These days, when you’re shopping for an engine overhaul, you’re really shopping for cylinders. All the rest of the stuff that goes into an engine, the crankshaft, the cam, the gaskets and the mags are surely important but when the airplane goes into annual every year, it’s the cylinders that get the most scrutiny forward of the firewall.

Overhaul shops offer their customers guidance on cylinder choice but from our reader mail, we sense that many owners consider picking the right jugs to be a shot in the dark. They like the idea of a factory engine but worry that the cylinders won’t last, especially on Continental engines. …