SCAT versus Molnar versus Oliver Rods

Which would you go with?

Oliver are the best of the group you listed and Molnar are the best budget rod. I ordered mine (Molnar) last November and I’m still waiting.

If you want to build the engine in the near future then buy what is available. I had a customer who just put Oliver rods in a street engine since they were the only rods he could find. He didn't need anything close to Oliver quality for a pump gas street engine but he needed rods and they were in stock. Everything else was on universal back order with no due date in sight.

Actually all of the above! Scat for my 500 hp motor, Molnar for the 713 hp motor and Oliver for the 1050 hp motor.

I've been very happy with Molnar's quality. The machining and weights were spot on. My 580" with 4.5 stroke motor sees 7200 rpm every pass. I did spin a bearing last year. But it had nothing to do with the rod or crank. I went right back to the same parts. For info read here; http://www.cpbulletpistons.com/tom-molnar-rods-review.php
Doug

Rod quality and price are sold by horsepower levels, but it's not really relevant.
The factors (NA only) are 1:1 with reciprocating weight (piston etc. + upper rod 1/2) and inverse to the square of peak RPM.
What breaks the rod (assuming the bolts hold up) is closing the throttle as the piston passes over TDC even with the spark off.

Maybe give Ohio Crankshaft a call. Looks like they have nice rod options in stock. I've been impressed with their stuff in the past.

"What breaks the rod (assuming the bolts hold up) is closing the throttle as the piston passes over TDC even with the spark off."



is this an inference to snapping the throttle shut at the end of the run, instead of easing off, then slowing with the engine running and in gear ?

Oliver rods are made in America, I assume are much better and I assume are 3 times the price. So I don't think this is a fair comparison.

I have heard they are some of the best. However the 501" Small Block Mopar build that Ron Silva did(the thread is on here somewhere) made me think otherwise. He had all kinds of problems with crooked bores and maybe more on his oliver rods.

I am not so sure I would endorse the use what is available mantra. We did and it bit us in the [censored] in the Vette. We needed to freshen up th engine in it and had been waiting on Cariilo Aluminum rods for the engine and they were not going to make it in the timeframe we needed to make the race in Norwalk. So the decision was made to go back to what we had always used before, a big name brand aluminum rod company that had been in this engine for YEARS. The hesitation was they had been purchsed by an equity company not so long ago, one hat has been buying up aftermarket parts manufacturers for awhile. Well after a few pulls on the dyno and two passes later here is the result of using what was available in a time frame VS waiting.

FWIW the rings are still loose on the piston, the pin if still free on the small end, other than the hearing being folded up it the surface of it looks new, as it always has. Also two others were found with cracks. Again these were brand new rods with a few pulls on the dyno and 2 passes on them.

I was waiting on Molnars for my w9 build, but found Callies Compstars to actually be available.

I've used CAT, Scat, Olivers, a bunch of Molnars and several sets of Ohio Crankshaft H beam rods, some with the standard 8740 ARP bolts and some of them with the better ARP 2000 bolts and several sets of Hi Po rods on motors that were going to make north of 750 HP with the L19 and one set of the Olivers with their SPS bolts, 7/16 bolt size on all of them with no real part complaints on any of them motors, not so on the owners of several of those motors, some people can screw up a 50 ton wrecking ball in a sand box with a feather

IIRC a while back China supplied the raw forging and the final machining was done here, so fit & finish may be excellent.
So...?
China is not as thorough about inclusions (slag, other material not intended to be included, in fairly large particles) if these occur at a highly stressed point...BOOM.

I spin my little smallblock and make over 1000 hp so I'm not taking any chances on any Chinese part. Oliver rods are tge only way to go but damn, they are very costly.

Now this looks similar to the destruction in Steve Morris’ 4000+ HP engin in his wagon. I’m sure you’ve seen that on his channel…..more severe with much smaller shrapnel. But his small rod end still attached to piston and freely moving just like yours. Interesting. Wonder if they are the same manufacturer.

Sorry for your carnage.

When building a 1000 hp small block I can't believe you're worried about the cost of rods.

But not as costly as part of a rod sticking out of a block.
I could only get Molnar's 3000 hp rated H beams in 7.00 length. Cost me a few hundred extra, but considering I will be spinning a 2400 bob weight 4.560 stroke to 7400, probably my best bet? They are heavy, about 900 grams, so maybe it worked out like it should.