ARD - Lucky Posted July 23, 2012 Report Share Posted July 23, 2012 So on the block are three sets of rods from; 1. LMR 2. CX Racing 3. Maxspeeding Rods As shown from left to right. And as you can see they are not exactly the same. Note the LMR rod has different rod shape vs. the CX Racing and Maxspeeding rods that seem nearly identical. LMR below CX Racing Below: Maxspeeding below: Small end measured. LMR Measured: CX Racing measured: Maxspeeding measured: Now for the big end of the rod. LMR Measured: CX Racing measured: Maxspeeding measured: Now some weight measurement. LMR measured within 2 grams of each other: CXRacing rods were within 1.5grams of each other: Maxspeeding rods were within 1 gram of each other: Now for where the rubber meets the road; I've had these all checked for material specs (non destructive) and it turns out CXRacing has the most amount of carbon content but only marginally so. As for strength I can't say for sure since we'd have to do destructive testing to know for certain and that's not feasible at the moment. If you guys want to pitch in the $1600 to have that testing done just let me know CAD modeling suggests that CXracing and Maxspeeding are essentially the same however with material deviation being slightly off between all three it's really a toss up between LMR and CXracing from what I see. Another interesting side note is LMR provides tang grooves while the others don't. End of the day any of these rods are a big improvement over stock and will likely work for upto 400Bhp levels, perhaps a bit more. I initially suspected that many of these aftermarket rods were coming out of the same forges with different post machining facilities which would account for the small differences however it turns out that in fact the forgings are different and not all rods are equal. So if you need a replacement rod (i.e. Zappo build) you'll need to make sure they are from the same supplier! Thanks guys -Lucky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oreo931 Posted July 23, 2012 Report Share Posted July 23, 2012 Great info!!! Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martijn_B Posted July 23, 2012 Report Share Posted July 23, 2012 Great info, happy I went with the CXRacing rods.. but time will tell! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sconeman Posted July 24, 2012 Report Share Posted July 24, 2012 Thanks for measuring/ comparing and posting up the results! To everyone reading this Robert and I have seriously discussed splitting the cost of having these evaluated more critically but we both feel like, at this point, it's not worth it to split the $1600 testing fee. We have discussed trying to get, say 50 people, to pitch in $15 each and then Robert and I will split the rest of the cost to get them evaluated. If there is interest in this please post up here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
850wagonT5 Posted July 24, 2012 Report Share Posted July 24, 2012 I think the only testing needed is to see how much power people can make before they blow one of them out of the block. I have a feeling something else might go before that happens, though. What's the most power we've seen from a whiteblock in the states so far, anyway? 600bhp range? More, less? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fischmama Posted July 24, 2012 Report Share Posted July 24, 2012 I have the blue prints for all the major rods used in Volvos. The specs allow for quite a bit of a tolerance, also using a caliper like that on the rods has proven to not be very accurate. The LMR you show above is a different part number than the other 2. I have a sample of both (139.5mm) here as well. Good info on the material though. I have not confirmed this but the "LMR" will likely need modification on the block if used on a 2.3HPT (81mm) block. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lookforjoe Posted July 24, 2012 Report Share Posted July 24, 2012 The "LMR" rod looks identical to the 139.5 rod sold by LGSpeed (this version required cutting the 2.3l bore shoulders for clearance): The rods sold through RSI are different again (note - 147mm version): Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErikS Posted July 24, 2012 Report Share Posted July 24, 2012 Well, here are 4 year old SPM rods from Sten which are still outside of my car, since everyone is whipping out their rods in this thread. I wonder how they compare to these options now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FINN Posted July 24, 2012 Report Share Posted July 24, 2012 My RSI rods lack the tear drop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zappo Posted July 24, 2012 Report Share Posted July 24, 2012 I was going to say that none of those are the same as the ones that RSI sells. Actually, RSI sells two different models, but neither were a match for the rods in the engine. I just happened to have another blown engine with RSI rods in it to replace the rods from the current blown engine. (Anyone notice a pattern?) When I get my parts back I will have to see if the rods that Josh used for the engine are similar to the ones posted above. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FINN Posted July 24, 2012 Report Share Posted July 24, 2012 Yeah this is weird. I gotta check the receipt to see when mine were shipped. Bought them new off of turbobricks from Cincinnati. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
850wagonT5 Posted July 24, 2012 Report Share Posted July 24, 2012 Looks like they just started buying them from another source. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maple017 Posted July 24, 2012 Report Share Posted July 24, 2012 I got these used from a good VS member. Supposed to be RSI 139.5 rods, but why I should not put them in a 2.3 engine ? Is there a problem with ? Thanks for sharing ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmsgltr Posted July 24, 2012 Report Share Posted July 24, 2012 I would chip in 15 for more data What testing do you plan on doing? Back up at school we have "free" load cells of all kinds... The Fsae team has clearence to most Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sconeman Posted July 24, 2012 Report Share Posted July 24, 2012 It's a two part test: 1. chemical composition to determine material properties 2. 3 point bending test I'd be interested to hear if there was a cheaper way to do it.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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