Steel rod life expectancy

SSGT Mustang · 06-16-2014, 11:46 AM

You can buy a used set of Carrillo or Lentz rods from a cup team for next to nothing (couple hundred bucks).

I had a set of used super speedway Carrillo's in a 9200 RPM 358 and put countless passes on them with ZERO problems. I even dropped a valve, and the rod didn't miss a beat. I sold them to a friend of mine who still uses them in a bracket motor.

I moved over to Manley aluminum rods and broke one after 18 passes. I have GRP rods in a new motor, but am thinking about going back to a steel rod or moving up to a titanium rod, because aluminum rods seem to be ticking time bombs (much more so than a good steel rod).

A lot of guys use aluminum rods, and don't mind the maintenance. I'd rather have an engine that can suffer some "miscalculations" and requires fewer teardowns.

Just my .02.

06-16-2014, 11:46 AM	#4
SSGT Mustang Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Jersey Posts: 359 Likes: 35 Liked 204 Times in 54 Posts	Re: Steel rod life expectancy You can buy a used set of Carrillo or Lentz rods from a cup team for next to nothing (couple hundred bucks). I had a set of used super speedway Carrillo's in a 9200 RPM 358 and put countless passes on them with ZERO problems. I even dropped a valve, and the rod didn't miss a beat. I sold them to a friend of mine who still uses them in a bracket motor. I moved over to Manley aluminum rods and broke one after 18 passes. I have GRP rods in a new motor, but am thinking about going back to a steel rod or moving up to a titanium rod, because aluminum rods seem to be ticking time bombs (much more so than a good steel rod). A lot of guys use aluminum rods, and don't mind the maintenance. I'd rather have an engine that can suffer some "miscalculations" and requires fewer teardowns. Just my .02.