he "bottom end" of an engine is composed of three main components, the Piston, the Connecting Rod,

and the Crankshaft. Connecting rods can be manufactured from many different materials and designs,
each type of connecting rod is designed for a certain application. When building an engine it is
important to choose the correct connecting rod, not everyone can do this though because the proper
information is not provided. This article will give you the information you need to properly decide which
connecting rod is ideal for your engine build.

What is the engine's intended application?

Before you can decide what connecting rod to use in your rotating assembly you need to have an idea of
what the engine's power goals will be and how the engine will be used. Will the engine be a high revving
horsepower machine? Will it be a daily driver with low end torque? Is the engine destine for drag racing,
auto cross, or time attack? Higher power levels place increased compressive force on the connecting
rods. Higher RPM's increase the tensile strain on the connecting rods. Both go hand in hand, more
power requires a beefer rod. With every rotation of the crankshaft the rod will be alternately stretched
and compressed. Connecting rod failures are usually caused by over revving the engine, which places a
tremendous amount of stress on the rod bolts. The rod bolts will come apart as the piston travels up on
the exhaust stroke, the force and inertia of the rotating assembly rips the rod cap off of the connecting
rod. If the connecting rod fails because it bends this is usually due to engine knock from a bad tune, not
a bad set of rods.

Connecting Rod Design

Connecting rods are produced in two major designs, the "I" Beam and the "H" Beam.
The "I" Beam design is used in almost all production engines. An "I" Beam rod can handle high
compressive loads while also providing good tensile strength. The design of the "I" Beam allows for the
rod to have better tensile strength and is the choice for high RPM engines.

An "H" Beam rod has two flat sides that are perpendicular to the piston pin, with a thin center section in
the middle. The "H" Beam design is very stiff so it can handle higher compressive loads than an "I" Beam
without bending. In high RPM operation the "H" Beam connecting rod should not be used, the design
limits the amount of material that can be added and will lack the tensile strength required. Most "H"
Beam rods are lighter and stronger than stock rods because they use less material combined with better
engineering. "H" Beam rods are good for low level power production.

Materials

Connecting Rods can be made from various grades of steel, aluminum, and titanium. Steel rods are the
most widely produced and used type of connecting rods. Their applications are best used for daily
drivers and endurance racing due to their high strength and long fatigue life. The only problem with
using steel rods is that the material is extremely heavy, which consumes more power and adds stress to
the rotating assembly. Performance steel rods can be made from 4340 and even 300M grade steel. The
tensile strength, yield strength, and hardness of 4340 steel depends on the temperature at which the
steel is forged, and how the steel is heat treated. Variations in the tempering temperature and
quenching procedure can produce extremely different results with tensile strength and yield strength.
This is why it is important to buy your rods from a reputable manufacturer. 300M steel alloy is stronger
than 4340 and can be used to manufacture steel rods that are lighter than their 4340 counter parts by
using less material. 300M rods rated at the same strength level as 4340 rods can be 10% to 25% lighter.

Aluminum rods are used widely in high horsepower, high revving drag engines. Aluminum rods can be
manufactured to the same strength level as a steel rod due to large amount of material that makes up
the rod but still be 40% lighter than a steel connecting rod. Reducing the weight of the rods reduces the
mass of the rotating and reciprocating parts and allows the engine to rev faster and rev higher safely. In
addition to better throttle response than steel, aluminum’s lighter weight can reduce vibration and
stress on the crankshaft. This reduced stress from inertia loading results in connecting rod journal
bearings looking "good as new" after thousands of miles. The rods can stretch, and they may fatigue and
fail, but unlike the aluminum rods from the 70's modern aluminum rods are much stronger and can be
used in daily drive engines. Depending on the use and power levels aluminum rods can last 50,000 miles
on an engine that is street and strip, the secret to making aluminum rods last long is to not constantly be
over revving the engine when you drive to work. I am a very strong supporter of using aluminum rods in
every engine I build.

Titanium rods are both lighter and stronger than steel. Unfortunately titanium is extremely expensive so
they are only used in drag racing and endurance racing applications in the most expensive engines.
Unless you are building the ultimate in endurance racing engines use a steel rod. For drag racing, using
an aluminum rod is both cheaper and lighter than using titanium.

Connecting Rod Machine Work

When you hand your new connecting rods off to your machinist there are only a few procedures
performed before they are ready to be popped into your engine. The machinist will first stamp the
number of the designated cylinder that the rod will be place in on each connecting rod, both at the base
of the rod and on the rod cap. On the 4G63 I number the rods 1,2,3,4 from the flywheel to the harmonic
damper side of the engine. The machinist will then component balance each rod. Connecting rods are
balanced on both the "big" end and the "small" end of the rod. This is because the top half of the
connecting rod (small end) is considered a reciprocating weight, while the bottom half (big end) of the
connecting rod is considered a rotating weight. The machinist will weigh all the "small" ends of the rods
and then grind from the top of the rods to match the weigh of the lightest rod. Then the machinist
follows the same procedure on the "big" end of the connecting