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Hypereutectic pistons have a definite cost advantage over their forged counterparts. They'll perform great for the street and can survive a fair amount of racing abuse. The other advantages of hypereutectic pistons, including tighter operating clearances, are really minor compared to the cost benefit. In computer-controlled, fuel-injected, knock-sensor-equipped vehicles, hypereutectic pistons will survive at power levels well beyond those you're considering; carbureted applications call for more caution. Forged pistons of any alloy will easily handle the power you're going be making. The real difference is what happens if and when the piston you've chosen fails. A hypereutectic will crack and possibly break, where a forging will normally deform or go "plastic," causing less damage to other engine parts. The choice is therefore based on the likelihood of failing the engine, rather than on how the parts perform when everything is OK. A daily driver goes hyper, a real racer goes forged-you're in the middle.

Out of respect for your budget, I was ready to send you to the store for a set of hypereutectics until I read that sentence about a 150 shot of nitrous. If you can keep your nitrous boost at that modest level, I still think a hyper would be a good fit, considering the cast crank and the generally mild nature of your engine. If you think that you'll be bumping that bottle a little harder (I have yet to meet anybody that thinks they have enough horsepower), I would consider moving to an entry-level set of forged pistons just to be safe. A set of basic forged flat-tops will cost you only another hundred bucks, but it might be cheap insurance.

'This guy wants an aftermarket cast crank with 5.7-inch rods. He'll probably need to add Mallory to balance the thing. He'd be money ahead with 6.00-inch rods.

Ask AnythingAsk Anything is the portion of What's Your Problem where readers send questions for industry big-wigs, then we get the answers. So pick a hero and e-mail your query to CarCraft@primedia.com.

'Barry's last name reminds us of Rabbot, the giant robot bunny who destroyed Carl's car on Aqua Teen Hunger Force.

The Cadillac Of Small-Blocksdroopy1907, via CarCraft.com: A guy at a salvage yard told me that some LT1s came out in Cadillacs. Does anyone know that to be true? Terry McGean: Yep; despite converting almost its entire line to front-wheel drive in the mid-'80s, Cadillac continued to offer a rear-drive model until the '96 model year. The Fleetwood Brougham was based on the same architecture as the Chevy Caprice and Buick Roadmaster, and like them, the Cad version received the LT1 engine for '94 to replace the 350-inch throttle-body injected small-block Chevy used previously. Most sources refer to all of these cars as GM B-bodies, but in fact, the Cadillac is actually a D-body. The only real difference is a longer wheelbase. If you were to find one of these Cadillacs in the junkyard it would have the same 260hp iron-headed LT1 found in the Caprice of the same vintage.