SEMA 2025: JE DAZA Extreme Pistons Debut for Audi Builds

The Audi Daza 2.5-liter five-cylinder is the little engine that can. Found in the RS3 and TT RS, it makes 400 horsepower from the factory, but builders are now pushing them into insane territory. This is a platform that has become wildly popular in drag racing. Pistons are a key weak link when boost levels hit 60, 70, or even 80-plus psi. JE Pistons has been following this market closely and just released a purpose-built solution: the Daza Extreme pistons.

These start as a 2618 forging but get all the high-end features. “We hard anodize the entire part,” explained JE’s Kevin Bailey. He stressed that this isn’t a simple thermal coating that could break down. “It’s the most resilient coating that we do have to protect the part from the extreme combustion pressure.” This hard-anodizing remains in the ring lands to prevent microwelding but is turned off at the skirts, where a moly-based, friction-reducing skirt coating is applied.

The highlight, however, is the patented dual velocity gas porting. This SEMA award-winning design is JE’s most high-end solution for maintaining ring seal under high boost. Gas porting channels combustion pressure to the back of the ring land, forcing the ring out against the cylinder wall. Bailey noted that while vertical ports (drilled through the crown) work best, they can clog. JE’s design moves this port to the edge, combining a vertical and lateral channel. “It helps create a channel that can give you the benefits of the vertical gas port without the issue of it getting clogged.” The Daza Extreme pistons also feature accumulator grooves on the crown, also called anti-detonation grooves. This adds volume for gases above the top ring, reducing pressure and ring flutter.

Finally, the pistons come standard with massive, .250-inch wall wrist pins, ready to be paired with heavy-duty rods. This isn’t just a replacement part. As Bailey stated, “Thirty pounds of boost is basically stock” for this engine. The Daza Extreme pistons are a direct response to builders pushing three-digit boost, offering a part “actually designed for that level of boost and horsepower.”