Originally Posted by horsepower1 (Post 4381664)

I've spent quite a bit of time on the phone with Tom Molnar. One of the nicest guys I've ever talked to and he was very generous in giving me detailed explanations on what makes his rods different. Web thickness, beam design, and proprietary design on his bolts are a few highlights. He holds very tight tolerances with his finishing as well. Tightest I've seen. Nothing wrong with Manley rods, they're just not any different than any other of the mentioned above imports. All these import rods are way strong...the weak link in any rod will be the bolt. Rods seldom break unless something is really out of whack, but rod bolt failure is all to common. And FWIW, I don't have a problem that any of these are import. IMO a good part is a good part and for the money, any of them are hard to beat. You just have to inspect them closely. I've seen a lot of tolerance issues, finish issues, things like bearing tang placement, taper in the big ends, lots of sharp edges and burrs...this is where they save their money. Kinda like the "out of the box cylinder head" thread...I don't look at these rods as ready to run. The Molnars, yes.

Originally Posted by buck35 (Post 4381877)

Pardon my ignorance, but if the rods are straight and true, and the bearing surfaces are good, what would be the reason for changing? Stress? Number of cycles.
Were there a ton of hours on these engines? Just curious,

Originally Posted by buck35 (Post 4381877)

Pardon my ignorance, but if the rods are straight and true, and the bearing surfaces are good, what would be the reason for changing? Stress? Number of cycles.
Were there a ton of hours on these engines? Just curious,

Originally Posted by 33outlawsst (Post 4381895)

Yes and yes....... fatigue and they will stretch,

Originally Posted by buck35 (Post 4381909)

Okay, l guess I can see the fatigue side of things, but it seems they would deflect rather than stretch, as I would think the compression stroke puts by far the biggest load on them.
Why I ask is we all know that new parts fail as well, so if you have a proven piece thats still in spec.
andwasn't harmed during the event leading to the teardown, why not.
Still goes back to if the engine had a ton of hours I suppose.
Also aren't those 500 dollar rods closer to 6 or 7 hundred by the time they're remachined and ready to run,as previously stated.

Originally Posted by Full Force (Post 4381929)

I always figured they just last if not broken for any reason, I also always wondered what is stronger? H beam or I beam? the H looks stronger but seems many high end rods are I beam. is it more about the weight?