SR_man_49 Posted July 18, 2007 Share Posted July 18, 2007 Well my cylinder walls are so messed up I have to have my block bored. So i was looking on ebay for pistons and came across this http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2-8L-NISSAN-28OZ-280ZX-L28ET-SOHC-PISTONS-81-83-JA517_W0QQitemZ140039555407QQihZ004QQcategoryZ33623QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem do these look any good or should i stay away from them? Does anyone know where i can buy some good pistons for a good price?? thanks, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zmanco Posted July 18, 2007 Share Posted July 18, 2007 I don't know about those on ebay, but I used ITM. They include rings as well and the top one is molly. IIRC, the price was about $225. I bought through BAP-GEON in Colorado Springs. I've got about 8k miles on the engine now including several track days and have been very happy. I wanted a molly top ring and there were very few choices for the L28s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HizAndHerz Posted July 19, 2007 Share Posted July 19, 2007 I've had a little experience with those inexpensive "piston-shaped objects". They look very similar to L-series pistons: metalic, shiny, cylinder shaped and all that. Sarcastic humor aside, they seem to be okay. I only have a few hundred miles on one set of Nakamoto pistons in my daily driver. No problems, but this is a stock L28 that rarely even sees the highway. I bought 3 sets of pistons as a surplus deal. $75 for all three sets. One was Nakamoto Industries, the other two were Evergreen Engine Parts. A google search revealed almost no info on either company. No reviews to be found. I'll have my machine shop look at them and give me their opinion next time I'm in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SR_man_49 Posted July 19, 2007 Author Share Posted July 19, 2007 Im gana buy them. hope i get lucky and these turn out to be decent quality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zmanco Posted July 19, 2007 Share Posted July 19, 2007 hope i get lucky and these turn out to be decent quality.Pistons aren't like wiper blades where you can just throw another set on if you don't like them. If it was me (and it was last summer) I'd do my homework a little more thoroughly before choosing pistons and rings. No info on the net doesn't mean they aren't any good (could be they are manufactured under a different brand name), but nonetheless, it's a cause for concern for me. BAP-GEON is a very reputable chain of parts stores specialized on imports. Also, ITM is sold by Black Dragon (formerly Victoria British) a reputable mail order house for Z parts. If you plan to drive hard (and almost everyone on this site does), you should care about the top ring material. If it isn't specified, it's probably cast iron. Let me say I have no affiliation with any of these organizations, and obviously it's up to you which way you go on this. But I think one of the main purposes of this site is to share accurate information, and I just wanted to make sure you had a little more before you made your decision. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z-ya Posted July 20, 2007 Share Posted July 20, 2007 I just finished a mild L28 race motor with ITM flat tops. So far it has survived the dyno, and close to 250 miles on the track. I'll let everyone know if I have problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubbleguinea Posted July 20, 2007 Share Posted July 20, 2007 what did the dyno say? i use ITM pistons too....bought from Myco import parts in scottsdale, GA $250 for a set w/matched rings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z-ya Posted July 20, 2007 Share Posted July 20, 2007 It made 185HP at the wheels. Flat tops N47 head mild road race cam header Megasquirt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HizAndHerz Posted July 20, 2007 Share Posted July 20, 2007 I've had a little experience with those inexpensive "piston-shaped objects". They look very similar to L-series pistons: metalic, shiny, cylinder shaped and all that. I was trying to imply that the cheap pistons I bought look like "real" pistons but its hard for the untrained eye to tell if they're junk. ITM pistons only cost $60 more than those Nakamoto pistons on Ebay. There's plenty of info out there on ITM while there's almost zilch on Nakamoto or Evergreen. Even though I have a set of the cheap pistons in one of my Z's, I have no basis for recommending them. If I didn't get mine for almost nothing, I would have gone with the ITM's from Black Dragon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SR_man_49 Posted July 20, 2007 Author Share Posted July 20, 2007 I was trying to imply that the cheap pistons I bought look like "real" pistons but its hard for the untrained eye to tell if they're junk. ITM pistons only cost $60 more than those Nakamoto pistons on Ebay. There's plenty of info out there on ITM while there's almost zilch on Nakamoto or Evergreen. Even though I have a set of the cheap pistons in one of my Z's, I have no basis for recommending them. If I didn't get mine for almost nothing, I would have gone with the ITM's from Black Dragon. im ordering ITM's today from bap-goen. its costing $290 but id rather pay the extra $90 then rebuild my motor again. thanks for your help guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators SuperDan Posted July 20, 2007 Administrators Share Posted July 20, 2007 Well my cylinder walls are so messed up I have to have my block bored. So i was looking on ebay for pistons and came across this http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2-8L-...QQcmdZViewItem do these look any good or should i stay away from them? Does anyone know where i can buy some good pistons for a good price?? I have ordered 2 sets of these pistons in the past month from this same dealer, both sets were made by ITM and are not NAKAMOTO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SR_man_49 Posted July 20, 2007 Author Share Posted July 20, 2007 I have ordered 2 sets of these pistons in the past month from this same dealer, both sets were made by ITM and are not NAKAMOTO. Really?? well good thing i havent bought them yet. it saved me $90. thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HizAndHerz Posted July 20, 2007 Share Posted July 20, 2007 Wow, then it is a good deal. Thanks for that information, Dan. And it makes sense due to the markups that Black Dragon does on so many of their parts. It is probably a good idea to email the seller before buying to make sure that they are really selling the ITM pistons. I did not get my 3 sets from this Ebay seller so it looks like I may be the only one getting stuck with Nakamoto's Oh, well they haven't flown apart... yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators SuperDan Posted July 20, 2007 Administrators Share Posted July 20, 2007 It is probably a good idea to email the seller before buying to make sure that they are really selling the ITM pistons. Yea, it would be a good idea to confirm with the seller what brand you will be getting. Mine were dropped ship right from ITM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HizAndHerz Posted August 17, 2007 Share Posted August 17, 2007 Yea, it would be a good idea to confirm with the seller what brand you will be getting. Mine were dropped ship right from ITM. Well, I needed a set of .020" over flattops and I tried contacting the eBAY seller twice with NO response. I went ahead and ordered from them to save $60 over Black Dragon. After not receiving any emails acknowledging my order, I went back and reviewed horsepower-wd's feedback ratings. The majority got what they ordered but the seller doesn't repond to emails and sometimes take weeks to ship. Who knows what will happen next. It may be a long wait before I can get my wife's Z motor back together. I should have known better and stayed away from this seller. I hope they come through. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators SuperDan Posted August 18, 2007 Administrators Share Posted August 18, 2007 Guess I should have added that it did take about 2 1/2 weeks to get mine even though they are drop shipped from ITM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HizAndHerz Posted August 21, 2007 Share Posted August 21, 2007 I can't believe it. The pistons arrived today even though I never received a single email from the eBay seller. Just as Dan said, the pistons were drop shipped from ITM. ITM flattops 0.020" over with rings Total cost to me $204 Total paid by eBay seller to ITM: $162 I may see if I can use my DBA # to order directly from ITM next time. So, off we go to the machine shop tomorrow for engine build #3: second shot at a high compression engine for my wife's Z. We didn't expect a tired engine to hold up very long to the high compression of a fresh Maxima N47 head! EDIT: Dan, when I said "I should have known better", I meant that I should have read the feedback thoroughly so that I'd know what to expect from the seller. I didn't mean to slight you at all. Afterall, you never endorsed the seller, you just stated what you ordered and what you received. Sorry if what I wrote came out wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ab0z Posted August 21, 2007 Share Posted August 21, 2007 Wow - that would be great if we can order direct, even if we have to do a group buy. Let us know what you find out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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