144 replies to this topic

[Volvo5.0]

lookforjoe, on 14 February 2012 - 03:55 PM, said:

That would be good - I need exact ID of the small end - not something an estimated measurement will work for

I used Volvo pistons and RSI 139.5mm rods. The Volvo piston pins are indeed 23mm and fit in the RSI rods, although my machine shop re-sized the small end of the rod very slightly for a looser fit.

No clue about the other rod/piston options from RSI though.

[lookforjoe]

Volvo5.0, on 14 February 2012 - 04:01 PM, said:

I used Volvo pistons and RSI 139.5mm rods. The Volvo piston pins are indeed 23mm and fit in the RSI rods, although my machine shop re-sized the small end of the rod very slightly for a looser fit.

No clue about the other rod/piston options from RSI though.

When I put together the first block there were no issues with the Mahle pistons & the LG Speed 139.5 rod small end sizing, so I would presume they were both 23mm. The fella @ RSI told me he measured 22.8mm ID, I'm assuming he was off by .2mm.

[Johann]

First batches of China rods were all a bit off at the small end. Recommendation was to measure the small end and adjust if needed.
No one ever mentioned the oval big ends..

[B Mac]

lookforjoe, on 13 February 2012 - 03:54 PM, said:

What I really want to know is which crank/rod/piston setup to go with, or if the later crank will behave with earlier rods/pistons. No one has clarified what the issue actually is, or the benefits of either.

I keep seeing this question asked with no answer:

I'm using the RN 2.3L crank with the shorter rods/piston combo from RSI. I didn't feel that swapping cranks was a good idea between blocks since my old and new cranks had different color/size bearings between the two. So far, no problems. The machine shop I used said the RSI rod/piston set matched to the RN crank didn't require balancing because the weight was spot on...unless I got lucky...or got screwed??

As far as the weight of the crank, it is 9lbs lighter than the old style crank.

[fischmama]

B Mac, on 14 February 2012 - 09:38 PM, said:

I keep seeing this question asked with no answer:

I'm using the RN 2.3L crank with the shorter rods/piston combo from RSI. I didn't feel that swapping cranks was a good idea between blocks since my old and new cranks had different color/size bearings between the two. So far, no problems. The machine shop I used said the RSI rod/piston set matched to the RN crank didn't require balancing because the weight was spot on...unless I got lucky...or got screwed??

As far as the weight of the crank, it is 9lbs lighter than the old style crank.

I can only talk about the lighter crank and that I have not seen any issues with it. Granted my engine is essentially a stock R block, but I currently run about where H was last year at Carlisle (~350WHP FWD).