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Our NSC-plated, CNC billet, solid aluminum Nickies™ provide:

• Significantly reduced head and oil temperatures

• Increased horsepower (dyno proven!)

• Significantly reduced cylinder wear and increased ring life

• Superior oiling (NSC plating, like Nikasil™, is oleophilic i.e. oil-liking)

• Tighter ring gaps and improved ring seal w/o need for gapless rings

• Improved head sealing

• Reduced friction and tighter skirt clearances

• Improves efficiency of stock pancake cooling system

• Cylinders can be re-honed or re-plated at a fraction of the original price

• Reduced engine weight

• v2 Nickies feature encapsulated head studs, increased sealing area, and provision for knock sensor; cylinder head modification required

• Limited Lifetime warranty on plating!

We bring “6-cylinder” performance to your “4-cylinder” without sacrificing reliability. 

Nickies™ ruled as legal in SCCA as replacement cylinders. Read the ruling here.  

Our products have revolutionized the design of big displacement and racing engines.  Jake Raby, of Aircooled Technology, who has been the pioneer of the latest VW Type 4 / Porsche 914 engine performance developments, says that Nickies™ are a must for any application if you are serious about real power and reliability.  In fact, they have discontinued the use of cast iron cylinders larger than 96mm, and 94mm on bus engines. In fact, there is no single individual who has used more Nickies™ than Jake Raby and Aircooled Technology.

A long time customer, Ken McMillion, with the first Nickies™ equipped commercially built type 4 engine, sums up our Nickies™ quite nicely, being the first user to report back many years of successful operation and over 100,000 miles of flawless performance using pre-production Nickies™:

"A long time coming, and well worth the wait. Talking about the 2563cc Massive Type 4 Jake built for me. I must say that if you ever want an engine built right, with a road and dyno proven combo then Jake is the man up for the task. Throughout this project which took close to 3 yrs to complete Jake has persevered though some serious setbacks. I think we went through 3 sets of heads which included some shoddy welding by a company which I won't name they know who they are and will never again get my business, waited over 6 months to get a set of paper weights. Next set dropped valve seats from another best in his field tuner. And the final set works just fine. This engine has a lot of one offs and first time on a bug bleeding edge technology in it. One of the first sets of LN Engineering's "Nickies™", Tangerine Racing super header with phase 9 and quiet can. Jake had to tear this engine down at least 4 times during the building process do to some part that wasn't up to par with his standards and the demands this engine. One of the best parts of this engine is the custom one off DTM he had to make do to the unique and sometimes frustrating engine compartment of my car. With the DTM my heads never see 300 deg. (barely 275) Even on a 85 deg day in Baton Rouge, La doing more than 90 on the high way in 5th gear at just about 3500 rpm (remember ) this engine redlines at 7500. On the dyno it was rated at 201 hp and around 200 lbs of torque (a bit more than 200) . Unless you've ever been in a type 4 powered bug there is really no way to explain the feeling, trust me it is better to be in the driver seat when you step on the gas, because passengers are looking for something to grab onto when you take off. Throttle response is instant and the power band is very smooth - It just accelerates with no effort. People look in wonderment as I cruise past them. Even at the car shows It's nice to see the expressions on the peoples faces when I tell them is a 2563 type 4. All in all if you need an engine built right Jake is the man to do it."

"Well it took a trip from baton rouge, La to Orlando, Fl to finally get the heads to go past 300 deg - hottest was around 315 - this was on sat the 19 in 90+ deg heat running between 85 and 90 mph in 5th gear most of the way. I only stopped to fuel up every couple of hours oil temps stayed below 220. I'm just going to do a check on the carbs for Fl weather and check the valves but everything is running nicely - for those of you that dont know this is a Jake built 2563 with a dtm (no internal oil cooler) , Nickies, dual setrab oil cooler (mounted in the back "luggage compartment") , tangerine racing exhaust, with a berg 5speed(built by rancho tall gearing)."

"The still car is running great - its been in the hi 80's and the head temps still haven't reached 300, mostly just under 275.  And the setrab keeps the oil temps around 180, with oil pressure around 50-60 when its warmed up and drops to about 30-40 once I come off the hi-way after along run."

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Our Nickies™ package is the culmination of every technological advance related to pistons and cylinders for your aircooled engine!

Click here to read more about Nickies or scroll down for pricing!

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What pistons can you use with Nickies™?

LN Engineering’s custom forged pistons are the best of their kind. Every piston is custom made, so whatever the case, we work with your desired engine specifications to make the ideal pistons for your application, period.

$739 for Custom JE Pistons (4 cylinder)
including performance rings, wrist pins, and locks.

Special pricing only valid with purchase of Nickies cylinders or other qualifying product or service. Many upgrades are available. Please call for application specific recommendations.

Our custom forged pistons are the best of their kind.  They feature the low-friction slipper skirts, low weight, balancing within 1/2 a gram, and are manufactured from the superior 2618-aluminum forged alloy material when specified for use with our Nickies™ cylinders. Our pistons are designed to maintain optimal deck height for maximum quench.

Good quench allows for faster burn and better thermal efficiency, leading to better gas mileage, lower potential for detonation, and more power.

We can supply pistons to meet your needs. Whatever the case, here’s the bottom line: we work with you to provide ideal pistons and cylinders for your application, period.

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2008 Pricing Schedule

Contact us at 815-472-2939 or info@LNengineering.com to bring your “tried and true" Aircooled engine to the new standard of precision performance!

LN Engineering Nickies™ are Proudly 100% Made in the USA!