We are proud to show you behind the scenes of Steve Morris Engines and the build of their #LS-Free Engine that they are giving away this April! They will be releasing new videos showing how this...

CP-Carrillo, Irvine, CA:   We take extra pride in introducing our newest forging for hemi engines with cylinder bore sizes from 4.440” to 4.560”, the “TA-X”....

FORGED pistons for the GM Ecotec 2.0 Ltg 4 cylinder turbocharged engine will soon be on our shelfs! After hearing of many reports of cracked skirts in low mileage stock engines, we have decided to...

Now available: Big Block Chevy Aluminum Connecting rods! Made from our 7000 series Aluminum forging These 100% machined rods are designed for 2500 hp blown alcohol BBC. Available in 6.385,...

After years of research and development, working closely with renowned engine builders, CP-Carrillo light weight Diesel Hybrid kits are now available for both Cummins and Duramax application. Both...

Hello race fans, this is Ed Urcis and I work at CP-Carrillo (sales/tech/engr )./ Last April I entered my 2015 Z06 Corvette in Hot Rod Magazine's Drag Weekend 3 day event in Arizona. I had such...

A long time in the making and just in time for the trade shows, we are proud to announce a new 410/360 sprint car specific connecting rod. The new rods will come standard with CARR bolts and have...

We have added pistons for the 2016-2017 Yamaha YXZ1000R This latest addition to the YXZ1000R piston lineup features: 181 grams per piston resulting in 7 grams lighter than an OEM...

CP-Carrillo now offers pistons and rods for the Volkswagen/Audi EA888 Gen 3 2.0L TSI/TFSI engine. This engine is in a number of applications, including the newer VW Golf Mk7 R, Audi...

  Bryce Mulvey explains how forged pistons make big horsepower builds possible - 1,500 and up - and that's what the industry needs. The day is coming when we will be talking about...

Did you know We offer replacement fasteners for Top Fuel Rods? We have 2 versions with a 0.750 head diameter. Available with under head length of 2.000 or 2.250. H11 tool steel. Washers...

When buying turbo pistons or upgrading piston pins, heavier is not always better. “If I have a turbo, better just buy the strongest, heaviest piston and pin they have and then...

Did you know design flexibility is one of the most important things at CP-Carrillo? What we learn from our extensive OE involvement allows us to take piston and rod designs to new levels and...

What choices do you have when choosing a wrist pin? Why choose one over another? Do you need a coated pin, or an “upgraded” material? Different applications and cylinder...

PVD (physical Vapor Deposition) ring sets feature a thicker 1.2mm steel top ring for increased durability and resistance to flutter. The face of the ring is PVD coated - a technology that is...

Did you know.... Static compression ratio is the ratio of cylinder and chamber volume from bottom dead center (BDC) to top dead center (TDC). To calculate compression ratio you need to know...

What is Lift at overlap? Valve overlap is the time when both the exhaust and the intake valve are open simultaneously. When the piston passes through top dead center (TDC) between the...

  Oil Support Rails (OSR) assist in applications where the pin bore breaks through the oil groove of the piston (e.g. short compression heights due to big strokes or long rod...

At CP-Carrillo we are asked constantly what the assembly torque specification for our bolts is. While torque is a relatively easy and fast way to assemble non-critical engine components, a...

A “button” is a method of pin retention. Many of you are familiar with locks whether they be wire or spiro-locks and how they are used in order to hold the piston pin in place. In...

Did you know that Hard andodizing is not traditional coating? Nothing gets added, sprayed or baked onto the part. Nothing can peel or chip. Anodizing is created by converting the surface...

Did you know that most aftermarket performance pistons are made with floating pins that will need removable locks such as round wire locks or spiral locks? The most common lock used for...

Different cam and barrel profiles yield different clearance on the piston and are often chosen based on the conditions they will see. For example, an engine that has a large stroke, which...

Did you know CP-Carrillo and Arias Pistons have different forging types to accommodate your needs? Forgings are not generic, especially when you are making a custom piston. We have hundreds of...

Did you know…roller bearings need a hardened surface to roll on. With a hardness at around 60 HRC, the material is harder that the typical steel used in connecting rods. Making rods...

Did you know?... “Smooth” is not always better than “rough” when it comes to pistons… Features like ring grooves are made extremely smooth, while others like...

How much Pin Clearance is needed? No matter what material the wrist pin is made of, or how thick the wall is, pins experience some amount of deformation while your engine is in use. It is the...

How important is using the proper wall thickness pin for each application? It has been a standard practice for years to keep the engines bob weight down by using light thin wall wrist...

Compressive loading on a connecting rod. Compressive loading is a calculation of displacement, RPM and HP.  The RPM max power is used to calculate compressive load or the force pushing...

Notching the skirt is something CP-Carrillo does primarily to provide clearance for an oil squirter. Most modern engines have oil squirters at the bottom of the cylinder that point up and shoot...

Article appeared in Race Engine Technology, written by Ian Bamsey

Piston ring end gap is just as critical as your bearing clearances but is often overlooked. Just because the ring manufacture says the rings are for a certain bore size it is ultimately the...

Did you know that Fred Carrillo (1926-2013), founder of Carrillo rods was an avid hotrodder? Together with his brother in-law, he build a 1927 Ford Model T, with a Winfield-equipped flathead for...

After Fred Carrillo’s land speed racing accident, he went to his hotrod buddies and asked them what they needed.  “They all said they needed a good steel rod”, so Fred set...

Two common specs asked for when making custom pistons are the connecting rod small end width or thickness, or pin end width or thickness, and the strap thickness. Knowing these dimensions,...

Inertia Loading on the connecting rod: a calculation of Stroke, Rod length, Rod and Piston assembly weights and RPM. Inertia is the force that will try to separate the split line, if the...

While our recommended bolt stretch and clamp loads have been working well for many years, we can’t ignore the fact that rods continue to be subjected to more demanding tensile loads as...

Are your pistons all the same (symmetrical), right-handed, left-handed or a combination of both? On some cylinder head designs, the spark plug is not always opposite the intake manifold like a...