10-31-2022, 02:14 PM | #1 |
Drives: 2019 2SS Camaro Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Al
Posts: 828
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Unbelivalbe nightmare poor customer service from gpi in my opinion
So I bought a drop in standard compression pistons and rods from gpi. Got everything prepped gaped rings to 22 thou per Kevin at gpi.
By the way I was dumb enough to think these pistons came with total seal rings because they put that chart up as a guide to gapping the rings. They are not total seal rings why use that as a gapping chart does not make sense to me but o well. Put the oil ring in the bore just to make sure no gaping was necessary. Never seen an oil ring that did but I ck it anyway. Installed all the rings and installed in the motor buttoned it all up. I will admit I did not spend a lot of time checking spinning ect the oil rings they installed fine it seemed. I spent a ton of time getting the 2 compression rings gapped exactly. Every thing seemed fine. Did a break in about 75 to 100 miles a couple of heat cycles. Started doing hits and kept coming up with misfire on number 8, 30 to 66 misfires. Got random misfire ck engine light. Never had that problem before. Kept chasing number 8 changed plugs twice regapped changed plug wires swapped injectors around coils around ect to no avail still number 8 and plug looked perfect. So doing a hit I noticed smoke out the back in the mirror. The car was smoking like an old car that never had the oil changed. It used 2.5 quarts of oil in 400 miles. So Found number 7 plug black. So that’s where the misfire really was and nothing left to do but take it all apart again!!!! Gueerrr!!!. Its a lot of work and a lot of time. I found number 7 piston with the oil ring stuck to the piston. Number 3 oil ring was slightly sticky. I was able to get the ring unstuck but could find no reason why it was stuck. bottom line these two pistons have too small of an oil ring land. All other's seem fine not sticky and can rotate freely and compress no problem. Heres the NIGHTMARE!!! Gpi will be happy to send the pistons to diamond to see if there is a problem with the pistons. BUT THEY WILL NOT SELL ME A PISTON TO GET THE CAR GOING IN THE MEAN TIME. RONNIE THE PARTS MANGER ( I DON’T WANT TO BREAK UP A SET). That’s not very good customer service to me!!!!!! Im happy to pay for the pistons until that can make a determination, diamond that is. Kevin apologies for any inconvenience. Inconvenience REALLY!!! ok So I call diamond and talk to Mike in teck. He said they would be happy to make gpi single pistons and would only ONLY take 4 weeks. Geese's 4 weeks so a few days to send to gpi a few days for for gpi to send to diamond and then 4 weeks for them to build one offs so what maybe running in 6 weeks at best. They will not sell to me this piston only gpi. All because,,,,,,,,,,,, Ronnine does not want to open a box set it aside for 4 weeks send me 2 pistons, then diamond will replace in 4 weeks. WOW Ok If that’s what you call taking care of the customer I have had MUCH MUCH better customer service. I give much better customer service myself. Frankly I find that inexcusable and unacceptable. I am more than happy to pay upfront. I tee totally thought gpi was a better company than this. Frankly its quite dishearten to me. I paid them a bunch of money for other parts overnight shipping ect. quote gpi ( it don’t matter to them how much money you spend with them). So I worked with these pistons for I don’t know a few hours trying to figure out why and how to resolve it. I can not figure it out. So I took the oil ring off the Wesco Texas speed pistons I had in the car, that were made for stock rods. The oil ring corrugated part is exactly 1 thou smaller thick wise than the Diamond ring. I micked it, its exactly 1 thou. That oil ring fits perfect and spins and is not sticky on either piston. Just pure dumb luck. Not that im lucky in the first place to have this problem to begin with!!!! So my choices. Buy another set and hope to sell the other 6 pistons from the kit ( Im guessing gpi wont sell to me anymore after these truthful comments) o well Try to get the oil ring on these 2 cut correctly. Use the Wesco rings and send it. What do u guys think I should do. Anyone up to buy some gpi drop in pistons 4 passenger side 2 drivers side? |
10-31-2022, 02:40 PM | #2 |
Drives: 1SS Summit White 6 speed Join Date: Jul 2017
Location: Gainesville GA
Posts: 579
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You're probably not gonna like to hear this but....
From my experience in modding cars, the more complicated you make it (more parts changed and more depending on other people) the more the "fun" turns into an absolute nightmare. I'm <600whp now I want more but to me it is not worth the headache I can sell this car in a few years and pick up a ZL1 which has a tank of an engine and decent fuel system to support it.
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16 1SS M6 White
Magnuson 2.3 Heartbeat Roto Fab Solo Performance Cat deletes and Axleback Hurst short shifter #'s coming soon Riaction coilovers 1LE sway bars BMR mm BMR chassis brace Flow one 19" wheels wrapped in Mickey Thompsons 02 Z28 M6 35th anniversary 80k miles T-tops Leather Bolt ons Joy to drive this classic every day! Daily Driver |
10-31-2022, 03:05 PM | #3 |
Drives: 2017 Camaro 2SS A8 Join Date: Aug 2018
Location: Petersham MA
Posts: 4,761
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FWIW I’m running the GPI drop in pistons & rods (lower compression) and my shop was not happy with the rings they (GPI) sent. We ordered up different rings and they’ve worked perfectly. I remember thinking at the time: “Wait, I paid for brand new rings even though my new pistons already came with them?” Sucks to buy stuff twice. I didn’t push the issue since my shop is very detail oriented, but I guess now I see why they did that…. I’m glad they caught the issues before the engine got reassembled.
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2017 Chevy Camaro 2SS A8 Whipple 3.0, Mast Black Label heads, Fore triple in-tank pumps, 112mm TB, LPE +52% injectors, LPE BB HPFP, 15” conversion 1059 WHP/944 WTQ, 9.48@150
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10-31-2022, 04:10 PM | #4 | |
Drives: 2017 Camaro 2SS A8 Join Date: May 2019
Location: USA
Posts: 1,656
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Quote:
1) The radius in the OD groove is too large and/or the chamfer on the oil ring is too small. 2) The diameter of the OD groove is too large and/or the ID of the oil ring is too small. 3) The OD groove width is too small and/or the oil ring is too thick. My 40+ years as a machinist says that I’d be checking all of the relevant dimensions and making blueprints of the results. Optical comparator, CMM, OD groove mics, and Johansson (Joh) blocks are minimum to get the dimensions. Somewhere there’s something that was either engineered wrong or it wasn’t made to the engineering drawing. The lead time for one offs in our shop is 4-6 weeks. Subcontracted machine shops also have the same lead time. It’s a long time to wait for shipping and manufacturing. Add your frustration, time and labor into the mix and you have more invested than GPI or Diamond. I’d present the error to GPI and have them take it all back and give you a refund or replacement parts. Basically a new set of drop-ins and rings that work. If you learn nothing is dimensionally wrong with the parts you bought, than all of this means nothing.
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Roto-Fab w/sound tube delete, Katech ported TB, Pray IM, Velossa, DD side markers, DSX FF, UPR Catch can, Halo brace, My custom vent gauge pod
Originally Posted by arpad_m - “Aww, yet another oil thread with almost the same question in the OP“ |
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10-31-2022, 09:27 PM | #5 |
Drives: Hyper Blue 2016 2SS 6M Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: North Ga
Posts: 1,787
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Are your pistons 4.065 or 4.070?
I had an exhaust valve failure on my first motor. I was running 4.065 std compression gpi piston/rod combo. Some shrapnel blew back into the blower and got distributed to several other cylinders damaging the piston domes slightly. I'm pretty sure at least two, possibly more are unscathed. The pistons had around 16k miles on them. I'm confident that the pistons and rings too for that matter are in good shape. The motor did not use a bit of oil. I'll donate two of these for the cost of shipping if you're interested.
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Baby Blue
2016 Hyper Blue 2SS/6m/MRC/NPP/Silver Rally stripes/ZL1 wheels & brakes/GForce DS and axles/ZLE Cradle Bushings/FE4 ARB front & rear/SEMA Grill/Rotofab dry/95mm TB/Magnuson 2300/Full LT4 fuel system/JMS boost-a-pump/E85 Sensor/Ported CID heads from LME/Cammotion PD cam/Thompson Motorsports forged shortblock/catted Kooks 1 7/8 headers /JRE remote tuned |
10-31-2022, 10:36 PM | #6 | |
Drives: 2019 2SS Camaro Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Al
Posts: 828
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Quote:
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10-31-2022, 10:37 PM | #7 |
Drives: 2019 2SS Camaro Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Al
Posts: 828
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Yes they are the stock bore
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11-01-2022, 08:07 AM | #8 |
Drives: Hyper Blue 2016 2SS 6M Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: North Ga
Posts: 1,787
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Let me verify that I have two good left bank pistons. I'll check and let you know.
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Baby Blue
2016 Hyper Blue 2SS/6m/MRC/NPP/Silver Rally stripes/ZL1 wheels & brakes/GForce DS and axles/ZLE Cradle Bushings/FE4 ARB front & rear/SEMA Grill/Rotofab dry/95mm TB/Magnuson 2300/Full LT4 fuel system/JMS boost-a-pump/E85 Sensor/Ported CID heads from LME/Cammotion PD cam/Thompson Motorsports forged shortblock/catted Kooks 1 7/8 headers /JRE remote tuned |
11-01-2022, 08:19 AM | #9 |
Drives: 2015 Camaro ZL1 Join Date: Oct 2020
Location: Clinton Twp, Michigan
Posts: 249
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That ring set is manufactured in Japan by an OEM level company. They are a high quality right set.
Diamond, Wiseco, CP, and others all use a variation of that ring pack in their shelf piston line up. There are hundreds of thousands of engines running that ring pack. Sorry that you had an issue. No manufacture is perfect and hopefully GPI can get this taken care of for you. |
11-01-2022, 09:29 AM | #10 |
Drives: 6th gen Join Date: May 2020
Location: Earth
Posts: 77
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I’m not surprised
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11-01-2022, 09:51 AM | #11 |
Drives: Hyper Blue 2016 2SS 6M Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: North Ga
Posts: 1,787
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Pretty sure the pistons aren't handed i.e. left and right are the same. I will check when I get home. Hope this is the case as #3 is the cylinder that swallowed the valve, and from what I remember, the left bank pistons absorbed more collateral damage than the right
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Baby Blue
2016 Hyper Blue 2SS/6m/MRC/NPP/Silver Rally stripes/ZL1 wheels & brakes/GForce DS and axles/ZLE Cradle Bushings/FE4 ARB front & rear/SEMA Grill/Rotofab dry/95mm TB/Magnuson 2300/Full LT4 fuel system/JMS boost-a-pump/E85 Sensor/Ported CID heads from LME/Cammotion PD cam/Thompson Motorsports forged shortblock/catted Kooks 1 7/8 headers /JRE remote tuned |
11-01-2022, 10:08 AM | #12 | |
Drives: 2015 Camaro ZL1 Join Date: Oct 2020
Location: Clinton Twp, Michigan
Posts: 249
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Quote:
Last edited by Katech_Mike; 11-01-2022 at 10:19 AM. |
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11-01-2022, 10:59 AM | #13 |
Drives: Hyper Blue 2016 2SS 6M Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: North Ga
Posts: 1,787
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Thanks Mike. I've installed two sets of Diamond pistons, so you'd think I would have remembered!
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Baby Blue
2016 Hyper Blue 2SS/6m/MRC/NPP/Silver Rally stripes/ZL1 wheels & brakes/GForce DS and axles/ZLE Cradle Bushings/FE4 ARB front & rear/SEMA Grill/Rotofab dry/95mm TB/Magnuson 2300/Full LT4 fuel system/JMS boost-a-pump/E85 Sensor/Ported CID heads from LME/Cammotion PD cam/Thompson Motorsports forged shortblock/catted Kooks 1 7/8 headers /JRE remote tuned |
11-01-2022, 12:04 PM | #14 |
Drives: Hyper Blue 2016 2SS 6M Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: North Ga
Posts: 1,787
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Sorry
Well damn, Kerry...I'm afraid I got your hopes up for nothing. I took a look at my old shortblock and every one of the drivers side pistons is trashed. it's a damn shame your issue couldn't have been on the opposite side as all of the right side pistons look good. I've attempted to upload some pics, I'll let you guess which side is which.
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Baby Blue
2016 Hyper Blue 2SS/6m/MRC/NPP/Silver Rally stripes/ZL1 wheels & brakes/GForce DS and axles/ZLE Cradle Bushings/FE4 ARB front & rear/SEMA Grill/Rotofab dry/95mm TB/Magnuson 2300/Full LT4 fuel system/JMS boost-a-pump/E85 Sensor/Ported CID heads from LME/Cammotion PD cam/Thompson Motorsports forged shortblock/catted Kooks 1 7/8 headers /JRE remote tuned |
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