due to the amount of interest, and the off topic posting in for sale threads i have decided to start this thread for discussion on fitting h-beam rods into rb30 engines
i am currently doing it with scat rods http://www.scatcrankshafts.com/FS_800.htm
they are small journal 6" chev h-beam rods.i got a set of 8 for $700 retail price.they need to have about 2mm machined off both the little end and big end thickness.they also need to have a nissan little end bush installed.chev bearings must be used as the dowels on the bearings are on the opposite side to nissan bearings.
i will be keeping tabs on all costs and and details on all machine work so others will not have to worry about what is involved.
anybody who has already done this please post what you have done to fit yours
Take note in TroyVK's for sale thread that 3ltR32 is in the industry and said that he can get you these rods all machined to fit for ~$1350 the set.
I too was caught out with the cheap price of <$1000 for a set of rods... but then you got all the machining costs. Mine were $1270 for a set of 6 all machined up...
BUT
When it came time to install the rods it was found that they would not fit down the bore. I was then told it'd be ~$80 to get the sides linished. So therefore the price of $1350 sounds about right.
BUT
if you are saying you can get the set for $700 all machined up then i got severely fingered
The eagles are meant to be HEAVIER than standard too... only by grams.
I'd upload a picture of how the rods didnt fit down the bore but i'm a lazy kunt and cbf uploading the pic to web space
Some original photos have not been recovered yet.
another thing i remembered. When my engine was assembled, the crank wouldnt turn over. Turned out that the bearings werent right and had to be re-chamfered... i dont fully understand that step... but its more info none the less
yeah everyone has totally covered everything i was going to note, that is the easiest way of doing it also having to use chev bearings and getting them chamffered is the bolting up trick, they are also alot cheaper than RB30 bearings too buy about $100 per set!!
the only thing on top of all of this is no matter what anyone buys the engine builder is still required to check all clearances when bolted up in case your crank, bearings or rod sizes are slightly out you may still require further adjustments to suit, also if your running high HP applications your engine builder will run bigger clearances in turn this will change what is needed to suit for this setup
Im running crower billets which interestingly enough run a I beam rod design instead of the H Beam > although they are a lot thicker. They make them with the 21mm small end but as I am running 22mm gudeons i had to get small end machined and new bush pressed in . These or carrillos would be my pick for big HP applications but they are $2000+
chammferring is required to narrow the bearing down to fit in the housing as chevy bearings are to wide standard and also to allow oil to flow from the journals out past the bearing for cooling
Eagle make a h-beam rod for VG30dett these have identical big end dimensions, and use the same bearings as an RB30 but are 6.071 inches long and have a 22mm small end.
With the right spec pistons these can be used out of the box and sell for about $800 AUD.
ok i found out today i can get these rods for $600. doh
my rods need .5mm linished off each side of the big end to fit down the bore. the caps will not be touched,only the rod
Quote:
Originally Posted by STD 03l
Eagle make a h-beam rod for VG30dett these have identical big end dimensions, and use the same bearings as an RB30 but are 6.071 inches long and have a 22mm small end.
With the right spec pistons these can be used out of the box and sell for about $800 AUD.
Just check before you buy them. From memory, the VG30 rod is 1mm or so narrower in big end width. This is fine if you are getting pistons made as you can set the conrod side movement in the piston. 22mm pins are a good idea in a big boost engine.
ok i just got my engine parts back.
the cost of modifying the rods was as follows.
rebush little ends $190
narrow rods for width and thickness $60
narrow chev bearings to suit $45
total $295
i forgot to mention that you also need a crank grind to make the bearings fit(rb30 standard size is in between sizes for chev bearings)
this didnt fase me as anyone undertaking such mods would obviously get the crank ground anyway
add $190 to the $295 i previously posted.
total i payed is $1185.
i payed too much for the rods so it can be done for around $1000
i believe the result to be well worth the effort.
nice black american oak table bro
looks the same as the one i made and sprayed at work for my computer table
Some original photos have not been recovered yet.
