I dont have any exact data. What I have is the factory added them and was running boost levels above 9 psi or so. They added them for durability, so to be safe it seems like a reasonable recomendation. For that matter they added a nitrided crank, stellite exhaust valves and a special alloy head and special pistons that dont have a thermal isolation slot through the oil ring.

None of us are going to duplicate the factory testing so I dont think we would ever know for sure. I do know the 2.6 is a very long stroke motor, so perhaps thats part of it.

I'm sure a 2.6 motor could be built with a nice set of forged pistons to live at high boost and no squirters. However I dont have any examples of that to make a recomendation from. In the mean time its very easy to add the oil squirters when the engine is apart for a rebuild so it seems like a safe bet to just add them.

If you want to experiment, sure let me know. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> It would be usefull information, but would at the very least involve the cost of a motor to test and the time it takes to get 60,000 miles on it to prove its durable.

Till then I like to reccomend what has been tested / what I know works. IMHO its a bit better to error on the safe side.

Kevin