporting 25-27
MPG with well over 100hp!..."

Perhaps most of it their mileage measurements were done while decending from
Pikes Peak. They must have used those extra 5hp over the stock WBX. PLus they
had that evil tailwind. Nevermind that they got 10 MPG on the way up tp the
summit.

"... What's your record? Our current Stock Volkswagen 2.1L Wasserboxer
mileage record is 239,000 miles set by Tim Shaunessy of Portland Oregon.That's right
239,000 miles on a STOCK Volkswagen 2.1L engine without replacing the heads!
With Proper Maintenence Wasserboxers WILL go the distance! "

Yeah, I'm PO'd. I only got 386,000 miles on my original headgasket. My luck
finally ran out. I was praying most of the time I got too far from home. Maybe
that did it.

"... HYPER-U-TEC-TIC LEARN TO SAY IT AND TO UNDERSTAND IT..."

First hint: It's all in caps so you can hear it better. Take the the R and
what do you get? HYPE for all you HYPE-ee types.

"... Aluminum Alloys for Pistons..."

When did they stop using Brazilian rain forest hardwoods for pistons? Oh
that's right, these are NOT from Brazil. What am I thinking?

<< Our Piston Manf. currently uses gravity feed permanent molds to produce
aluminum pistons.>>

Ya gotta love this one. Pour it in and it fillsin all the voids. Wow, the
earth pulls it into the molds like they always have since man learned to cast
metals some huindreds of years ago. Totally hight teTch. I guess forging is out
of the question. Pardon the pun but let's "forge ahead" (no silly, not a fake
head).

"... Aluminum silicon alloys used in pistons fall into three major
categories: eutectic, hypoeutectic and hypereutectic. Probably the easiest way to
describe these categories is to use the analogy of sugar added to a glass of iced
tea. When sugar is added and stirred into the iced tea it dissolves and becomes
inseparable from the iced tea. If sugar is continuously added, the tea
actually becomes saturated with sugar and no matter how much you stir, the excess
sugar will not mix in and simply falls to the bottom of the glass in crystal
form.
Silicon additions to aluminum are very similar to the sugar addition to the
iced tea. Silicon can be added and dissolved into aluminum so it, too, becomes
inseparable from the aluminum. If these additions continue, the aluminum will
eventually become saturated with silicon. Silicon added above this saturation
point will precipitate out in the form of hard, primary silicon particles
similar to the excess sugar in the iced tea. "

It's stirred not shaken, OK? Or is it the other way around? James B? Sean C?
Can you help?

"This point of saturation in aluminum is known as the eutectic and occurs
when the silicon level reaches 12%. Aluminum with silicon levels below 12% are
known as hypoeutectic (the silicon is dissolved into the aluminum matrix).
Aluminum with silicon levels above 12% are known as hypereutectic (aluminum with
16% silicon has 12% dissolved silicon and 4% shows up as primary silicon
crystals). Pistons produced from these alloy categories each have their own
characteristics. Hypoeutectic pistons usually have about 9% silicon. This alloy has
been the industry standard for many years but is being phased out in favor of
eutectic and hypereutectic versions. Most eutectic pistons range from 11% to 12%
silicon.
Eutectic alloys exhibit good strength and are economical to produce.
Hypereutectic pistons have a silicon content above 12%. These pistons use an alloy
containing 16-18% silicon. In addition to greater strength, scuff and seizure
resistance, the hypereutectic will improve groove wear and resist cracking in the
crown area where operating temperatures are severe.
It is the primary silicon that gives the hypereutectic its thermal and wear
characteristics. The primary silicon acts as small insulators keeping the heat
in the combustion chamber and prevents heat transfer, thus allowing the rest
of the piston to run cooler. Hypereutectic aluminum has 15% less thermal
expansion than conventional piston alloys."

Uhhh.. ahhh... I'm getting goose bumps. Eutectic me by using a Hypoeutectic
pistons. Now I'm all Hypereutectic.

Man, that's all I can handle. I have to go and take a cold Synthetic oil
shower.

BenT