A closer look at the workhorse piston behind many G6DA rebuilds

If you rebuild Hyundai/Kia’s 3.8L G6DA engines, you’ve probably heard whispers about consistent ring seating and thermal stability. That’s exactly where the Piston 23041-3C611 KIA G6DA 3.8L V6 96MM kit shows up, quietly doing the hard work from 2005–2013 applications. Built for standard bore 96 mm setups, it’s designed for daily drivers, fleet vans, and frankly, the stubborn project car that refuses to retire.

What’s inside the box

Each Piston 23041-3C611 KIA G6DA 3.8L V6 96MM kit typically includes piston(s), pin, circlips, and rings matched to STD bore. The manufacturer is based at 289 Heping East Road, Chang’an District, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, China—an area that, interestingly, has become a quiet hub for precision automotive castings.

Parameter	Spec (≈)	Notes
Bore	96.00 mm STD	For G6DA 3.8L V6 (2005–2013)
Material	Hypereutectic Al-Si (≈12–18% Si)	Low expansion, good scuff resistance
Coating	Graphite/Moly skirt (select batches)	Reduces NVH and cold scuffing
Hardness	HB 110–130	ASTM E10 tested
Roundness	≤ 0.005 mm	CMM report on batch lots
Service life	≈150,000–250,000 km	Real-world use may vary

Production flow and testing (the short version)

• Alloy melt and permanent-mold casting → T6 heat treatment (solution + age)
• CNC turning/milling → Pin-bore honing → Ring-groove machining (tight groove height control)
• Skirt coating and controlled ovality (thermal cam design)
• QC: Brinell hardness (ASTM E10), dimensional CMM, surface roughness Ra ≈ 0.4–0.8 μm, crack/porosity check
• Certs typically aligned with ISO 9001 and IATF 16949 supplier chains

In practice, shops tell me the Piston 23041-3C611 KIA G6DA 3.8L V6 96MM seats rings predictably after 500–1,200 km when break-in oil is used—nothing flashy, just steady compression gains. To be honest, that’s what you want.

Where it fits and why it’s trending

Applications: remanufactured G6DA 3.8L V6 engines in passenger cars, MPVs, and light fleets. The broader trend? More owners are rebuilding rather than replacing, driven by parts availability and, surprisingly, tighter emissions inspections that favor healthy compression.

Vendor snapshot (quick comparison)

Vendor	Material/Coating	QC/Certs	Lead Time	Notes
Oujia (Hebei)	Hypereutectic Al-Si, skirt coat	ISO 9001/IATF 16949 aligned	≈ 7–20 days	Solid value; consistent ring grooves
OEM Dealer	OE spec	OE audited	Varies, often longer	Highest price, strong warranty
Generic Aftermarket	Varies	Inconsistent	Short	Check tolerances carefully

Customization and real-world notes

• Options: oversizes (ask), coated skirts, pin upgrades, ring pack variations
• Test data (sample lot): weight ≈ 380 g; pin-bore Ø tolerance ±0.003 mm; groove side clearance held to spec; Ra ≈ 0.6 μm
• Customer feedback: “quieter cold start, no scuffing after 10k km”—one fleet tech told me, a bit surprised

Case study (brief)

A regional reman shop fitted 24 engines with the Piston 23041-3C611 KIA G6DA 3.8L V6 96MM. Break-in compression improved from 185–190 psi to 195–205 psi by 1,500 km. Oil consumption stabilized to ≈ 0.1–0.2 L/1,000 km—well within their warranty threshold.

Standards and compliance (why it matters)

Manufacturers in this tier usually align to IATF 16949 frameworks, verify hardness per ASTM, and keep casting tolerances per ISO guidance. It sounds dry, I know—but it’s the difference between a piston that sings and one that slaps.

1. IATF 16949:2016 – Automotive Quality Management Systems.
2. ISO 9001:2015 – Quality management systems.
3. ASTM E10 – Standard Test Method for Brinell Hardness of Metallic Materials.
4. ISO 8062-3 – Geometrical product specifications (GPS) – Casting tolerances.