Ohh help. Im really confussed ....

[Rinox88]

Hi all. I have a Honda Cr250 1999 model project bike.. this means im building it bit by bit... im stuck at the piston bit... oky my question is. Pro lite piston vs. Normal piston and Single ring vs. 2 ring piston.... i know if i dig deep enough ill find the answer, but can anyone just break it down into simple straight forward English.. thanks a lot!

[gimped up]

Wait for either beau88 or chockey, they will give the best answer.

[Honda_Power]

I remember hearing someone mentioning that the 2 ring'd pistons are for the 4 stroke 250's..... while the 2 stroker 250's come with only 1 ring.  Though I could be wrong.

[SupermotoAbuser]

You are wrong. Weird...

A 2 ring piston will technically be lower performance as 2 rings will drag more on the cylinder. If they make a 2 ring piston for your bike I would get it. It should hold up a little better and you won't notice a performance difference. It really doesn't matter too much either way though. More important is making sure that all troy clearances are correct and the engine is assembled properly.

[Rinox88]

Thank you guys! Ill wait but makes sense to stick with the 2 rings stock piston... just the pro lite or the normal one? Pro lite sounds nice (performance wise ) but it may lead to a shorter or longer con rod?

[SellYour4Stroke]

Stock sizes work with stock rods. No biggie. Id be interested to see an unbiased back to back comparison of single and 2 ring.

[gimped up]

Thank you guys! Ill wait but makes sense to stick with the 2 rings stock piston... just the pro lite or the normal one? Pro lite sounds nice (performance wise ) but it may lead to a shorter or longer con rod?

Go OEM replacement style.

[The Spanky]

I run a single-ring Wiseco Racer's Choice in my KX250. I also pay the extra few dollars for the TiN-coated ring, so the ring actually outlasts the piston. The reduced drag makes the engine noticeably snappier.

 

OEM pistons for 250 two-strokes are two-rings.

 

A single-ring piston isn't about weight savings, it's about reducing friction and drag. But it is lighter as well, because you are also losing one of the ring lands in the piston.

 

You can actually run just a single ring on your two-ring piston and achieve much the same effect, although the extra ring land will make the piston still weigh more than a true single-ring piston.

 

If you get the Racer's Choice, you may have to re-plate your cylinder. They run tighter tolerances than OEM (at least for my KX250 they do) so if your cylinder has any wear at all it's probably not going to be in spec for that piston.

 

If you go with the Racer's Choice, spend the extra few dollars for the TiN (titanium nitride) coated ring, it will outlast the piston.

[Beau 88]

Chokey is correct , Depending on what your intended use for the bike is. If you want to race it of course use the wiseco Racers choice single ring . I just trail ride and want to start with the more technical style of riding , I use the double ring Namura in a new cylinder with no problems. With any engine work the importance is fitment . Whichever you choose cylinder wall clearance and ring gap is the key to a healthy running engine. 

[Rascal420]

2 ring pistons work better with the purple and green power bands...while 1 ring pistons work well with the orange and yellow power bands... ?

[The Spanky]

2 ring pistons work better with the purple and green power bands...while 1 ring pistons work well with the orange and yellow power bands... ?

 

And 3-ring pistons work great in those 250cc and 450cc Briggs and  Stratton engines...

Edited May 26, 2014 by Chokey

[Beau 88]

And 3-ring pistons work great in those 250cc and 450cc Briggs and  Stratton engines...

[The Spanky]

Damn....?  ?

[gimped up]

that's a lot of motor for a hydrostat tractor.

Pretty cool though.

[Rinox88]

Thank you so much for feedback guys.. helped alot, im sticking to normal trail... you mentioned numata piston.... im thinking of going with wiseco pro-lite.. whats you advise between prolite and normal piston chokey?

[The Spanky]

Do you mean between the Pro-Lite and a cast piston like OEM, Vertex, etc.? Because they are all "normal" pistons...?

 

Well, I am biased, as Wiseco is all I've run for a couple of decades, but there's nothing wrong with cast either. They both have their pros and cons.

 

The biggest thing is that forged pistons don't like not warming the engine up before riding. Cast pistons are a bit more tolerant of boneheadedness.

Edited May 26, 2014 by Chokey

[Beau 88]

Do you mean between the Pro-Lite and a cast piston like OEM, Vertex, etc.? Because they are all "normal" pistons... ?

 

Well, I am biased, as Wiseco is all I've run for a couple of decades, but there's nothing wrong with cast either. They both have their pros and cons.

 

The biggest thing is that forged pistons don't like not warming the engine up before riding. Cast pistons are a bit more tolerant of boneheadedness.

That's why i like the namura piston i can start my bike in gear and as i kick i let out on the clutch at the same time, and away we go.