Picking and using a piston deck height tool for your build

Grabbing a reliable piston deck height tool is pretty much mandatory if you're moving past the stage of just "throwing parts together" and actually want to blue-print an engine. It's one of those niche pieces of kit that might sit in your toolbox for months, but the second you're degreeing a cam or trying to nail down your compression ratio, you'll be glad you have it. Without it, you're basically just guessing where your pistons are sitting in relation to the block surface, and in the world of high-performance engines, guessing is a great way to turn expensive parts into paperweights. ...

April 28, 2026 · 7 min · Clay Lotte