Which rods are you comparing the compstar to? I agree with most of what you said. As far as their opinion on the balancer choice , I personally wouldn't care what their sales dept had to say on that. I'd choose my own brand of balancer irregardless. I agree with you on the fluidamper.

What I like about scat is two things. Their price , and most importantly I know of many guys who have ran them with a substantial amount of power with good results. Scat is no fly by night company with prehistoric machines. Considering they supply general motors and daimler Chrysler with crankshafts and many NHRA teams.

Either way it's all good stuff, many years ago the only option you had for a halfway affordable forged crank was going to the chevy dealer or browsing swap meets . Which the chevy forged are still a pretty stout crank! I'd go with either one before I purchased an eagle. I've got a supplier here who if you purchase an eagle crank and it's not within spec, they will take it back. They can get me any of the mentioned cranks but they can do the best pricing on eagle since they do a big volume with them. Some of their prices are very attractive esp on eagle rods

The rods I had before switching to Callies were the Scat procomp I beams. Stout rod but the finish is much nicer on the Conpstars (H Beams) and the compstar rods come standard with the superior L-19 rod bolt. To be fair the callies rods are twice as expensive.

I concur, scat makes a good product, however blaming a damper for broken crankshafts(in the manner they portrait) is absurd. None of these companies are perfect. A friend of mine recently broke a really nice USA billet rod (company will remain nameless, as this isn't bashing any particular company). S**t happens. However as you know, most rods don't snap or bend. Something else happens and the rod suffers the brunt of said forces.

People overlook rod bolts, when they are absolutely the most stressed part of the connecting rod. I never use to stretch rod bolts before. After reading some articles on the subject , I will never use a torque wrench again.

Funny you mention eagle rods. I had some H beams from eagle with L-19 rod bolts and surprisingly they were very close out of the box. IMO pretty good for the price. However, as long as they are completely checked and measured. Seems like years back they didn't have these QC issues.

I was told to stay away from L19 bolts in anything but a all out race engine, and especially in a marine engine. Apparently while their are of a stronger material, if subjected to any acid, moisture, corrosion will occur. They are so finicky you're not even supposed to handle them without gloves on. For most applications, the ARP2000 bolt is much more user friendly, and plenty strong. I have ARP2000 bolts in my engines. Wonder if any of the pro's here use the L19's in marine engines?

Most GM and aftermarket "I" beam style rods, had a much rougher finish than an H beam rod, from a visual standpoint.

Regarding the L-19's, I have recently spoken with both ARP and CALLIES. They state that the main contamination issue is when the bolts are actually being made. Substantial exposure to water can damage them, however moisture encountered inside of any internal combustion engine does not in any way compromise the integrity of the L-19's. They use to ship them with gloves before finding out that it is of little consequence. The 19's are substantially stronger than the 2000 series. They did mention keeping them oiled when stored to stave off corrosion as I recall.

If there were issues, Callies wouldn't be using them over the 2000 series, which is a monster of a rod bolt. The issues just aren't there regarding the 19's and contamination.

If any engine builders here have anything to the contrary, with all due respect, please don't post opinions. Data is all that matters and is relevant. If ARP says they are good to go, and in our conversations explain why, I'm good with that. I tend to trust an engineer regarding his product and what it can and cannot do. Kinda like when I asked an engine builder about oil a long time ago... Gotta ask field specific questions to those that have the data. In that case a tribologist.

Good read on rod bolts
http://www.chevelles.com/forums/showthread.php?t=407393

Some parts, yes. However, said individual is not qualified to speak on rod bolts. He is the same guy that made the I beam vs H Beam argument. It's well known and any manufacturer will back up, that just because it's an H beam or I beam, doesn't necessarily make it more superior/stronger. The idea that "any" moisture will render a L-19 useless is absurd. If that were true, special instructions and gloves would come with the bolts as they use to be supplied.

I'm completely open to new information and don't mind being proven wrong, just strange that two sources seemed to chalk up many of the horror stories as just that.

I was having a lengthy conversation yesterday with a friend of mine and he informed me that Callies was getting out of the junk buisness.

L-19 - 2000, certified - not certified, Chinese - American, $600 damper -$50. I personally have a thing about buying Chinese stuff but that's me. I don't care if you spend 30k in parts or 5k if the clearances aren't right and you don't have a good oil pan then you don't stand a chance. I don't understand why in the world someone would spend thousands on a custom motor and re-use the stock oil pan. I just don't get it. I'd have to say inadequate oil systems has got to be the number one killer of all the blown up stuff I've seen...

Only going off information from what I've been told by some pro engine builders, an ARP rep at a trade show, and their website, regarding my initial statement about the L19 bolt. If its "absurd", that the bolt can be contaminated by moisture, ARP should remove that stipulation from their website. It probably misleading to a lot of engine builders out there. Im sure they would be skipping the ARP2000 bolt and going right to the L19 in all their builds if there were no real drawbacks to the L19.

ARP2000®: ARP2000 is an alloy steel that can be safely heat treated to a higher level, producing a greater strength material than 8740. While 8740 and ARP2000 share similar characteristics – ARP2000 is capable of achieving a clamp load at 220,000 psi. ARP2000 is used widely in short track and drag racing as an up-grade from 8740 chrome moly in both steel and aluminum rods. Stress corrosion and hydrogen embrittlement are typically not a problem, providing care is taken during installation.

L19: This is a premium steel that is processed to deliver superior strength and fatigue properties. L19 is a very high strength material compared to 8740 and ARP2000 and is capable of delivering a clamp load at 260,000 psi. It is primarily used in short track and drag racing applications where inertia loads exceed the clamping capability of ARP2000. Like most high strength, quench and temper steels – L19 requires special care during manufacturing to avoid hydrogen embrittlement. This material is easily contaminated and subject to stress corrosion. It must be kept well-oiled and not exposed to moisture.

When looking at eagle and scat cranks side by side it's easy to tell which one is which. The eagle has nicely finished counterweights, and the scat has nicely finished journals. I'll go with the better journals lol.