[Monstrous4Banger]

No worries, just putting it out there. Hate to see you decide against it, cause of price it can be done inexpensively(and IMO good enough, provided everything is balanced, blueprinted, etc properly Ive only seen 951 rods fail under extreme conditions ie: waaay to much boost), normally you just gotta poke around. I really dont need them, and space is limited( I have too much Porsche stuff). Im pretty sure the early rods are cast. Im speaking from memory though. If you dont mind used, 951 rods would fit your application well. Cost effective, and more than strong enough for your power goals. Mull it over, talk to Pete about it, and let me know. Ill be around. Been busy with work the last few weeks, but been near the computer this week.

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[flash]

cloud - you are correct - the early rods are narrower than the later ones at the big end - and yes, the early rods are forged

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[Cloud9...68]

Thanks for clarifying that, Flash. So it's more a matter of the "beefiness" of the rod, or in other words, the fact that it was too thin in a critical area, than the method used to manufacture the rod.

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[flash]

that's what porsche thought when they changed the rods - i can't speak to how well other rods perform - there is a diagram out there with the comparison - i just can't seem to find it at the moment

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[jfrahm]

I do not think the 1R rods are 'cast' but it may be a semantic argument. The late 944NA rods might be cast after it was found that they did not need the strength of the 101.3 rod. The factory always claimed the S2 and 968 rods were forged. Some disagree. IMO the rods are probably sintered or 'powder forged' and I suspect the naysayers feel that the sintering process that was probably used is not good enough to be called a forging or the lack of obvious ground off casting flash convinces them the rods are not forged. It really does not matter as long as the rods are strong enough and light enough.



It sure seems like 1R rods are not strong enough given the running change and the reports of problems in the 928GT. However I am surprised there are not more reported problems with these rods in the 968 given the number of people buying chips that raise rev limits and advance timing. There are lots of 1R rods out there in 968s that have been chipped and I cannot actually link to a post from someone who has bent or broken one. Maybe the manufacture of the rod was also a problem and the bad ones have mostly already failed.



I edited my initial post to clarify some stuff and fix some verbiage BTW.

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[flash]

correct - the 1R rods are forged



failure isn't all that common, and it seems always related to extended high rpm duty, and appears to be stretching, not compression that led to the failure



that is one of the reasons i am not so worried about the rods with the SC - the redline is stock, not raised like most chips, which inherently lowers the risk - also, given the lower range of the torque band, people are less likely to be in the upper rev range anyway



but, still not a bad idea to change them if you are in there

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[Monstrous4Banger]

Thanks for the correction, on the cast vs forged thing guys. Its been a while since Ive talked about, or read that one. Its not the revs to worry about for me, its more about being able to run higher boost levels. I got some rods around I can show you, that are the result of what happens when dumbazzes run waaaay too much boost. No they dont break. They bend yes. Flash, I know you spent a lot if time tuning, and perfecting your kit to get it to work. Not to mention a nice chunk of change for sure. Most of the kits that utilize stock internals, use low boost levels for a couple reasons AFAIK. The rods, and compression ratio. If one planned to run big power, or even moderate boost levels...youll probably want to lower the CR a bit, and put in stronger rods. Im too scared of detonation. Tuning for high boost, and high CR definitely seems like a slippery slope indeed. Id definitely want to close up the deck under such conditions too. It just never ends when it comes to that stuff. Kinda the wrong car altogether for anything over 5-600 ponies max in the end though.



Flash: I kind of misread what you said. I could definitely see your point when it comes to high RPM. Ive seen it happen to 951 rods with too much boost. Im sure wrapping it out, while there was too much boost didnt help though.

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[Cloud9...68]

Yes, my big concern is that since I plan to be tracking the car a lot, it will see a lot of high rpm duty. I don't want to hold my breath every time I squeeze the throttle coming out of a turn and run it up to the redline on the next straight.

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[Cloud9...68]

Well, I talked to Max at RS Barn, and his recommendation was to go with the 951 rods. There's a shop they use which thoroughly tests them before RS Barn with sell them, and given the criticality of the part, I'm going to go this route. I want the peace of mind of knowing the rods that are in my engine have gotten the blessing of RS Barn. I hope to have them on the way by Monday.

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