https://www.dragzine.com/features/p...debuts-two-new-connecting-rod-materials/

Interesting, at least from the standpoint of same or better strength with less size, as in stroker applications, and less weight...

Nice! Stronger, lighter con rods. I'll check them out for my next build.

Don't get me wrong I am sure they are fantastic. Just don't forget the Alloy Master Card when you call them.....

That's for the 1350 rods, the 1850 is the AMEX Centurion Card

No engineers here?

The Deusenberg?

Have you seen these? Good to 3000hp@15000rpm. I think these carbon fiber rods are for 4 cylinder apps, but they are available for what I understand for LS as well.

pre edit, re big end increase in stiffness salesman prior comment

Ok, I spill the beans, steel alloys vary little in thier stiffness, modulus of elasticity and all

Yep, all steels are around 30Msi modulus. Aluminum is around 10Msi, Titanium around 15Msi. Beryllium is the best, stiffer than steel, lighter than aluminum, yield strength isn't all that great though.

I asked Warren Johnson back in the late 1980s about carbon fiber rods. He said they were too stiff and beat the bearings out. It looks like that design allows some cushion in the design. I thought Polyspheric was an engineer from his posts.

Interesting profiling on the 1850 rod big end - I wonder what effect that has on oil leaving the bearing if any at all. I really wish they would show some real data from the lab to back up the big claims - its pretty easy to test rods on a universal to failure.

The little slip on the product presenter (PC term for sales person these days at trade shows) - is somewhat explained in the whole quote “The rods will be a little stiffer on the big end, because of the strength of the material. The housings will stay a little bit rounder and will maintain shape better, longer.” Most people do not understand the term stiffness when discussing metallurgy.

As far as carbon fiber rods - I was told just the opposite - they tend to be a little too elastic with oil temperature change - thus making it more difficult to keep the oil clearance needed to keep the bearing from becoming unhappy with the crank. However in 20+ years since that - there has been significant improvement in the arena of resins and how they construct the fibers. A couple of the NASCAR teams experimented with CF rods just for qualifying when they were allowed to do that and most went the titanium route.

Yeah, Titanium. Half the weight of steel, and what, twenty times the cost?

Maybe even more.

I've been accused of being stuck in a different time....I think I'll stay there.

I thought one of the downsides to a carbon fiber rod is that it doesn't have much safety zone for failure. It doesn't stretch or bend; it shatters.

Yes, that would be correct, but you can design around that, the biggest issue IMO, and already mentioned here, is it poor heat suitability as a con rod solution.

They have adapted it already to F1 transaxle cases, so its likely only a matter of time.

In the 80's, TF builders were experimenting with plastic push rods. There were strong and stiff that they pierced the rocker arms.

I would bet when they do break they don't do the damage to rest of the package as any kind of other rod would.

I was thinking the same thing. Might be a block saver.

LOL