If this says anything, I wish i would have spent the money on my engine. Now to put rods in it will cost me the almost as much as the rods themself, by the time you figure up all the little costs you don't think of.
LLY: Swapping to LBZ rods worth anything?
- Thread starter thunder550
- Start date
i also know jake did the LBZ rods and did it as bare bones of a build as he could. the motor lasted over a year at 700hp IIRC before bending a couple rods on just a 366 single
Definetely balance the crank when doing different rods. There's an obvious weight difference when changing rods. It would be like putting tire weights on and not balancing a tire. On top of that I would not risk re-using the rings. If you do all that work and find you're burning oil or have excessive blow by you're gonna hate life. IMO it's worth the $200-$300 you'll have in rings to not have to do it again.
If you pull pistons, make sure to clean the carbon ring off the cylinder first. It usually won't break the top or second ring, but I've seen it chip the oil rings before. Reusing rings isn't a big deal, make sure they go back in the same bore, and don't hone it with used rings. Make sure ring gaps are not towards the thrust surface, and not directly over the wrist pin. This can cause the ring to twist when the piston rocks in the bore. Rings move a little, but not like you're thinking. Almost like valves, they move too, just not very much.
And I agree with having it balanced. Unless you can shave enough from a piston by delipping it to make up the difference in rod weight???
And I agree with having it balanced. Unless you can shave enough from a piston by delipping it to make up the difference in rod weight???
It's sounding like the work isn't worth it for the LBZ rods. I'll keep an eye out for some used aftermarket ones I think, and if nothing pops up by the time I'm ready to put the motor back together I'll just run it as-is.
Trent Nell (carrillos)
Me (LBZ rods) maybe others? 40,000 miles on it with no issues, and when it went down the track, it was making more power than before the rebuild.
Chris, if I were to do it again, I wouldn't bother. Wait, save up, and at least put some Manleys in it.
Thanks Tom, I'll wait til I can afford the good stuff :thumb:
Break out the grinder and shave some grams off
Can we practice on yours first? :hug:
Break out the grinder and shave some grams off
Grinder made valve reliefs anyone? Lol
5300 lbs trapping 108mph is roughly only 455 horse...you have plenty of room to grow on that stock bottom end. I would not be worried one bit to do 11.50's on the stock bottom end.
I have countless passes trapping 113mph at 7000lbs race weight.
A turbo and a small set of nozzles will get you there no problem.
I have countless passes trapping 113mph at 7000lbs race weight.
A turbo and a small set of nozzles will get you there no problem.
oh thats right! forgot about you and trent. damn im not that old to be forgettin these things....
Cool, thanks for the info. Definitely sounds like I don't need to mess with the rods just yet.
Also happy to hear that in the future I can do a quick rebuild with rods and have my pistons delipped and have a much stronger engine too.