Help picking the right piston

[Myersprostatus]

Hey guys, I need some feedback and advice on picking the right piston. I have a 99 cobra block torn down and I'm starting to put together the rotating assembly. I decided to go all out and get forged pistons and rods. I am keeping the engine naturally aspirated for now, but may go forced induction down the line(that's a may), who knows I may fall in love with the car naturally aspirated.
Anyways, I've been looking on the ModMaxRacing site and have decided to go with the ModMax 4340 H-Beam Rods due to them being 4340 alloy and only weighing 580g as well as being fairly priced(100$ cheaper than the Manley's and lighter). Anyone use ModMax products?
Now on to the pistons. I know the 99 cobra uses a 3-cc dish and has a compression ratio of 9.85:1. I can't find a piston on ModMax close to 3-cc. The closest one is 11cc dished piston which drops the compression ratio to 9.18:1 or the 0cc flat top.
Anyone use the 0cc flat top piston? The site says it bumps the compression ratio all the way up to 11.17:1! I'm in California and the highest octane gasoline we have is 91. Ive read a 11.5:1 ratio can be ran with 93 octane.
Has anyone had some experience with the 0cc flat tops?
I'm open to any ideas/advice on what to run in my application. The car will be a daily driver. I think a high compression lightweight reciprocating rotating assembly would be a blast, but is it suitable for my daily driving/reliability needs, not to mention 91 octane needs.

I am replacing everything on this engine and would love to do it right the first time as I am very particular . I have my new heads/96-98cams/timing kit that are awaiting installation, so I would love to start spending lots more money.
Thanks
-Mitch

 

[Brutal Metal]

Diamond makes single digit cc dished slugs for our cars and Pro-Power ModMax offers them, I have the 11cc Manley coated and ran them NA for about a year before doing the Vortech, it was about 15RW down versus the stock 10.1 piston on the dyno but part throttle timing was increased in the tune to compensate and it really didn't feel slower..

 

[99MystiC]

99cobra09 just got a set of flat tops from Autotech the founder of JE. He got them custom built. They are billet aluminum and top notch quality. Hes going to be running close to 11:1 just a hair below and a 30 over plus about 15lbs from a procharger. As for price well lets just say cheaper than ModMax. Heres a pic of the pistons. Where are u in CA?

 

[Myersprostatus]

Im in orange county. It may be a while before I get a tune, thats why I'm concerned with the high compression ratio and my limit to 91 octane fuel.

I plan on getting my block bored as well. Should I go 30 over instead of 20?
Im still on the fence about going forced induction due to the car being a daily driver for the time being.

I see the the 11cc pistons are 9.18:1, maybe suitable for your set up, but a little too low for my needs.
how were the custom built? These are the pistons I was looking at Manley 4.6 / 5.4 FLAT TOP Piston. Cheaper than these bad boys?

Brutal Metal by RW do you mean rear wheel horsepower? My acronym skills are lacking :/.
I saw the diamond 2cc pistons, that was gonna be the second choice, 10.82:1, but man are they taxed.

hey 99mystic, what combination are you running to get mid 11s?

 

[99MystiC]

Im in orange county. It may be a while before I get a tune, thats why I'm concerned with the high compression ratio and my limit to 91 octane fuel.

I plan on getting my block bored as well. Should I go 30 over instead of 20?
Im still on the fence about going forced induction due to the car being a daily driver for the time being.

I see the the 11cc pistons are 9.18:1, maybe suitable for your set up, but a little too low for my needs.
how were the custom built? These are the pistons I was looking at Manley 4.6 / 5.4 FLAT TOP Piston. Cheaper than these bad boys?

Brutal Metal by RW do you mean rear wheel horsepower? My acronym skills are lacking :/.
I saw the diamond 2cc pistons, that was gonna be the second choice, 10.82:1, but man are they taxed.

hey 99mystic, what combination are you running to get mid 11s?

Those Manley ones are not billet aluminum like the autotech and are the same price. As for compression ull be fine if u run 11:1 on the 91 oct we have out here. RET can tune u and ull be fine. I dont know who is doing ur machine work but i got a place for u and he will get you the pistons specifically for your engine. Hes been in business for 40+ years.
My engine and heads and cams are still factory. A lot of weight reduction, suspension, c4 and a good converter. Finished my Carb swap but lost my truck in an accident so waiting for that to get resolved to get the car off to RET for some Carb tuning. Hoping to see some 11.20s and 6.90s at the dale with the new setup.

 

[Myersprostatus]

very nice, what gears you runnin in the rear?
I called a place that used to do machining for my work. I'm not too sure how familiar they are with modular engines though. I planned on asking a ton of questions once I called just to see if its worth taking my items there.

Oh yeah? that'd be cool, whats the name of the machine shop? He knows his modulars front and back? I plan on getting my crankshaft machined as well as my flywheel and then have the whole rotating assembly balanced.

The shop around orange county?

 

[99MystiC]

The shop in in the valley. He overbalanced my buddies crank and should handle a crap ton. I plan on taking my short block and heads to them once im ready. I plan on spinning the hell out of the motor so i want it done by someone that knows their stuff.
They are called Valley Heads.

I run 4.56

 

[Modular Racing]

Let us know how we can help, we have piston and rod combos starting at just $799, these include MMR Forged Rods, Manley Forged Pistons and Total seal rings. Give us a call and we can discuss your compression ratio needs and set you up with the right parts. We also offer complete balancing and machine work at our facility. Feel free to come by anytime for a tour, we are located in Ventura County (Camarillo).

MMR
805 383 4130
www.modularmustangracing.com

 

[Myersprostatus]

I was actually going to call MMR today. My heads are actually in your shop right now getting ported and freshened up. Nergel helped me. Ill give you guys a call after lunch.