Aftermarket rods for turbo stroker?

[JeffO2]

im having an L28ET stroked and i need some rods. i want some aftermarket rods but havnt been able to find any yet. custom rods were expensive and i think a set of 6 will cost me over $1k as i think they were around $178 a piece!!!

 

also, im figuring 8 or 8.5:1 compression.

 

thanks.

[Guest Anonymous]

Welcome To the site Jeff.

 

Try Crower or Eagle seems to me I saw some somewhere for around $650.00 a set.

 

One thing though, most people use stock 280 or 240 rods and then have custom pistons made with the appropriate pin height.

 

Lots of people have made upwards of 400HP with the stock rods. I have heard that If prepped properly they are good to over 600HP.

 

Good luck in any case.

 

Cheers, Mike.

[jgkurz]

Try these folks. I've heard nothing but good things.

 

http://www.pauter.com/

 

If you are also having custom pistons made you should try to design a rod/stroke ratio that is better than 1.6. I regret not putting more research into this subject before I built my stroker. You will be fine with the L24 rod length and an LD28 crank (1.60 rod/stroke ratio), but if expense is the same then go for a better ratio. If you plan on keeping the engine below 7K it may not be worth the extra expense. 1.8 to 1.9 is ideal from what I understand. JeffP has great torque throughout the RPM range partly because of this factor. If I had it to do all over again I would look at the 146mm L20B rods with custom pistons.

 

 

 

Regards,

[Guest zline]

you do NOT need aftermarket rods on a turbo stroker engine!!

 

DO NOT let anyone make you believe otherwise...get a set of 1973 240Z rods (the 9mm bolt ones) have them magnafluxed balance both ends and shot peen them...if they can last in a 650HP Electramotive built full race extended rpm application they can last in a street car.

 

you can also use 146mm rods from a FJ20 engine with the same preparations done to them.

[jgkurz]

If I remember correctly the Electramotive engine used a 79mm L28 crank which is not a stroker. This means it probably had a better rod/stroke ratio than most strokers. I agree that 9mm L24 rods are the way to go until you start making the BIG BIG hp. If the funds are available why not have custom rods made to eek out every last bit of reliability? At a 1.6 ratio I wouldn't feel comfortable going to a local track day and running over 7K RPMs for extended periods. Most turbo setups I've seen make peek power under 7K anyway so it's probably not an issue.

[Guest zline]

If I remember correctly the Electramotive engine used a 79mm L28 crank which is not a stroker. This means it probably had a better rod/stroke ratio than most strokers. I agree that 9mm L24 rods are the way to go until you start making the BIG BIG hp. If the funds are available why not have custom rods made to eek out every last bit of reliability? At a 1.6 ratio I wouldn't feel comfortable going to a local track day and running over 7K RPMs for extended periods. Most turbo setups I've seen make peek power under 7K anyway so it's probably not an issue.

 

eh i thought the electramotive was a 3.0...my mistake i guess..

[jgkurz]

zline, Have you used the 146mm rod in an L28? I was wondering if this rod would be too even for a custom piston. Some builders have the rings go into the wrist pin area, but I'm not sure this would work for a street application.

 

Later

[Mack]

Actually, to chuck my $.02 in, from what I ahve read on the electramotive motor and the FJ20ET motors, they used 140mm rods, much like the NISMO rods of the day. which also, I am told, bear a striking resembelance to the 140MM deisel rods out of the maxima, which are parts most just toss out, interestingly enough.

 

If your concerned about rod/stroke ratio, do what I am planning on doing, USE the deisel block, with its superior deck height and a set of 152.5MM Z20E con rods and then get some custom pistons witha 33.5mm compression height and a 87.5mm bore, 1.84:1 rod/stroke ratio in a 3.0L motor with some serious torque!

 

Or use the stock block, punch it out to 89mm, toss in a 240Z crank and some 140MM deisel rods and get yourself 300ZX VG30E pistons in 1mm overbore for a 2.7L motor that screams, or if you could find, a 2mm overbore VG30E piston at 89mm for a 2.8L motor. rod/stroke ratio on this beast would be a whopping 1.9:1, oh yeah, youd have to shave .75mm off the top of the pistons, no biggie tho...

 

where is my damn tax refund check!?!?!?

 

lol

 

McAdam

[Lockjaw]

I have 240 rods in my 280ZXT engine, and had pistons custom made but was a little off on the deck height so I had to deck the block. I did that mainly to help improve the rod to stroke ratio to help with detonation resistance, and I was able to run close to 19psi on pump gas with flat tops 10 thousandths down in the hole and 1mm over.

 

I polished mine, had them shotpeened and bushed for floaters, had the two oil holes drilled in the small end, and used ARP rod bolts. So far the engine is going on 5 years of abuse with no failure.

 

When I get it back up and going with the JWT sport 450 and Spearco intercooler with 2.5 in plumbing I will post some numbers.

 

I think the L18 rods are longer too, not sure though. Either way I turn mine pretty tight, and with 3.90's in the back it stays on the rev limiter in the first 3 gears (7000rpms).

 

This guy Jack at Scorpion racing, who got all the electromotive stuff told me 5.7 inch rods were the secret to making a Datsun engine make alot of power. Not sure if true or not, just relating what he told me.

[Guest zline]

zline' date=' Have you used the 146mm rod in an L28? I was wondering if this rod would be too even for a custom piston. Some builders have the rings go into the wrist pin area, but I'm not sure this would work for a street application.

 

Later[/quote']

 

you need to use a full float ring setup, you get better quench anyway like that. i'd use some FJ20 which are 140mm or 5.51" rods if it was up to me...I dont remember if the L20B rods were 9mm bolt holes or not...i dont think they were, but anyway - i dont think even after shot peening and balancing they'd be that good for high hp extended app use, they're from a 4 cyl and designed to do a different thing than we want for a turbo stroker Z...

 

 

here are some thing sto keep in mind for a free floating piston

1. its okay to float them against the steel of the rod but you can drill em oversize and bush them then press the rod in lower

2. after you finish teh conversion mike and hone the pin bores to .020-.025 larger to give proper piston/bore clearance..if you dont do this and you used the thin wall bushings your rods will size and your motor will be trash

 

and another thing - i remember the sports option rods were 148.6mm for the L20B, but im not sure what the stock ones were...these would be definatly to much, but they're not in production anymore so it doesnt matter.

[Guest zline]

I have 240 rods in my 280ZXT engine' date=' and had pistons custom made but was a little off on the deck height so I had to deck the block. I did that mainly to help improve the rod to stroke ratio to help with detonation resistance, and I was able to run close to 19psi on pump gas with flat tops 10 thousandths down in the hole and 1mm over.

 

I polished mine, had them shotpeened and bushed for floaters, had the two oil holes drilled in the small end, and used ARP rod bolts. So far the engine is going on 5 years of abuse with no failure.

 

When I get it back up and going with the JWT sport 450 and Spearco intercooler with 2.5 in plumbing I will post some numbers.

 

I think the L18 rods are longer too, not sure though. Either way I turn mine pretty tight, and with 3.90's in the back it stays on the rev limiter in the first 3 gears (7000rpms).

 

This guy Jack at Scorpion racing, who got all the electromotive stuff told me 5.7 inch rods were the secret to making a Datsun engine make alot of power. Not sure if true or not, just relating what he told me.[/quote']

 

wow thats a big rod...what piston heigh would you use with a 5.7" ? thats what chevys use...a 350ci L6..woo hoo!!!!!!!!!! hahahaha

[jeffp]

correct me if I read the posts wrong, but in an L28 block, you will never get a rod that long to work with the LD28 crank.

I went with a 1.7:1 rod/stroke ratio, I could have gone to 1.75:1 ratio, but that would have put the wrist pin under the oil ring and I did not want that because I felt it would promote oil consumption. My rod length is 5.350" for 1.7:1 and a 5.400 rod length would have made a 1.75:1 ratio. a 5.7" rod in a L28 block would put the wrist pin under all of the rings and you would never make good compression.

I have many times considered doing a diesel block and going with the longer rods, but really it would just be an experiment for me. The block is I think .400 taller from the mains to the top of the deck and that way you could go with the longer rod. The engine would definetly make the torque numbers no question about that and the torque/hp figures woulf be really wacked out with the torque way higher then the Hp figures. That is not a bad thing. The consideration that I did not like to much was the RPM you could safely do with the longer rods. I would really be afraid to try to turn the engine to 7K to much myself, I guess that is why they made it a relatively slow turning diesel application.

You know, I dont know, but my engine is turning out some very good torque numbers, and since I am going for the 600hp number with the engine, the torque should be very near that number depending on how you look at where you are taking your readings, at the crank or at the wheels. I like the wheels myself, because that is where the rubber meets the road, and that is what you car will end up doing at the end of the day.

So 473-475 foot pounds @ 413hp is what I got, another 100Hp added to that number will be really good for my car, and that is about all I want to build. I think I want to keep the car in one piece a little longer, and those numbers are getting very near limit of the structral integrety of the chassis in my opinion.