Forged pistons are a necessity in performance engines running higher amounts of boost or nitrous oxide, and Probe Industries has the solution. 

Their Sportsman Race Series pistons for the General Motors LS engine platform are forged from 2618-T61 aluminum and have a number of features designed to promote performance. The lightweight piston sets come with lightweight, full-floating wrist pins to aid in friction reduction.

In keeping with current performance objectives, the Sportsman Race Series pistons use narrow piston rings to reduce drag internally. Valve reliefs are specific to each piston design.

“The LS pistons will work with 6.125-inch connecting rods for all popular strokes with aftermarket stroker crankshafts. We can provide flat-top or dished pistons to offer the end-user a variety of compression ratios,” explains Tim Lyons, Probe’s Vice President of Business Development.

Piston skirts in the Sportsman Race Series line have very tiny grooves machined into them. Lyons says, “We feel our skirt design is superior to all others on the market. You can run tighter clearances so they don’t rattle around in cold weather – the grooves are like the difference between treaded and slick tires. You don’t want traction in the cylinder, and these slide up and down with ease.”

The company also offers a number of designs specific to the Ford Coyote engine. As with the LS pistons, they are crafted from forged 2618-T61 aluminum and have the low-drag skirt design along with high-strength, lightweight full-floating wrist pins.

“Our new Coyote Sportsman Race Series pistons replace the stock cast pistons, and offer you the ability to go up or down in compression. With a Coyote you can add a lot of horsepower with tuning – you can put these pistons in the engine and add some compression and even more power,” says Lyons.