Aluminum rods on the street??

[RICK LAKE]

Jay B. Jay have you looked into BMR aluminum rods? Talked to tech. These rods are forged and not  milled. Also added differents thing to strengthen them. Was told that the graining of the rods is stronger than milled ones. Out side of pre oiling to start a motor and letting them warn up before beating on them, seams to be a possible winner over running 1.88 honda rods or going to 2.00" SBC rods with a 6.7 length. Tech did a load test of about 5,800 pounds at 6,500 rpms. Said you are well within the safety range of loading. Always looking for more info on yes or no for a motor. I was also looking at saving weight on the crank as well as the rods. Have a set of 6.7 BBC rods that are 720 grams + or - .5 gram. Well balance all to "0" either way. Any thoughts? Rick L.

[jayb]

I haven't looked seriously at aluminum rods, Rick, mostly because of their size.  The ones I have seen are so much bulkier than a steel rod that they would present some clearance problems in a stroker motor.  Since I'm firmly in the "more cubes is better" camp, I've never given them more than a passing glance.  I ran a set of aluminum rods on the street back in the mid 1980's, and they were a problem because when the temperature of the engine came up the clearances got so big that I didn't have good oil pressure anymore.  I understand that new alloys have solved that particular problem, so they can be used on the street, but with the stroker cranks available now you don't have to rev the engine as high to make good power, and I think the additional cubes are worth more power than the weight savings of an aluminum rod would be.

What have you found out about them?  Sounds like you've been doing some research...

[RICK LAKE]

Jay B. Sorry the name is BME. Out side of the price, they can make custom ones of any size. Each rod is about $150.00 each. Bill said that the new rods are more stable in size and don't grow as much as the old ones. He has a couple of car with over 100K on the street. Guess the problem is finding a couple of guinea pigs for a test. The other issue is a real custom crankshaft. I guess the real question is there any real up side to running a lighter bottom end? Talked to 2 other companies and got the 200-300 rounds and recheck or chuck. I have not checked in the titanium side yet. I am sure them are going to be about 3-4,000.00.
Other side note, waiting for your PSE manifold. With this setup a rev kit is doable and still like the idea of running one and saving some spring pressure and adding more control of the lifter. If you can take a hydro lifter to 6,800 or 7,000 rpm and still have control, it,s got to be worth something too. Running high pressures my lifters are pumped up which is OK. My thought is are the rollers not bouncing off the back side of the ramp of the camshafts at high speeds. I know high spring pressure, better control. The new thing or repackaging is of more multi back cuts on valves for better flow in the middle range of the motor. I have a set of heads done without valves, Have thought about dropping the valve down from 3/8 diameter shafts to 5/16 or even 7MM. Another reason for taking some of the pressure off the valves when seating in the heads. Still kicking this around too. Trying to work a deal with a friend for some dyno time on this motor without going broke. Have a good day. Ps need a shop like yours. Rick L.

[ToddK]

I bought a set of BME aluminium rods to use in my 482 high riser drag engine. The plan was to take advantage of the reduced reciprocating weight to allow a safer high rpm operation. However, upon seeing how big the rods were, and reading that the rod bolts should be loosened in the off season, as well as the oil temp requirements, we decided to go the easier route and are now using a set of Oliver steel rods.

I still have the rods and would be willing to sell them if anyone wanted to try them out. They are 6.680" in length, and to suit BB chev rod journal.

[cammerfe]

I started exploring the use of aluminium rods some years ago. My search took me, among other places, to Hank Bechtloff, owner of Hank the Crank.

He related that one function of his company was the care of the engines for a fleet of tanker trucks for use in the oil industry in a hilly area. He built stroker motors for the fleet, based on 460 Ford engines. He used his proprietary Al rods and found them to be perfectly workable for the tanker fleet purpose.

I am, at present, VERY SLOWLY building a replacement engine for my Lincoln LS ECTA record-holder land speed car. I am using GRP aluminium rods on a Moldex crank. The crank throw uses the 1.88 Honda bearing and I'm having inserts made for the main saddles so as to use SBF bearings. If I were to use the Jaguar bearings, it would be necessary to order them from England by the individual shell. In this country, main bearings are only available by buying a new block. The bearings come with it.

This engine will be used on the street as well as the ECTA mile. GRP have been very helpful in setting things up for this use combination.

KS

[RoyceP]

I guess I don't see the point of using aluminum rods in an FE. Why would you want to save a miniscule amount of weight and limit the number of cubic inches? Same goes for the super light crankshaft - with a hydraulic roller cam? It sounds like your goals are confused. All  those light components are completely wasted if the goal is to use a hydraulic cam and have RPM under 6800. Are you building an engine for real, or is this something you fantasize about in study hall?

 

[cammerfe]

Aside from rev-ability, one giant reason to use aluminium rods is that they provide a degree of cushioning effect for engines running either spray or some sort of supercharger---or both.

There are both benefits and drawbacks to the use of aluminium rods. Ignoring the snarky-ness to be found in the above answer, the idea of examining the goals of a proposed build and setting your hardware details to match is an excellent idea. JMO

KS

[falcongeorge]

Aside from rev-ability, one giant reason to use aluminium rods is that they provide a degree of cushioning effect for engines running either spray or some sort of supercharger---or both.

There are both benefits and drawbacks to the use of aluminium rods. Ignoring the snarky-ness to be found in the above answer, the idea of examining the goals of a proposed build and setting your hardware details to match is an excellent idea. JMO

KS

Bingo. And I have used BME rods in a big hp(800ish) N/A brand X "street" motor in the past, was VERY happy with them. Worked well, and the cap fretting went away. Yes, I know its an old thread, but binderedonedat and it worked very well.

[falcongeorge]

Aside from rev-ability, one giant reason to use aluminium rods is that they provide a degree of cushioning effect for engines running either spray or some sort of supercharger---or both.

There are both benefits and drawbacks to the use of aluminium rods. Ignoring the snarky-ness to be found in the above answer, the idea of examining the goals of a proposed build and setting your hardware details to match is an excellent idea. JMO

KS

Bingo. And I have used BME rods in a big hp(800ish) N/A brand X "street" motor in the past, was VERY happy with them. Worked well, and the cap fretting went away. Yes, I know its an old thread, but binderedonedat and it worked very well.

Ill add this thought as well. The deep skirt and cross-bolted mains might negate some of the need for this in a big hp N/A FE, as its a lot more rigid than those orange motors. I have seen cap fretting at 650 hp in two bolt main BBC 4 bolt a Little higher power level. Once they start bouncing around enoug that the cap register starts to loosen up, bad things happen...

[Qikbbstang]

Ive got a Super Stock & Drag Illustrated where they went in the shop at TASCA back in 1968 showing a set of FE Titanium LeMans$$$$$$$$$$$ RodS on the bench.


-"USED" set of Porsche Titanium Rod Bearings:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Porsche-Titanium-Connecting-Rod-Bearings-/230944197711

Used BBC/BBF Crower Titanium Rod
http://www.ebay.com/itm/CROWER-TITANIUM-CONNECTING-ROD-BBC-BBF-DRAG-RACING-CHEVY-FORD-454-460-/231537301832?hash=item35e8b2d948&vxp=mtr