Pistons upgrade worth it?

[cmat1120]

I'm about to get my sr20det rebuilt and I'm wondering if new pistons are a worthwhile upgrade if not necessary by some other reason. Is there a certain amount of power the stock pistons can handle or anything? The mechanic I was talking to said there's really no reason unless a bore is needed, the pistons are damaged or I want to change compression. I'm on a tight budget and pistons are surprisingly expensive for this engine.

The pistons are the main thing I'm concerned about as they are the most expensive, but I'm also curious overall. The context of this is I talked to jgycustoms as well as a mechanic and jgycustoms said they have a stage 1 rebuild kit thats $3100 and is supposedly good to 500hp:
Stage 1: $3100 500HP
Includes:
Tear down and assembly
ARP head and main studs
Boring motor with JGY torque plate
Headwork including assembly of all parts
Bronze exhaust valve guides
All new valve guide seals
Brian Crower cams
CP Pistons 86.5mm and bigger, any compression
Eagle or BC rods
New Nissan bearings, rods and mains
Cometic Head Gasket
Greddy Rocker Arm Stoppers
JGY Shim Service

I was at the mechanics and showed him this and he said that he thought a lot of that was unnecessary and they don't mention a lot of the little replacement things that are necessary(of course they likely didn't mention them cause it was just a casual email). The part I'm most intereseted in is the fact that he didn't think that all that was necessary for close to that much hp(although I really wouldn't likely exceed 400). Now he may have been referring to just a rebuild to get it back up to compression at times rather than high hp, but he said that pistons and rods, bore and really almost all of the lower block stuff was unnecessary. Overall it sounded like all he thought was necessary was replacing worn out stuff like rings, bearings etc. headwork, decking, and few upgrades in the head to safely achieve higher horsepower. I know he has rebuilt a lot of engines and they are mostly american, but he has definitely been into imports as well, but I was wondering what you all think about that. I'd rather save the money on some of that stuff and put it elsewhere if I can, but I do not want to skimp on anything that will be a likely cause of my engine's death if I do a turbo upgrade or something.

Thanks

[indomiekid1]

really depends on your budget. I personally didn't buy new pistons. i just inspected them, and cleaned them, then slapped new rings on it, flex honed the cylinders and put em in.
no problems so far. now if your looking for more power later on, you will save time and money getting your motor ready for the power coming. don't skimp out on the engine build. good luck.

[cmat1120]

Ok thanks. I guess what I'm really looking for is how much power can the stock Pistons take? I want to add power in the future, but also want to keep this build as cheap as possible. I know those kind of contradict each other. So I mean what's necessary for reliable 350hp? 450? 500? Thanks so much

[indomiekid1]

bottom ends are known to be good for about 400, but thats with good tune etc etc.
if i were you, and were planning to get that much power, i would get new pistons and rods, it'll be worth it.
its hard to keep a build cheap, trust me. haha.
just do some more research on it.

[cmat1120]

Hmm thanks! I guess I'll probably make my decision based on what is found. If a bore is needed then there I go new Pistons and rods. If not. This car is now my 350 hp daily driver till I find a new chunk of change lol.

[indomiekid1]

Ha wrd, good luck dood.

[Mikester]

Wiseco/Eagle combo is about $650-700. Forged pistons are the way to go for a 400 or more hp setup.

I ran 350-380whp on stock internals, stock bottom end with no issues for years before rebuilding- As stated, it's more in the tune than anything else... and mine was awesome- but like anything, there IS an envelope you'll want to stay within or shitty things happen at very inconvenient times lol

If you are looking to cross the 400 mark EVER, it'd behoove you to set the bottom end up for success- and invest in a good clutch & Z32 tranny swap... an SR tranny is a time bomb in the 350-400+ range. I ran my stock SR tranny for eons in Okinawa at 350-380... However, right after the rebuild (400+), it shattered in a couple weeks.

If you are on a budget, use the KISS concept. As you are probably well-aware, stuff gets expensive quick. GL!

Mike