Has anyone put a set of Mahle pistons through the ringer yet? I have a set in my 383 and want to know if they hold up as well as other high end pistons to big nitrous (250-350 shot), boost, etc. I have a 4340 forged crank and 4340 h-beam rods and want to know if the pistons are as strong as the rest of the shortblock.

We've used a few sets of their forged pistons, nice and light, but since most (all?) their stocking small block stuff uses super thin rings with an extremely low tension 3 mm oil ring package, I feel they are more geared towards N/A applications and their ability to maintain seal at big RPMs moreso than controlling oil contamination and sealing big cylinder pressure. The one's we've used have a very thin lid as well.

Troy (YDLUZ) is running JE pistons with a 350 shot and seems to love them. Maybe give them a try. He runs 9.18 1/4 mile so far best and has made a ton of passes with no probs.

Never had any problems and my machinist loves them! Light weight, well balanced and the coatings are very nice! They have found the Mahle's to be comparable to JE's, Wiseco and Ross.

The thin and light rings were a concern for us an the street 383 but seem to be holding up well for over 30,000 miles with occasional 250 shots.

I work in the 2-stroke industry, where Mahle is known as a top-of-the line piston. They are also expert at cylinders, honing, shaping, etc.

2-stroke pistons run much hotter than 4-stroke pistons because of the lack of cool intake air between firing strokes and relatively little coolant (oil) spraying the underside of the piston. So, Mahle has developed their own set of alloys, which are superb. That might be how they get away with the thin crown.

I don't know anything about the particular design you're using, but I thought I'd just give some perspective about the company in general.