[taff2]

Quite a few years ago,before I used the internet, I wanted to put together a long rod 400 but there was nothing available over here at a reasonable cost. What I did was buy 10 used ali rods off the 'parts for sale' bench of a blown alky or fuel racer ( Raymond Beadles Blue Max was the car,I believe it came from the States)at one of the bigger race meetings. They were 7.030" long,Brooks manufactured and not all from the same set,and of course Mopar dimensions. I measured them and none had seemed to have stretched so I crack tested them and they were fine. After a fair bit of machining they were fitted using LIGHT Chevy 400 pistons and a factory cast crank. Well I ran that engine for over 5 years in two different cars,7000rpm on every pass,100's of passes into the 9's for the last two years. Every year I maintenance checked the bearings and every year they looked great so they went back in. So much for needing to change them every 10 minutes! The engine is still going strong today. Ok,it was only making about 575hp,but that's my point-the rods were good to 8 or 9000rpm in a 2500hp engine so my piddling 575hp wasn't even tickling them!
Using ali rods is more than just about light weight,they have more bulk around the big end,they absorb shock loads in the event of a little detonation,are easier on bearings and rod bolts. British bikes regularly used ali rods ,in the road and race bikes and none of the manufacturers specified changing rods on a regular basis. I get sick of hearing "OOH ali rods,you need to change them every 70 passes" from other racers!
The new ali Brooks rods in my turbo combo,which I expect to make 1200hp, are said to be 2500hp capable and I have no intention of changing them unless they give me a problem.

[Tom Vaught]

Well Kelvin showed us when it was about time to change the GRP rods, didn't he?

He had far more passes that most claim that you will get out of a set.

Tom Vaught

[Tom Vaught]

Originally Posted by slowbird

Pankl & Lentz are the best out there! The others are affordable alternatives to them, imo.

Yes, they are very proud of their rods too. 600 euros for a single rod?? (Titanium)

We used Oliver Rods at Ford until they did not want to make our Experimental Engine rods in less than 6 months on average and the prices quoted were not that different from Carrillo. Carrillo said they could make any rod we wanted (using their rod designs in 6 weeks and they have) so I am very happy with their stuff. The other deal is Carrillo has been making the best rods in the world since the early 60s. Pankl & Lentz might be the Titanium source for the high end guys but Carrillo is doing fine as always in CUP and Pro Stock racing today.

I will stick with the 600 gram 7.080" Carrillo rods I have too.

Tom Vaught

[Half-Inch Stud]

Check the piston tops, etc; Is ping a potential explanation here?

[Jack Gifford]

I've never been crazy about the cleanliness required when assembling serrated-fit caps onto rods. The "points" of the serrations appear to be full-dimension (rather than truncated), resulting in the tiniest piece of debris interfering with the fit and creating stress risers. I wonder whether such stresses might cause eventual cracking in the area yours cracked?