Ford Muscle Cars Tech Forum banner

"H" beam vs "I" beam rods

44K views 10 replies 9 participants last post by  393Clevor 
#1 ·
Which is better and why?
 
#3 ·
I read an article about that somewhere a little while back. If two rods weight the same an I-beam rod will be stronger than an H-beam rod. If you notice, the vast majority of very high quaility race rods, Oliver, Crower, etc, are I-beam style. Apparently though, most of the non full race style rods, Eagle, SCAT, etc, are purchased by the average public gearhead, and it seems that anything that looks a lot like a factory rod doesn't sell well to these consumers. The H-beam rods look a lot more trick, and that's what people want, therefore it's what the rod builders have to build.
 
#5 ·
On 2002-01-06 15:29, Mach1Morgan wrote:
I read an article about that somewhere a little while back. If two rods weight the same an I-beam rod will be stronger than an H-beam rod. If you notice, the vast majority of very high quaility race rods, Oliver, Crower, etc, are I-beam style. Apparently though, most of the non full race style rods, Eagle, SCAT, etc, are purchased by the average public gearhead, and it seems that anything that looks a lot like a factory rod doesn't sell well to these consumers. The H-beam rods look a lot more trick, and that's what people want, therefore it's what the rod builders have to build.

I read an artical like that or maybe the same one. It makes sence. Look at the endurance racers. They generally run I-beam rods and those engines see way more Hell than us drag racers.
 
#6 ·
i really have no idea, but i will say this.
i have seen stock crank/rod motors spun to 8k in certain classes, and of course they dont live very long, they also do this for maybe a season, maybe two. i have a set of scat forged I beam rods (4340) and to look at them, i can not make myself believe i would need an h beam rod. these things are BEEFY!
wow!
i was quite suprised. i would post a pic, but i dont have them online anywhere...alot beefier than the stock rod for sure.
 
#9 ·
A stock rod with ARP bolts will do the job for most street cars to 6500+ rpm but your running higher than that. I beam and H beam rods (and stock rods for that matter) take advantage of the mechanical strength advantage of having most of the mass away from the centroid of the rod (center of mass of the rod cross section). If a I beam rod bends, the stress on one flat side is in compression and the stress on the other flat side is in tension. There is no stress in the center or centroid of the arm. It does no good to have the mass in the center. An H beam rod is in many ways an I beam rod oriented or rotated 90 degrees. Eagle I beam forged SCR rods are good for up to 500 HP. I have a set for $225 new that I may be selling. Email me if you want them.
 
#11 ·
blkfrd

Will this be true with the piston so close to the head? (.031)
I built it for a 5500 rpm truck motor but now I might slam it in a pony car I just got. When I built it I deck the block to build compression and get a better quench (sp). I used ARP bolts in stock rods. So I'm looking more like 6500 to 7000 (got a little carried away sorry) What rods would you recommend?

Thanks
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top