Connecting rods brand questions

[Ronny_Nordstrom]

As i am building my engine and swaping those skinny oem rods and pistons for some aftermarket ones.

I ordered for lime 5 months rods from IE and my question here is, is maxspeedingrods, FCP, etc all typically the same. rods that are re-branded when imported to the shops with there own lasered brandings?

As i eneded up canceling my order from IE as it was always pushed back 1 month at a time so decided to check with FCP Engineering and the support om there site was awesome so ordered a set of FCP rods.

So yeah, what difference is there if we compare IE, maxspeedingrods, FCP etc rods?

This is kinda confusing but i think you get my question still

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[RMode]

I am sure they are similar, if not identical. The machining may be different on them. But without having a machinist inspect them and run some sort of metallurgy, to determine the exact grading, it's impossible to know 100%. FWIW, they seem to be pretty issue free.

[Ronny_Nordstrom]

I am sure they are similar, if not identical. The machining may be different on them. But without having a machinist inspect them and run some sort of metallurgy, to determine the exact grading, it's impossible to know 100%. FWIW, they seem to be pretty issue free.

what i readed is that all of them use oem arp bolts aswell. Waiting for my FCP rods so will inspect them and weight them all.

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[Silverex]

If you are using stock pistons the pins vary in size so no matter the brand it’s worth getting that checked against your pins and might as well check big end while your at it.

[ss4]

The Maxpeeding rods are comparable to the ones you mentioned. The higher end stuff is 100% different like Pauter and the expensive IE for example. I have an extra set of new Maxpeeding rods and Mahle Motorsport pistons for sale if anyone is interested. The same “budget” rods are in my engine, all is good at 600whp/550wtq, and plan to push it further without any concerns. The Maxpeeding rods fit the factory pin size as well. And a side note: the factory pins are very strong, just like the Mahle pistons. Some other “performance” pistons don’t have the factory pin strength.

[ss4]

If you are using stock pistons the pins vary in size so no matter the brand it’s worth getting that checked against your pins and might as well check big end while your at it.

Agreed… every engine I build, the rods, pistons, bearings, and crank all go to the balancer for inspection and proper fitment. This is before the machine shop even touches the block. Oh, and another side note: the stock pistons and pins are great quality… My “built” engine is using factory pistons that had 225k on them! New rings, rods, and bearings.

[Ronny_Nordstrom]

Agreed… every engine I build, the rods, pistons, bearings, and crank all go to the balancer for inspection and proper fitment. This is before the machine shop even touches the block. Oh, and another side note: the stock pistons and pins are great quality… My “built” engine is using factory pistons that had 225k on them! New rings, rods, and bearings.

I will get rods, pistons, crank, flywheel, clutch pack all balanced before installing them, just to be on the safe side and get all unwelcome vibrations gone that can crack / harm the engine in the long run.

[Silverex]

I will get rods, pistons, crank, flywheel, clutch pack all balanced before installing them, just to be on the safe side and get all unwelcome vibrations gone that can crack / harm the engine in the long run.

While balancing is nice what’s really important is the clearance and that’s what really needs to be checked especially with using a cheaper set of rods….just my 2cents.
FWIW I had to have 2 small ends opened up on my RPM rods to get proper pin to bore clearance.

[Franko6]

While balancing is nice what’s really important is the clearance and that’s what really needs to be checked especially with using a cheaper set of rods….just my 2cents.
FWIW I had to have 2 small ends opened up on my RPM rods to get proper pin to bore clearance.

I have developed my own design connecting rods for several 1.9 and 2.0 diesel engines, but only after being completely disappointed with some of the junk out there and from some of the vendors mentioned. That includes the Chinese stuff out there, that the only thing reliable is the cheap price you can buy them for. Unfortunately, there are many outlets for the same junk, as the Asian company that produces many of them will stamp just about any name on them you want. And if any of the rods come back, the company will erase that name and put somebody else's on it.
qh
I got some of the CRAP (Chinese Replacement Auto Parts) and the vendor who sold me that junk admitted they came from who I consider the WORST manufacturer. They are pawned off as 'Forged H-beams', but anyone who knows the process to manufacture an H-beam knows they must be machined, not forged. And the material and the workmanship leave much to be desired.

Silverex: The question I have is about your clearancing the wrist pins. I only provide Keystone style rods, as I see the overall benefit, but when and if my vendor were to provide a bushing that was too tight, it would be going back to them to fix. But if you are resizing rods, I am wondering if you are using the straight wrist pin version or the Keystone design. The caution is, the straight rod can be honed, if it is necessary, but the beveled wrist pin has to be align bored, or the thin side of the bushing will become egg-shaped. You wrist pin bushing will not be round. Also, I don't know who you are using for your pistons, but with the high end pistons I use, wrist pin sizing is extremely accurate. Weights may vary as much as 1.5gr, but the fit is extremely good. The wrist pin is the final balancing point for the rods and pistons.

With the company I work with, the sizing of the big end is a tolerance of 0.0000 to +.0002", consistently. The rod ends I use are reliably under .0005" and that clearance I find excellent. I use a free floating wrist pin. As they come, I find them virtually perfect.

Many of the CRAP rods I run into, the purchase was made purely on a price point. Then, I ask the customer who bought them to do me a favor. Lay the rod flat and put a drop of water on the length of the connecting rod and let it evaporate. The last two sets rusted like a cast iron rotor. I think the company caught on to this method to 'reveal' their junk and started titanium coating the rods. It took me bit to understand why they would do that. The ONLY reason they would make a micro-thin coating of titanium is the make a low quality cast steel rod become RUST RESISTANT. But they didn't to that in the big end bearing surface. It will still rust in there.

Let's just say I can't possibly trust the source. My unwitting relationship with a vendor that decided to fish from the bottom of the barrel and that mistake cost me probably $10,000 to recover from several sets of CRAP rods. I'm not going back to that vomit.

As comparison, my rod materials are 4340, Cr,Ni,Mo and any water test, they will pass. It's the strength of the material that allows a lighter rod without sacrifice. And where most of the industry uses 3/8" ARP 2000, I manage to use 7/16" and the asymmetric thread design. These bolts are more expensive, but for high end, high load connecting rods, they are well worth it.

[Silverex]

Silverex: The question I have is about your clearancing the wrist pins. I only provide Keystone style rods, as I see the overall benefit, but when and if my vendor were to provide a bushing that was too tight, it would be going back to them to fix. But if you are resizing rods, I am wondering if you are using the straight wrist pin version or the Keystone design. The caution is, the straight rod can be honed, if it is necessary, but the beveled wrist pin has to be align bored, or the thin side of the bushing will become egg-shaped. You wrist pin bushing will not be round. Also, I don't know who you are using for your pistons, but with the high end pistons I use, wrist pin sizing is extremely accurate. Weights may vary as much as 1.5gr, but the fit is extremely good. The wrist pin is the final balancing point for the rods and pistons.

With the company I work with, the sizing of the big end is a tolerance of 0.0000 to +.0002", consistently. The rod ends I use are reliably under .0005" and that clearance I find excellent. I use a free floating wrist pin. As they come, I find them virtually perfect

I was strictly talking about using stock pistons with aftermarket rods. The bushings on the rods weren’t tight nor varied much but the stock pins did vary is size. Small ends were touched on a Sunnen rod hone to be opened up a couple tenths to get better clearance. The big ends I didn’t mess with since they were pretty good with .0002-0003” OOR.

[Franko6]

I was strictly talking about using stock pistons with aftermarket rods. The bushings on the rods weren’t tight nor varied much but the stock pins did vary is size. Small ends were touched on a Sunnen rod hone to be opened up a couple tenths to get better clearance. The big ends I didn’t mess with since they were pretty good with .0002-0003” OOR.

Stock pistons can be keystone design or straight wrist pin design. My point is if you have the later model engine, usually post 2004, almost every one is keystone design and cannot be honed. If the top of the rod wrist pin is narrower than the bottom of the wrist pin, that is a keystone design; not to be honed to size.

[Silverex]

Stock pistons can be keystone design or straight wrist pin design. My point is if you have the later model engine, usually post 2004, almost every one is keystone design and cannot be honed. If the top of the rod wrist pin is narrower than the bottom of the wrist pin, that is a keystone design; not to be honed to size.

There isn’t any rod changes for the 2.7 except for the rs4/ASR’s regardless of year, so on this platform honing is acceptable.

Also just cause the piston is a keystone design doesn’t necessarily mean the wrist pins arnt a straight design.