I am going to run aluminum rods in my 572 due to the extreme amounts of nitrous I want to run (500 hp+) I am aware of the shorter life span of these rods and the tolerance differances between them and steel.

Who are the higher quality aluminum rod makers out there ?

Don't know, but I have read somewhere that there are aluminum rods now being made that don't have the short fatigue lives of the regular aluminum rods guy's say not to run on the street!!

I assume they are probably ceramic fiber or maybe even carbon fiber filled so that they are a cermet matrix that is able to have an increased fatigue life but don't know for sure??

Ask around b/c they would be the ones I would want regardless of the NOx b/c they would flat last longer in a driven motor, or at least to me they would..

Anybody know what I am talking about??

Chime right in!!

pdq67

I had great luck with C & A in my SBC ( 700 + passes ). Didnt have as good of luck with Manleys ( 61 passes ).

700 passes, wow, what rpms?

Great info thanks

The very best aluminum rods, in my opinion are the Bill Miller Engineering pieces, followed by Childs & Albert.
Remember though, there are different versions of aluminum rods manufactured by some companies. For instance, I have had good luck with the Manley "Super 70" aluminum rods which are much better (and cost more) than their 7075 T-6 units.
As far as Childs & Albert is concerned, their 400 series Deep Cycle rod is as good as any, but again these premium rods are more expensive than the regular-line aluminum pieces.
Aluminum rods, even the premium rods mentioned above, have a shorter cycle life than steel rods. There is just no "Black Magic" or mysteries here.
If you want the ultimate rod for weight and strength, look into Oliver titanium rods, as these are as light (maybe lighter) than aluminum and just as strong as steel. Be prepared to spend about $2500 to $3500 for these puppies, tho.

69 Ratt Vette .... I shifted it at approx 7400 and went through the 1/4 lites at 7200.The car was also street driven at the time, not much but it was. I went through close to 1500 1/4 passes and atleast 50 1/8 passes between 2 sets of the C & A rods. On the Manley Rods they were all 1/8 passes. During an inspection I found a rod that had a crack in the threads of the big end. Just one of those things I am sure. I went to steel rods after that.

Originally posted by pdq67:
Don't know, but I have read somewhere that there are aluminum rods now being made that don't have the short fatigue lives of the regular aluminum rods guy's say not to run on the street!!

I assume they are probably ceramic fiber or maybe even carbon fiber filled so that they are a cermet matrix that is able to have an increased fatigue life but don't know for sure??

Ask around b/c they would be the ones I would want regardless of the NOx b/c they would flat last longer in a driven motor, or at least to me they would..

Anybody know what I am talking about??

Chime right in!!

pdq67 What you speak of is an aluminum/ceramic composite connecting rod make exclusively by a company called Jager. They can be found here: www.flowtechinduction.com (http://www.flowtechinduction.com) Prices start at $200 a pop. I'd do a search of the Jager firm as they give a very good account of the process in making this rod. Mike

C & A or GRP would be my choice

Slackerdude, I ran into this rod information a little over a year ago on a Competition Plus article dated May 14, 2003. The guy who developed the technology for the composite rod is named Kirk Jager and his company was called Machine and Design Technologies. He had a sales manager named Ed McLemore. A few weeks ago i contacted Mr. McLemore because i could not find the article in Competition Plus' archives and was told it had been moved to a different server on the internet and subsequently lost. He said that he had the article at home and would send me a copy. I said i would love a copy and he sent me one. I don't know if Mr. Jager is still there but Mr. Mclemore is definately available at the following address : MAD Technologies, 570 Hartmantown Road, Jonesborough, Tennessee 37659 (Phone No: 423-306-1434) P.S. If you find out about Mr. Jager i'd be interested to find out what has become of him also.

So would I b/c I figure rods like that are a real winner if the price would come down.

pdq67

pdq67, Ed said that the rods were $1700 a set but a common size, (like the 6.7"), that i was interested in could be had for about $1100 if 10 or so sets were done at a time because the majority of the cost factor is the tooling machine set up time. It so happens that he is doing a batch of 6.7" big block Chevy rods now.