We install pistons backwards - what will happen?

Grab some G54 merch here - www.en.garage54.ru/
Amazingly enough - the answer isn't "nothing".
For business inquiries: [e-mail]

[@-A-Hybrid-Skunk-Productions-]

I honestly never knew thst piston pins was off centered. Today I learned from Team Garage 54 that piston pins are off center.

[@HobbyOrganist]

Same here! I assumed it was because maybe the pistons were slightly out of perfect round and as they heat up become more round, the markings indicate front of engine, that's what I always did and never questioned the "why" but the explanation with TDC makes perfect sense and reminds me of how steam engines were said to have to be barred away from TDC or they couldn't start- I assume those pisons had no offset, so trying to start at TDC would not move the piston at all, they were usually single cylinder.

[@MattyEngland]

Some pistons actually have a different skirt design on the thrust face compared to the non-thrust face

[@benstrait333]

I thought if the piston was either flat top or symmetrically dished like these, it wouldn't matter. For all the crazy stunts Garage 54 does, you usually do learn something 👍👍👍

[@Colorado_Native]

I believe it's also because the way the piston is driven down into the cylinder. Go look at the difference a little longer rod will have on how the piston travels and where the firing sequence is. The more inline it can be with the crank the more power (not a huge amount, but measurable and noticeable).

[@nickmcminn2137]

Its to mitigate piston slap noise. Hot rodders been flipping pistons for decades

[@benstrait333]

Garage 54, systematically exterminating Ladas one at a time, lol

[@ovalwingnut]

Yeah! What's that all about? You tell em' Ben. "Ladas Lifes Matter"

[@anthonyanderson1479]

🤙

[@garycarpenter2932]

ladas never die, they always come back more powerful than you can imagine..

[@aaronwunderlich3070]

I don’t think any of these really die!

[@johnmoore7902]

If you haven't yet, you should turbo a Lada engine and increase the boost until it blows. I noticed they are a closed deck block so I would be curious to see how much they can handle.

[@player1GR]

Isn't it obvious that we've been turboing the shit out of that engines for a long time. VAZ 21126 can easily make like 250 hp and it won't blow up immediately. But it won't last that long. My car does 190 hp with supereutheutic pistons

[@gabrielv.4358]

YES!!

[@gabrielv.4358]

@@player1GR If that is it I will import lada engines to put on my cars loll

[@NitroGnome]

@@player1GR We have done over 400hp racing engines from older engines in Finland... and they last quite well...

[@rastaralph7154]

Train tracks will do that 🤣👍💚💛❤️

[@poptartmcjelly7054]

Now that's a Lada damage

[@TempoDrift1480]

Fuckin A😅😅😅

[@FrankGlencairn]

It's an old hotrodder trick from famous race driver Smokey Yunick, and it usually works well. Especially a lot of Mopar guys drive flipped pistons. But what you do is flipping only the piston, not the rod. Looks like you flipped the rod, so the oil spray hole got on the wrong side - no more lubrication and cooling. To get any benefit out of it you also must adjust ignition and cam timing.

[@jeremypike9153]

It looks like the pistons in the Lada engine have quite a bit more pin offset than is typical. It's not visually noticeable on any engine I've torn down. They mark piston tops to indicate the correct direction. I could tell from the video the pin was offset alot on those pistons.

[@FuckGoogle502]

Do Ladas even have squirt holes in the rods? Lots of older designs I've worked on don't.

[@gabrielv.4358]

Makes sense

[@alexdro4389]

@@jeremypike9153 2mm

[@jwalster9412]

​@@jeremypike9153I'm guessing it's partially because it's a big-ish sized carbie engine.

[@trm4life]

"I gave you a working engine" 😅

[@DUKE_of_RAMBLE]

That needs to be a TShirt... *_"I gave you a working car!"_* (he did say car) [Lada with hood up and steam exiting] [🤷‍♂️ emoji of G54 owner making 😟 face]

[@fastinradfordable]

Uncle Tony will smile so big!!!

[@user-vy5jw1zm1o]

Lol I was just thinking Chrysler engines if u take the first and last piston then reverse and swap em it's supposed to make mo powa

[@YoCatGaming]

​@@user-vy5jw1zm1oflip them 180° and swap them to the opposing bank. 1-2 3-4 so on.

[@jasonkaiser5150]

You can only rotate the pistons not the rods. The rod cap has a small gap that allows oil to spray on the cylinder walls.

[@Fleetwoodjohn]

Why I’m watching this 😄

[@robertwest3093]

He’s the first person that came to mind!

[@cornovii3012]

Out of all they ways you've tried to blow an engine up with amazing ideas trying this one i never expected or would have ever thought of WOW. I think you have out done yourself here 🤣

[@outlawbillionairez9780]

Offset allows rod to pass TDC before combustion. In reverse, combustion tries to jackhammer it backwards.

[@martin-vv9lf]

so if they put the timing chain a few teeth out to compensate it would have worked?

[@ovalwingnut]

Thank you. I needed that. Which ironically is the same thing my date screamed at me last night

[@mihailpetrovici5044]

Its like that so it doesn't rock that hard on the side of the block when it tries to push the rod forward

[@ovalwingnut]

@@mihailpetrovici5044 I know my GF rocks hard when I push the rod forward, if that helps?

[@ricardo.m1000]

That's what I thought also

[@demil3618]

The obvious continuation: Combine turned pistons with the engine you had running in reverse and you will have optimised it!

[@Waccoon]

"You rev it up and the noise goes away." Yeah. All of it! 8)

[@christmassnow3465]

I never suspected the pistons are asymmetrical until I saw the video. More than 30 years ago, when I was unemployed, I attempted to work at a garage, first as an assistant and hopefully learn the job and make my own progress. There were too many things which I did not suspect and looked unassuming at first. Components having a barely noticeable asymmetry were often mounted flipped over,. My job was full of f***ups and I was constantly arguing with my boss. Gladly, I don't need to do that work anymore.

[@OldManRoo]

This was a very interesting experiment. It destroyed the engine very quickly.I had no idea the pins are offset. Thank you!

[@sannyassi73]

Next turn them 360, twice as far!! That'd be nuts!

[@jwalster9412]

What about 90° next? I wanna know the engineering they would put into the lol.

[@ChuckWood]

Bro, get this, 720....

[@AZACKAL]

Na upside down 😆

[@TempoDrift1480]

You're just a few balls shy of a bearing but that's okay.

[@gabrielv.4358]

AHAHAH "Now its on you!" "I gave you a working car" LOL

[@shaneeslick]

G'day Garage54 & BMI, Usually I just like to make a comedy comment but today... 😲WOW! that is crazy, Seriously Thank You so much for this video including Vlad's breakdown of the Enginering Principle for the 2mm Offset as I really learned a lot. I am not a qualified mechanic but for a hobby I have been rebuiling my old Suzuki including getting the head machined, replacing the gasket & valve stem seals as it was a little smokey, so I didn't take the pistons out but now understand how important putting it is to put them back the right way if I ever do.

[@Boodieman72]

Whoever came up with the offset was a genius.

[@CarsandCats]

No, an engineer.

[@DUKE_of_RAMBLE]

You know what this means... Time to make *_MORE_** custom pistons!* But in *this time* you'll be testing different offsets. From slightly more offset than stock, to *_as far as you can_* before the piston pin will hit the cylinder wall... 😅 Also, testing them in both orientations. _(feel free to orient 2 one way, 2 the other, to tackle both at once)_

[@gabrielv.4358]

The videos are getting better and better! Nice explaining of the theory and explaining other things.

[@TheMrDarius]

You guys never cease to amaze me. Your experiments with cars are top tier.

[@aceautonewportky]

You guys are great and I really like the channel. I enjoy the craftiness you display, I am 63 been wrenching 43 yrs now, I've seen it all. I really like you thank you!

[@JayDee-bz2ge]

You also make the piston reach farther out of the bore, or closer to contact the crank... In the USA, wrist pin flip is done all the time on SBC 350, etc... BUT YOU DONT JUST FLIP THE ROD, unless your rod to crank is non directional. plus, you should degree the cam to match since TDC will be different...

[@DBHHellhound]

Video Idea. Could you try to make your own cylinder deactivation to save fuel on the highway? By stopping the signal to the spark plugs and injectors with the flip of a switch ? Making a 4 cylinder run on 2 cylinders or a 8 cylinder run on 4 cylinders.

[@robertwest3093]

I like this idea. But make a system that doesn’t eventually destroy the engine like some OEMs are having problems with.

[@martynwatson4929]

The bore is usually offset to the centreline of the crank too, it would be interesting to see how far the total offset for the rod is with both added together.

[@tonybernheim8365]

Also to consider..Piston install 180 degree backward..The valve reliefs on top of piston are not matched..Valve to piston clearance questioned...And definate yes..Piston pin offset in cylinder wall....

[@fuse8052]

Pistons didn't have valve reliefs. Do this with an engine that does have valve reliefs. I bet it's a different story. Also , LOVE your videos! Especially since they have been voiced over in English

[@nickmcminn2137]

Flip the pistons only not the rods

[@SwapBlogRU]

Given that the rods are (I'd imagine) truly symmetrical - what difference would that make?

[@krisr2181]

the seams on the rod caps are not symmetrical

[@mustangpapi76]

Lol... I thought you was going to bend some valve on the pistons on initial start up. Funny to see the block blew a hole in it. Love it!

[@SunnnyDay]

I did not know about the off-set, happy to say I learned something today !

[@bavelnaard]

Hahaha brilliant, I guess you created some kind of very progressive piston slap 😆

[@7mgte490]

That was very interesting, I enjoyed the experiment video's you guys do 👍

[@user-sf4ub4ep7p]

Great show love every single one.

[@antonisautos8704]

When pistons are marked with an arrow or dot to indicate orientation it may be because of a slight offset or for thermal expansion properties. Installing backward will result in either premature wear or potential extreme failure. You need to have very close attention to detail when rebuilding or building an engine. These experiments are pretty cool. While some of the answers to their questions are obvious, it's still fun to watch the experiment and see the real world results.

[@geoffgunn9673]

you will find the piston pin is not centered exactly. And if you had odd expansion in a round bore, you have other major issues

[@CarsandCats]

WRONG! Piston pin offset is only to negate piston rocking which creates noise. THAT'S IT.

[@markchapman2585]

Awesome channel guys

[@scottmorse1798]

always interesting and entertaining content. well done

[@SPUDHOME]

Great episode I really learned something today. 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@jppagetoo]

Uhhhh, there is a valve relief cut into each piston. All the pistons had scarring from valves hitting the top after flipping them around. You have bent valves. The #3 piston is steam cleaned from coolant leaking into the cylinder, that is where the coolant went... right out the exhaust. It is likely to have cracked head from the valves being hit so much.

[@petri2852]

They didn't check the air gap between the connecting rods and the block casting before installing the pistons the wrong way round. It might have been necessary to remove material from there so that the connecting rods could rotate properly. But I could be wrong.

[@glisa43]

Nice video thanks. I have an idea.... I want to see the Lada running on the thinnest motor oil like the Toyota oil on 0w-8, see how the engine is running.

[@chrischarles9218]

I've heard this was an Old School trick to gain more torque for drag racing. Its done to prevent piston slap when the engine is cold but when flipped it give the rod a better mechanical advantage in relation to the crank.

[@VauxhallViva1975]

I love the Lada engine. Look at the GAP between the cylinders! Short-stroke too.

[@fachrul81372]

OMG, its blown, you really kill that engine. 😂😂😂

[@scattkiwiman]

good idea well done !

[@theAngelofhevn]

If i remember correctly Smokey Yunik did this in nascar as it has a big influence in piston speed when the piston accelerates up, down and how fast it moves in different locations in the bore. . Having it reversed you give the engine more time to suck in mixture but skirt wear will be much more. Comparing the two ways with a degree wheel, you clearly see the difference where the crank is located on both engines have if you set both engines to have the piston down say 20mm.

[@MikeAnderson-uj3oo]

You couldn't of asked for better results. Very good lads.

[@VHP7044]

Profile pistons have a thrust and anti thrust side making them directional. This cuts piston slap and minimizes oil consumption.

[@kennethcohagen3539]

A trick in the US on B and RB Mopar engines is to turn the pistons around and run them backwards.it can cause piston slap when the engine is cold, but once it warms it increases horsepower. I don’t remember by how much, but it’s free Horsepower and will work when not using domed pistons.

[@JayDee-bz2ge]

you have to do it at the wrist pin because the rod edges should have a radius tearing into the crank

[@Knaeckebrotsaege]

12:20 now they're disconnecting rods 😆

[@mikehutchinson9318]

Offset on lower bearing will wear from crank/bore center

[@josephfbuck]

I'm sorry but if the pin is offset that's the point where the force is being directed from the thrust of the motor that should probably be the rotational side to give added torque and the rotational thrust being correct cuz that's why that detonation of thrust is going to be an uneven back thrust if it starts I can't imagine it idling

[@miatzchen]

9:42 absolute comical moment HAHAHAHhaa DAMN

[@robertwest3093]

Those little Lada engines have some pretty stout connecting rods 👀

[@patrickbrady447]

This was an interesting experiment, but I think you should do it again with an engine that is in near new condition. I believe that the engine failure was not caused by the pistons being fitted backwards alone but because it was a very worn engine from the start. Racing teams in the USA used to do this trick to gain power and it did give an extra 7 to 20 HP when done on a V8. I would say if you got an engine, rebore it, grind the crankshaft, new pistons, bearings oil pump etc. Check the there is enough clearance between the valves and pistons (that may have been a problem here} If you do all that I think you will have no problem except a little of extra wear on one side of the piston. I believe if you were to do that your engine would run fine for a long time and gain a little of power along the way.

[@forestlawrencegrading9154]

The whole reason it's made that way is to make it quieter a lot of guys say you get a little more low and Power by flipping them backwards I think it's different on a V8 engine in America they do this all the time mostly mostly the Chrysler guys

[@geoffgunn9673]

you get more power but the trade off is the piston is driven down off perpendicular and you get a bit of piston slap down low. Helped keep up a vacuum when running cams that where too big

[@zijie-he]

I never knew the pins were offset. But the surfaces look like 🙂, you may not want to make them 🙃.

[@baby-sharkgto4902]

UTG baby!

[@jeffryblackmon4846]

Thank you for another interesting video. Спасибо за еще одно интересное видео. Каждый из них Познавательный опыт и развлечение. Это всегда приятно.

[@rhare7353]

The piston will crack. If I was was building an opposite rotating engine (marine application ) flywheel aft a standard rotating engine would turn a left hand propeller an opposite rotating engine would turn a right hand propeller. I learned this 50 years ago it was clearly called out in assembly manuals from chris craft , chrysler marine , gray marine and others failure to do this will cause piston failure and damage to the block. The pistons must be installed on the rods with the notch facing the rear for opposite rotating engines

[@PavelKuliffaypalikuli]

Hi, you can make 360° rotatable piston on the conrod - to reduce the wear

[@mugeldavid4607]

maybe I´m wrong but at 12:57 it looks like a valve hit the piston because flipping the pistons 180° means no valve pockets at the right place. Engines run really bad when the valves are hitting the pistons. Do the rods have oil squirters to oil the cylinder wall that takes the higher load? If they are directed wrong wear goes up. And giving a car to a young man to "give it the beans" often doesn`t end well.

[@geoffgunn9673]

this was one of the tricks when playing with holden red motors back in the day. Made a little more horsepower for the sake of a little noise, but hard to hear over solid lifters

[@sethvandyke4453]

never thought I would see the day a Lada connecting rod broke just wow. I have also never seen an offset piston before.

[@throttlebottle5906]

it will end up with piston slap/knocking and wear out faster, could even shatter piston chunks off if severe enough loading with spark knock

[@daliborzak2485]

It's not a hole in a block. It's an inspection port. We with BMWs perfectly know this.

[@tomwhite9034]

Piston to valve clearance has changed too so I wouldn't be surprised if it was slightly hitting

[@buckaroobonsi555]

I do not know anything about this engine in particular. That said a lot of engines also have a crankshaft that is slightly offset to one side. The pins location can also play a role in that. In fact some connecting rods have a bend in them on purpose today as well again to allow more crankshaft offset!

[@seanreber9064]

I learned alot from this one

[@jasonkaiser5150]

The rod has a little gap on on side. This allows oil to spray in to the cylinders walls and camshaft. You can only rotate the pistons not the rod.

[@firestunt]

Conclusion: Put the pistons in correctly. I never would have thought it would self destruct so quickly or badly.

[@TwinShards]

The perfect answer to this question is "it depend on the enginering design".

[@Reziac]

Wow, that's really useful to know. Poor Lada!

[@steelearmstrong9616]

1:08 lol haha good one

[@acesretroonline]

Have you done much with putting cars on railways? What if cars and trucks could run on tramways or regular railways? Instant 90% fuel saving or whatever it is.

[@buffdelcampo]

They messed up the test by changing two things at the same time. I think they lost the oil spray on the cylinder wall by flipping the rod over when they flipped the piston. When flipping pistons on an inline engine, the pistons must be flipped on the connecting rod so the oil spray continues properly. With no oil on the cylinder, I'm surprised it went 500 km.

[@automotivemischief.1978jamie]

Well that got me all turned around lol it put up a good fight for a little while. Idea : Should try making your own tire's from all different rubber compounds.

[@jack8356]

Learned something new.

[@steveashcraft718]

Depends on the engine. I've seen pistons installed backwards in a ford 6cl. The result was 6 cracked pistons.

[@Lazyman1975]

Ive had an idea for many years. Opposing force with electromagnets. In stead of the coil firing a spark plug why not an electromagnet with a magnet embedded in the top of the cylinder so when firing it pushes away. Same engine just no plugs no gas just a quick electromagnetic burst. Ive thought long and hard but not there yet. I know perpetual motion doesn't exist but this isnt perpetual as it is using power.

[@davidgwin4540]

Iv been curious about this for years. Lets take a look 👍

[@Homme_Pur]

I expected this to turn badly but I didn't expect it to be THAT bad

[@dobraydien7242]

Fun way to make a boat anchor!

[@mrPauljacob]

I like the part where you explained why the pin is offset. It's all physics.

[@TheCarCrazyGuy]

Thank God these guys are thousands of miles away from my vehicles.

[@rcautoparts1]

i have a challenge for you guys. How bout making a lada engine into a flat 4 ?

[@ogwubba]

"what the fuck" right out the gate, not a sign of good results I take it XD

[@me3333]

Of course you ripped the mounts out of the block, they were trying to hold back a Lada power...

[@itsjustdead_dcg6175]

‘7 minutes ago” my best record so far

[@shawnstillman736]

By rotating the pistons you moved the path of travel over slightly. It's just enough to destroy an engine.

[@krzysztofczarnecki8238]

Just as I was wondering why pistons don't lean to the side and rub against the cylinder during normal operation. I didn't know they have an off-center pin.

[@AnalogDude_]

Garage 54, should try and cast their own engine, with the parts they have laying around. a V2, V4 or so. a air cooled V2 with 1/2 liter pistons using the lada flywheel and mating area for gearbox, so it can be used. Nice, the know that the rod pin was offset by bit.

[@rfiskillingussoftly6568]

My dad is a television repairman, he has an awesome set of tools.....we can fix it man! 😁💨🤙

[@noelpeterson5591]

In Australia, we call it a piston gudgeon pin.

[@mikesbarn1858]

It’s designed to help reduce egging out the cylinders over time.

[@carbineZDH1]

9:47 That laugh we all have done.

[@dillinpicklesworth5698]

It'll either increase or decrease piston to deck height.

[@genejones7902]

When I was a kid, I put the piston in my 2-stroke dirt bike backwards when assembling the engine. It didn't start until I put the piston in the correct orientation. 😊

[@parodiipepaine667]

Lol because you had holes in the piston that didn t aling

[@PhilMcCracken01]

On Beetles the arrow points to the flywheel and I have seen many in the wrong way and they make a right racket.

[@chadburkle1461]

See if you can, JB Weld it back together again if it will work

[@user-hd8iq6dp9m]

They used to do this on old slant 6 Chrysler engines or the old ford 300 engines I cannot remember off the top of my head but it was either for compression or something