Advice on pistons

in my opinion i would go with a good forged piston. hyperutectic pistons are good with aluminum heads. hyperutectic piston have a good heat retaining ability, this is why ford uses them in the now motors to help with emmissions.

The heads I was referring to are aluminum.
Does that mean reliability at higher HP and RPM will be increased? To be more conservative and realistic probably in the 400-450 HP range and Max RPM 6500.

My engine has TRW forged pistons. I dont care for them because they rattle. It is a funny sound. I was talking to Hall pantera. I told him that the engine had the trw pistons and right away he said I bet the rattle. I dont know if anybody else has that problem. My engine rebuild guy made the same comment. He is know localy for race engines.

Forged pistons are normally set up with 0.003-.005 clearance to the bores, which makes them rattle until the engine warms up. Blow-by & emissions increases during this warm up, too. Hyper-eutectic pistons are normally set up much tighter with 0.001-.0025 clearances so no rattle, little blow-by & lower emissions. But the hyper-eutectics are cast, hence they are a little weaker while the forged are quite a bit stronger. Most engine builders won't use cast pistons (of any type) in a 500 horse engine since the ring lands and other parts are likely to crack under the pressure developed. Cast pistons don't like high rpms, either. So if you expect to actually use all those extra horses in your new motor, IMHO all cast pistons should stay on the shelf. But for the real word, why not call Keith Black in Carson City NV where they're made, & see what the KB engineers advise?.

Jack, Thats exactly what I wanted to do but so far havent found out their tech line. I have emailed them though 5 days ago and no reply. (Doesnt another company not called KB make those under that name?) Ive looked at other sources such as the crate engine builders of the ford 385hp HO SVO windsor from FORD has hyperu, The Hall street brute and the 400 HP super brute in my 2000 Hall catalog both have KB signature pistons (not sure if the are the cast or forged though I think they're cast).
Thanks all ,I think I have already decided though but now who makes a .020 over forged piston to fit my current bore ( I dont want to bore more) without payng over 500 bucks a set. (I need 11.0:1 flat tops if anyone out there has a set on the shelf)I've spent way too much money already and its getting harder to justify to my wife why I need to sink more "Pool Fund" money into the car.

Well, new custom Arias pistons and Eagle H beam rods purchased. Expensive but I dont want to do it again for a while. The part I hate most is pulling the engine and putting it back in again.

I'm with you on not opening up the overbore, but remember, you're dealing with a limited-production engine, now out of production 29 years, that takes a specific contour piston and that won't fit anything else (except maybe a Boss 302), so your choices are expensive and limited. As they say, 'if ya wanna play, you gotta pay'....I'll look around & see if I can find KBs Tech number. They're about 6 miles up the road.

My '98 Keith Black catalogue shows
(800) 560-4818,
(702) 887-2971,
FAX (702) 882-7773