Magnesium for a Piston???

[ricracer16]

Hey all,

I was reading a post in another motorcycle forum of someone thinking of designing a piston out of magnesium. I know that the metal is light and strong but can't magnesiom ignite at a certain temperture and can burn without O2?

I just wanted to know since I like the idea but think the metal has a flaw.

thanks,

[Michael Moore]

Use a heat barrier treatment on the top. IIRC a friend made a mg piston for his race bike back in the 1970s and it worked fine. The only problem it had was not being able to resist a dropped valve head.

cheers,
Michael

[ricracer16]

Hello Micheal,

So this is not a new concept. Wow, that's interesting to know that these ideas are new and people have done them before.

thanks for the info, I'll pass on the knowledge.