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Whats the difference between H beam rods and I beam?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Fast02
  • Start date Start date Oct 19, 2005

Fast02

New Member
Sep 29, 2004
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Oct 19, 2005
#1
  • Oct 19, 2005
  • #1
for a KB blown street engine which piston/rod setup do I want?
Whats the difference between H beam and I beam? Is one better then the other? What type of pistons work the best?

Thank you,
Fast02
 

Gearbanger 101

Straight Outta Locash
20+ Year Stangneter
Aug 10, 2002
9,457
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Ontario, Canada
Oct 19, 2005
#2
  • Oct 19, 2005
  • #2
H-Beam



I-Beam



For your blown application, either aftermarket rod as long as it were steel would be fine for your set up, but as a rule, H-Beam Rods are stronger.

Here is a good piston and rod kit choice here. http://www.modularperformance.com/miva/merchant.mv?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=MP&Category_Code=EK I have the Stage II kit in my engine (which utilizes the Manley H-Beam Rods and Diamond Forged Pistons) and all are top notch parts.

EDIT
I see that they now use Mod Max H-Beam rods in their kits instead of the Manley's that I go, but either way, you'll do fine.
 

WashburnGT

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Apr 22, 2005
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I-70
Oct 19, 2005
#3
  • Oct 19, 2005
  • #3
A KB would tear the stock powder-steel rods apart. like gearbanger said I-beam or H-beams would work. Manley makes good rods for supercharging or naturally-aspirated engines. They have I-beams and H-beams that can handle up to 2000hp and 9500rpms. I doubt you're looking for anything quite that durable, I just thought Id throw that out there.
As far as pistons you should definetly go with forged pistons. Obviously you want to look for a piston for high compression. There are pretty much two different kinds of allows used in forged pistons (I think). there is 2618 aluminum alloy which is typically used for race or high-performance street engines, they can handle up to 35lbs of boost. the other is a high silicon allow called 4032, which is for high-performance street engines. According to manufacturer's specs it's breaking point is 10lbs of boost, but I've seen applications of as much as 15lbs. NOT sure about the lifespan of that set-up though.
So this might have been information overload. Obviously I've been researching for my own build-up. Hope it helped out.
 

ProCharger GT

Member
Jun 3, 2004
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Cleveland
Oct 19, 2005
#4
  • Oct 19, 2005
  • #4
WashburnGT said:
A KB would tear the stock powder-steel rods apart. like gearbanger said I-beam or H-beams would work. Manley makes good rods for supercharging or naturally-aspirated engines. They have I-beams and H-beams that can handle up to 2000hp and 9500rpms. I doubt you're looking for anything quite that durable, I just thought Id throw that out there.
As far as pistons you should definetly go with forged pistons. Obviously you want to look for a piston for high compression. There are pretty much two different kinds of allows used in forged pistons (I think). there is 2618 aluminum alloy which is typically used for race or high-performance street engines, they can handle up to 35lbs of boost. the other is a high silicon allow called 4032, which is for high-performance street engines. According to manufacturer's specs it's breaking point is 10lbs of boost, but I've seen applications of as much as 15lbs. NOT sure about the lifespan of that set-up though.
So this might have been information overload. Obviously I've been researching for my own build-up. Hope it helped out.
Click to expand...
Ok...I'll agree with some stuff cept you dont want to look for high compression + boost. If you want to run a decent amount of boost, go with a 9:1 compression ratio. Anything more and I think your looking for trouble. H beam rods are not as strong as I beams, but they are also about half the price and will be fine so long as your not making over about 1000HP. As far as pistons go, Manley/Probe(which I will be running @ .035" over)/JE are some good companies to go with. If you want to go with a high boost application, you can try dropping the compression to 8.5:1 and make sure you have a sufficient bypass valve, such as a Vortech Mondo race bypass or whatever company you choose should have larger ones for high boost applications. Finally, make sure you seal the heads up with good gaskets (such as Cometic) and run spark plugs usually 1-2 steps colder than stock.
 

Gearbanger 101

Straight Outta Locash
20+ Year Stangneter
Aug 10, 2002
9,457
1,377
234
Ontario, Canada
Oct 19, 2005
#5
  • Oct 19, 2005
  • #5
Gearbanger 101 said:
but as a rule, H-Beam Rods are stronger.
Click to expand...

ProCharger GT said:
H beam rods are not as strong as I beams.
Click to expand...
I guess we're both wrong.....or right.

http://www.hotrod.com/techarticles/82378/index3.html
 

ProCharger GT

Member
Jun 3, 2004
153
0
16
Cleveland
Oct 19, 2005
#6
  • Oct 19, 2005
  • #6
Gearbanger 101 said:
I guess we're both wrong.....or right.

http://www.hotrod.com/techarticles/82378/index3.html
Click to expand...
either/or will get the job done
 

sgarlic

Founding Member
Apr 21, 2001
3,085
1
56
Oct 19, 2005
#7
  • Oct 19, 2005
  • #7
WashburnGT said:
A KB would tear the stock powder-steel rods apart. like gearbanger said I-beam or H-beams would work. Manley makes good rods for supercharging or naturally-aspirated engines. They have I-beams and H-beams that can handle up to 2000hp and 9500rpms. I doubt you're looking for anything quite that durable, I just thought Id throw that out there.
As far as pistons you should definetly go with forged pistons. Obviously you want to look for a piston for high compression. There are pretty much two different kinds of allows used in forged pistons (I think). there is 2618 aluminum alloy which is typically used for race or high-performance street engines, they can handle up to 35lbs of boost. the other is a high silicon allow called 4032, which is for high-performance street engines. According to manufacturer's specs it's breaking point is 10lbs of boost, but I've seen applications of as much as 15lbs. NOT sure about the lifespan of that set-up though.
So this might have been information overload. Obviously I've been researching for my own build-up. Hope it helped out.
Click to expand...

Just wanted to clarify one thing you said.. you said a KB will tear apart the stock rods.. not really. A badly tuned/untuned KB MIGHT, but your problems are more than likely going to be detonation that may wreck the pistons. There are hundreds if not thousands of Mustang owners running the 9psi i/c setup on stock internals with no problems. There was a rather mediocre article in the September MM&FF about the Hypereutectic stuff, and about the misconception that they are incredibly weak.
 
J

jamez1502

Banned
Nov 6, 2003
135
0
0
Lakeland Fl
Oct 19, 2005
#8
  • Oct 19, 2005
  • #8
heres the article. i am one of those guys, i have a 98 cobra with a intercooled procharger on it. it will eventually go..
http://www.alternativeauto.com/waterbox/wb_archives/32v_pistons.html
 

Fast02

New Member
Sep 29, 2004
239
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0
Oct 19, 2005
#9
  • Oct 19, 2005
  • #9
WOW!

What great feed back!

I really like the pics...

Thanks guys!
 
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