[form406]

the majority of the more inexpensive forged rods (and cranks) are imported from asia...quality control or lack of can be questionable (ie. unable to be balanced or not meeting required specs for roundness)...then you have to bring it to a machine shop to be finished...if it can be finished...some are unacceptable then you are stuck trying to return or replace, ship back and forth or in some cases on ebay you are out of luck...paying a bit more and getting them from p-dude, butler, etc. (maybe stock rods from them?) you know you are getting a finished product ready to go prepped by somebody who cares...if you arent racing or towing you can use stock rods, have them resized then magged, not visa versa...i have friends that race with stock rods (from butler) even with juice to 6500 rpm's!!! , but its still a gamble...forged rods have been much more affordable in the last few years...just research like you are and fit your budget vs. use...its impossible for me not to rev my stock rods up in my 406 and when i cross 5500 rpms... im paranoid cause i have toasted stock rods before...which toasted my 70' 462 4 bolt main block, 2 pistons, cam, oil pump, distributor... ..i got my 406 shortblock with balanced rotating assembly w/ trw's for $300. ...thats why im running stock rods now cause that all i could afford...