General Chat
Q:
Just a question to the guys running aftermarket rods in your turbo and or stroker motors. What are you running? So far the only company that has got back to me with a quote is Crower and they wanted 220 per!
80 280zx 3.2 liter F.I. Stroker with a 150 shot of NOS! Im getting close to the end of this journey but I'll be back with VG30 Turbo Power!
A:
Crower rods are some of the best from what I hear in V8 applications. They have been around for a long long time. The last set of aftermarket rods I purchased was many moons ago from Childs and Albert at $100 per, for SBC. $220 per for a Nissan L6 is probably not too far out of line. You get what you pay for......
Ken
'82ZX n/a 2+2
'02 Sportster XL1200C
A:
Ummmmm yeah.... $220 per rod....Yeah I'll have to get back to you on that one... How about, "THAT'S INSANE!"
______________________________________________________________________________
77 280Z - TEC3 Engine Management, Coil Packs, 3.1 Stroker, 550CC injectors, tripple throttle body FI intake, MSA Stage II Cam, etc...etc...
79 Fairlady - Rusty
81 280ZX - DD
A:
Carrillo - http://www.carrilloind.com/app.html
Cunningham - http://www.cunninghamrods.com/products.html
GRP - http://www.grpconrods.com/
Oliver - http://www.oliver-rods.com/
All the above have made rods for the Nissan L6.
- John
A:
I have a set of 6 brand new MecHert rods, which are no longer made, but I won't let them go for cheap.
I can't remember the specs, but I think they weigh around 220 ounces a piece. Can't imagine how that would feel, coupled with aluminum pistons, aluminum flywheel and aluminum driveshaft :-)
______________________________________________
'82 280zx -- 400+hp 355 sbc / T-56
'72 240zt - T3/T4 hybrid / TEC-II / not much stock
'82 280zxt - Stock...for now
'77 280z 2+2 -- Ongoing battle; currently in the process of "ricing
Post Edited (Nov 29, 12:57pm)
A:
Man that weight saving removal of material from the rod scares the crap out of me!
___________________________________
Got-Z.com http://got-z.com Converting Z'ers into bastards, one at a time.
Ghostkilla's personal website http://ghostkilla.net
Absolute Z Club http://absolutez.org L.A./Orange County
A:
It's not a normal I-section rod with lightening holes, it's a (presumably) custom box-section rod with holes in the webs. Should be plenty stout (if the designers and stress analysts behind it are worth a damn).
jbond, what's so special/exotic about ALUMINUM pistons?!
Post Edited (Nov 29, 4:01pm)
A:
Offhand, those are the "big three" in SoCal...
For those who think $220 a rod is exprbitant, don't go for ultimate horsepower, high revs, or racing in any way shape or form!
People Are Idiots, Just look around here and you will see!
Tony D: "Knowledgeable but Caustic"... rationull
My brother from another mother calls himself "Willie D"
A:
For what im trying to do i really dont need the rods. The stock race preped ones with arp rod bolts that i have already should hold. My engine builder just asked me if wanted to put some rods in my motor cause he is ordering a couple of sets for some new customers. All of the above mentioned companies wanted us to order at least 20 rods before they gave up any discounts and even then they were only talking 20 bucks off per rod. Thanks but know thanks!
80 280zx 3.2 liter F.I. Stroker with a 150 shot of NOS! Im getting close to the end of this journey but I'll be back with VG30 Turbo Power!
A:
I'm just assuming that aluminum pistons would be the lightest choice, and would therefore have the least rotating mass. Dan, your posts here give me the impression that you're pretty experienced with racing and so forth, so feel free to correct me if I'm out of line. I've built a couple of engines, one was a simple rebuild, and the other was for mild performance, but I haven't built an all-out race motor yet, so I really don't have too much experience there. However, it seems like 1 fast Z had a recent post about how much of a difference aluminum pistons made in the rev speed of his new engine, so that probably also influenced my thinking.
______________________________________________
'82 280zx -- 400+hp 355 sbc / T-56
'72 240zt - T3/T4 hybrid / TEC-II / not much stock
'82 280zxt - Stock...for now
'77 280z 2+2 -- Ongoing battle; currently in the process of "ricing
A:
Now that I think about it, I believe the stock Z rods are cast aluminum. Hmm...if so, I see how I've made an ass of myself.
______________________________________________
'82 280zx -- 400+hp 355 sbc / T-56
'72 240zt - T3/T4 hybrid / TEC-II / not much stock
'82 280zxt - Stock...for now
'77 280z 2+2 -- Ongoing battle; currently in the process of "ricing
A:
"I believe the stock Z rods are cast aluminum. Hmm...if so, I see how I've made an ass of myself."
should read:
"I believe the stock Z rods are cast aluminum. Hmm...I've now made an ass of myself.
The stock rods in a Z are forged Steel, and the stock pistons are Cast Aluminum. What Bryan (1FastZ) commented on waas his Bridgeport work under the bottom of the forged pistons he had to FURTHER lighten them by removing metal from places where he deemed it excessively thick. I believe he cut 220 grams from each piston, multiply that by 6 pistons, and that's over 2 POUNDS of reciprocating mass removed from internal assemblies. Pretty impressive as long as it all holds together!
People Are Idiots, Just look around here and you will see!
Tony D: "Knowledgeable but Caustic"... rationull
My brother from another mother calls himself "Willie D"
A:
Haha, oh man, I didn't even catch that one. Yes, I meant to say pistons, not rods. I know for DAMN sure the rods aren't aluminum, but I didn't know they were forged from the factory.
I was wondering what the whole story was with Bryan's pistons - I figured I was missing a few bits and pieces. Thanks for clearing everything up!
I wonder if he'll elaborate on how he shaved the excess weight -- I'm wanting to build a highly lightened rotating assembly, and you're right, 220 grams adds up quick!
______________________________________________
'82 280zx -- 400+hp 355 sbc / T-56
'72 240zt - T3/T4 hybrid / TEC-II / not much stock
'82 280zxt - Stock...for now
'77 280z 2+2 -- Ongoing battle; currently in the process of "ricing
A:
"I can't remember the specs, but I think they weigh around 220 ounces a piece."
lol do you mean grams?? because 220 ounces is 13.75 lbs :P i don't think that would be too good for performance
'74 260z TURBO
'86 300zx N/A (SLOW!)
"All your base are belong to us" - God
Suck. Squeez. Bang. Blow.
A:
I actually just read the number out of a "How to Modify Your Datsun" book, or something like that, and that was the first number that stuck in my head. But yeah, now that I think of it, I believe it was grams. Man, I really screwed up this thread...I just don't know anymore :-) The only thing I have to blame it on is 4 hours of sleep, 5 cans of No Fear, and 1 Red Bull...does that count? :-)
______________________________________________
'82 280zx -- 400+hp 355 sbc / T-56
'72 240zt - T3/T4 hybrid / TEC-II / not much stock
'82 280zxt - Stock...for now
'77 280z 2+2 -- Ongoing battle; currently in the process of "ricing
A:
Amazing to see a willingness to recognize a small error and correct it rather than getting hyperdefensive, which is sort of the tradition 'round here!
FWIW, it's been a LONGass time since any production vehicle had anything other than aluminum pistons.
What is "No Fear"?
A:
those mechert rods are NICE!!!!!!!
oh, and "No Fear" is an "energy drink" made by Sobe.
McAdam
1980 280zx with a mildly ported N47 maxima head, 60mm TB, -C- stamp 256 degree camshaft, and a 2.5inch mandrel bent exhaust. yeah, its quick, and yeah, its a 2+2. NOW with MSandS_E power!
A:
Yea, I actually was measuring against a Stock DISHED piston. I measured a flat top piston, and it was actually a total of 2.78 LBS out of the recipicating mass from STOCK. Yea, the motor is incredibly snappy, I love it. Now if I can just figure out why my tach singnal in MEGASQUIRT just started to jump around, and not go WAY rich, and Off of the VE Table, Ill be set!!! TONY???
Lots of Z cars, 1970's-1983's.
1977, Megasquirt, 12.8@ 105, 1.70 60 Foot, 2940 LBS. Blake Machine Co, Phx, AZ http://bandmzcars.com http://blakemachineprojects.com http://www.zselect.com
A:
Those are some nice rods, what would it take $$$ to get those Mecherts'?
I use Carrillo in 2 motors. One has a worked crank, carillo rods, JE pistons, 13.5 lb flywheel and a single grove pulley. This is a stroker by the way and the rotating assembly is a decent bit lighter than a stock 240's. With 12.5:1 compression it is quite "snappy"
Matt