Is anybody using aluminum rods on the street? I've heard of it, but looking for feedback on how long they last, how often do they need to be checked, etc. I'm skeptical because I've always understood that they don't live up to heat and stress very long. I don't think you can use them as a daily driver, but weekend driving, cruising, track. Is it worth it?
When i was building my 525, I asked the builder about aluminum rods (to TRY and compensate for the 90 # crank) in a street strip car and he said no way for the exact reason you stated, he said the heat cycles would ruin the rods. so we went with eagle steels.
When I use to have a SBC with aluminum rods in it I called the company and some of their employes had 60,000 street strip miles on the daily driver cars. Aluminum rods will live along time in a low rpm engine. Its good to keep the oil temps down.
GRP also advised me of many people doing thousands of street miles...... In a weak block,and below 6800RPM there just aren't any downsides to an Aluminum Rod. Talk to some of the Rod Co.'s.....They have the most contact with what people are doin' w/ their stuff.
Aluminum rods don't like to be stretched like when you are decelerating from speed. Low RPMs would make them live longer but why waste money on this. HEADS are more important than anything else in the engine! Spend the money on the best set you can afford. K.I.S.S.
Thanks Rick. I'm reconfiguring my combo and trying to lighten the load. I have a couple of sets of stock rods left over so I may reuse those (well massaged of course) with a lightweight piston and get the crank lightened. I was told by a few friends to check into aluminum rods, but I'm still leary. I already have a good set of heads on the way.
Reynold, When I was looking for info on this subject. My search lead me to the Pontiac website. There was a lot of guys running BME aluminum rods on the street. This subject came up. And this was a quote from Bill Miller President of BME. The Only Streetable Aluminum Rod Urban legends abound in the gearhead community. One is: aluminum connecting rods don't work in street engines. Prior to the mid-'70s, that might have been true, however, introduction of the Bill Miller Engineering Forged Aluminum Connecting Rod in 1975 provided a glaring exception to that myth. The BME Rod has good durability in high-end, high-power, street/strip or hot street engines because it is die-forged, rather than cut out of an aluminum plate. Bill Miller Engineering's unique, high-strength, aluminum alloy further enhances fatigue strength such that the potential durability of BME Rod rivals that of many forged steel rods and exceeds that of a few. About 20 years ago, high-performance engine builders, led by H-O Racing's, Ken Crocie, began using BME Rods in high-end, very-high-performance street engines. Crocie, a racing and street/strip Pontiac V8 specialist, faced with a shortage of acceptable steel rods for Pontiacs, began to use BME Aluminum Rods. While a few other engine builders have followed Crocie's lead, admittedly, use of the Bill MIller Engineering Rod in street engines has not been widespread, but that's only because of its higher cost and the stubborn belief that any aluminum rod is unsuitable for street use. "In a street application, using the aluminum rod is a no brainer," BME President, Bill Miller recently said in an interview with an automotive magazine. "I don't know exactly how the myth that aluminum rods can't be used on the street got started, but I'll guess that early manufacturers of aluminum rods, back in the 60s and early-70s, weren't makin' them using the forging process we're using. With the material we've got and they way we manufacture the connecting rods, they'll live a couple hundred thousand miles on the street because a street application is, for the most part, low load. You gotta understand, our basic Aluminum Rod is made for 10,000 rpm and 800-hp. The design criteria for the connecting rod is way overkill for what it's gonna see on the street. We been runnin' aluminum rods on the street for 20 years." Why build a street engine with BME Rods? One reason is the "cool factor." Bill Miller Engineering Rods are unique, high-end racing parts and there always will be people who spend extra money to be different and have the very best. More importantly, there are practical reasons for using BME Rodsthe same reasons racers use them: less reciprocating and rotating mass due to their comparative lightness. That allows the engine to accelerate quicker and make more power as it does so. Lighter rods also improve throttle response and allow the engine to run reliabliy at a higher rpm than it could with steel rods. You do a couple of things differently when setting-up an engine for BME Rods. Minimum bearing clearance at room temperature should be .002-.0025-in. Wrist pin clearance should be .0006-.0008-in. Rod side clearance should be .020-in. The engine's oiling system needs to be appropriate for a racing application which typically run larger rod bearing clearances once the oil reaches operating temperature. The oiling system must be configured to provide 10 psi, hot oil pressure for every 1000 rpm in the engine's rpm range. Under no circumstances should 5W30 engine oil be used. The minimum acceptable oil is a premium, 10W30 synthetic and Bill Miller Engineering recommends Red Line Oil. If you choose petroleum-based oil, minimum acceptable is a 20W50. Engines with BME Aluminum Rods must not be run at high load or high rpm until oil temperature reaches at least 125 deg. F. Lastly, optimum oil temperature with Red Line Oil is 200-250 deg. F. Standard BME Forged Aluminum Connecting Rods for most production Chevrolet, Chrysler and Pontiac V8s are reliable replacements for steel rods in engines of up to 800 horsepower. Aluminum Rods for some Ford V8s of similar power output are available on special order. A Big-Block Chevrolet style, Pro Stock rod, good to 1200-hp, is, also, available. If the application is a Chrysler 426 Hemi or big-block "wedge", BME's blown-alcohol rods can be used at levels well over 2000-hp and have outstanding reliability/durability. Here is the whole article off of there website on advances in material and the superior way they make there rods. This made me feel a lot better about going with aluminum. http://www.bmeltd.com/rods.htm
Rods Hey TexasRanger, Your 100% right Terence, I was very close to buying A set of Ta aluminum Rods I spoke to dave and said thay had customers who had aluminum rods in there cars for years. I found a set of corrillo Rods for the right price here on the board so i went with them insted.
Eric I wonder who you got those from? :grin: If I didn't plan on turning my engine so hard. I'd still have them. They are great rods.
How much weight advantage would an aluminum rod have over a reconditioned 455 rod? The reason I ask is that it seems like the aluminum rods have a lot more material to get the strength, so if you're building a 550-600hp street/strip motor, would there be enough of a weight savings to justify the cost over using reconditioned Buick rods? The Buick rods are pretty light, and have been proven to work up to 600hp reliably. ________ Best value vaporizer
That's my plan at the moment. Use recon'd stockers that are beamed with ARP bolts. I need to check around for a lightweight piston. Most are 700 or more. I'd like to be lighter than that.
Yeah, the lighter the better, really. I have a set of Wiesco Pro-Tru forged that go 680. I'm not sure if that's with the pins or not. JE are probably the lightest, if I remember right. I'm assuming you mean dished pistons. My Wiescos are dished- 22cc. The flat tops are lighter yet. I wonder how many stock-rodded motors that have failed have actually failed a rod... I would be willing to bet that most of those motors failed because of a lack of oil to the rods. Just a hunch. ________ Extreme q vaporizer
When I first checked into Wiseco's, the flat top was lighter than the dished(see post 20 by Bobb Makley http://www.v8buick.com/showthread.php?t=19898&highlight=wiseco ). The JE SRP's are 690 gms. The Speed Pro's are WAY heavy. I'd like to find out if anybody else makes LIGHTWEIGHT pistons for Buicks(Arias, Venolia,CP,etc.). Does anybody know what the TA Custom Race piston weighs at the 10.0:1 level? I'm hoping to find something in the low 600's to mid 500's.
chevy rods If your looking for a good inexpensive way to go you should think about cutting down your crank and going with a chevy h-beam rod. It would prabably be better for the street. You would add some stoke to your engine and add c.i all while saving some rotating weight. The price for some rods is very reasonable.
Eric, The rods would have no problem doing 7500 rpm.There bullet proof. :blast: but because of there weight. I would be very afraid to turn them that hard. with the current block and crank.
I've been the ESP route. They're heavier than stock (almost 200 gms). You don't need to stroke the crank but it does have to be widened.
I've seen some really light pistons. You should talk to John Zerucha about that. THe only thing is, they don't seem to have much of a skirt. I'm assuming the ones I saw were for a stroker motor. If you could go to a longer BBC aluminum rod and get the compression height down on the piston, I'm sure they would be much lighter. I wonder if there is a problem with rocking in the bore with those short skirts? The problem with the 10:1 motors is that the dish makes a thicker piston top necessary, which means more weight by design. You might have to look at a flat top instead if you want to go that light. Are JE and SRP the same thing? I thought JE had an "ultralite" style piston that you had to custom order. One thing is for sure- you can get a lot of money wrapped up in something like this. When (if) I ever get the money to put my motor together, I'm going with Buick rods and the wiescos, pinned main caps, halo girdle, internal balance. With oiling mods and proper clearances, that should live a good long life if kept under 6000/600hp. I'm not sure what power level you're going for. I really don't think the steel rods are desireable in a motor at this level, because of the extra 200 grams you mentioned above. If I were to spend the money, I'd definitely go aluminum. Really, the rods are one of the best parts of these motors. It's the block that's the real problem. ________ FEMALE ADVICE DICUSSION
