Hello Jag.Lovers, I wonder why the long skirt pistons are introduced, what are the plus points of this type of pistons. I am restoring an XJ 3.4L with other pistons(the long skirt). I only have to hone the cylinders to take +20 pistons.
Do you have any commend on that?
Frank.
Frank, unless you plan on entering competitive driving events I wouldn’t get too concerned about (eliminating) long skirt piston design. At this point in time it is likely that your car is destined for a life of leisure.
Whole engineering courses are needed to explain piston design. The “short” story of “long” piston skirts is that provides a very stable piston with possibly reduced rocking motion. The negatives are increased reciprocating mass and engine packaging issues. With an inline engine design a long skirt piston is usually associated with an increased engine height dimension. It gets complicated real fast after that, as piston design is very related to cylinder head and crankcase design.
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