Pistons

[lehman live edge slab]

Was wondering is there any differences between the meteor pistons in the black box vs silver and green “green power” series? I’ve used the green box ones but see some eBay lists having black box ones. Better/worse or the same?

 

[Stump Shot]

Same, just new vs old packaging.

 

[Cantdog]

. Same, just new vs old packaging.

I am not sure that is correct. A few months ago I had 4 268 non XP to rebuild. I had two green box pistons in stock and ordered two more black box pistons. If you look at the green box it says in a couple places "Made in Italy" and has Italy cast inside the skirt..... The black box piston only had MP cast inside the skirt and says nowhere on the box "Made in Italy' or anywhere else for that matter. I contacted Meteor directly but they didn't want to discuss the issue. The pistons were slightly visually different in machining and casting but the black box pistons seemed to run alright. The MP could mean Meteor Piston or there is also a piston mfg in the Philippines that goes by MP. The other odd thing I've not seen before is there are bond outs inside the piston to make this piston have XP type windows. I'm still not convinced they are in fact the same "Made in Italy" pistons.

 

[Stump Shot]

Not sure if comparing two different model pistons tells a tale or not. There is no "white" box still available other than old stock. As best I can determine all new pistons come in the new black packaging. The only plant I can find for Meteor is still in Italy and they still show the metallurgical sheet on their cast pistons with heat treatments etc. Might be a more direct comparison could be made to further clear the issue, or lack thereof.
What I can say for sure is I've put quite a number of the "black" pistons in ported saws and cannot recall any differences noted or seen by running them. So even if another plant is manufacturing them to Meteor's specs post covid, they still seem a viable option for a replacement piston I believe. Seeing how getting other parts is such an issue now, especially OEM, a person has to be glad just to get them still.
I do have a stash of new pistons; I will see if I can find the same model white and black to evaluate and report back.

 

[lehman live edge slab]

This wasn’t trying to start another debate but I was curious to see if different and why ect. I have 2 046’s to rebuild and there is a green/silver box piston and a black box both for the 046 maybe I will need to buy one of each and see.

 

[Cantdog]

Not sure if comparing two different model pistons tells a tale or not. There is no "white" box still available other than old stock. As best I can determine all new pistons come in the new black packaging. The only plant I can find for Meteor is still in Italy and they still show the metallurgical sheet on their cast pistons with heat treatments etc. Might be a more direct comparison could be made to further clear the issue, or lack thereof.
What I can say for sure is I've put quite a number of the "black" pistons in ported saws and cannot recall any differences noted or seen by running them. So even if another plant is manufacturing them to Meteor's specs post covid, they still seem a viable option for a replacement piston I believe. Seeing how getting other parts is such an issue now, especially OEM, a person has to be glad just to get them still.
I do have a stash of new pistons; I will see if I can find the same model white and black to evaluate and report back.

Yes I agree that the Meteors are the best AM pistons out there. The pics I posted were taken 4 years ago and not meant at the time to show comparisions of the two pistons. And they did run fine in the rebuilds. But I still find it telling that the white/green box pistons have Italy cast inside and states in two places on the box "Made in Italy"and the black box piston has MP cast inside and no indication of it's origin any where on the box or piston. Though this what I found in thHusky 2XX pistons I cant say it's the same across the product line. And for the record, the wristpin, keepers and Caber ring for the black box come in plastic bags clearly marked "Made in Italy". I'd be interested to see what you find if you have both to compare.
My feeling is that Meteor now purchases rough blanks from elswhere and final machines them in house and fits them with actual Italian wristpins etc. which is why they don't say anywhere "Made in Italy"