Does this guy know what he's talking about?

Charrlie_S said
That is not why you put the pistons in backwards. Stock type pistons have the pin offset slightly. This is to "push" the piston against the cyl wall, to quiet piston slap untill the pistons heat up and expand. This creates drag on the wall. By putting the piston on backwards, the cyl wall drag is reduced. Of course there is more piston slap, when the pistons are cold, but that does not hurt anything.
Race pistons have the pin centered.

I think in the video Tony explains the reason actually is to change the geometry; with the pin offset the other way the piston has slightly less dwell time at TDC which helps torque and responsiveness at lower RPMs, according to him anyway I've never tried it myself.

What all this has me thinking about a lot is the Ford Modular engines. They are all pretty undersquare but don't seem to have the same issues as the slant-6. I'm sure the 3- and 4-valves per cylinder help and they probably have shorter connecting rods...?? IDK, I've driven a few trucks with the 5.4L and they were just kind of mediocre overall. Power and economy are OK but not as good as they should be IMO with all that technology. I got my Duster towed by a friend (flat-bed trailer) with a 4.6L-powered F-150 and it was totally gutless, him and I were both glad there were no hills to drive up.