# Fitting & checking Maxspeedingrods forged rods & ARP bolts ?



## Milky_Way (Jan 28, 2020)

Hi all,

I'm currently restoring my BAM engine (piston rings, bearings, all the equipment of the cylinder head, etc ...) and as long as I open the block, I might as well switch to forged connecting rods.

So I chose Maxpeedingrods, equipped with their ARP 2000 bolts. Unfortunately there are no assembly / checking instructions










The idea is to make a small check of radial oil clearances at the level of the piston pin, which I recover, as well as at the level of the cranckshaft bearings

But I have several unknowns:

- What is the direction of assembly of these connecting rods?

There is one side with the logo, the other nothing. And on one side is printed references. I did not find anything on the Maxspeedingrods site

- What are the instructions for the ARP 2000 screws?

1st point, should the screws be greased during assembly?

When the screws are sold alone, the package contains a bag of Lube, except that it is not supplied with the connecting rods.










And I found these instructions:

1 / During assembly, lubricate the thread and the underside of the screw head with a molybdenum-based paste.
2 / Tighten progressively (in 3 times) to reach the recommended stretching value of 0.15mm to 0.17mm:

ARP 2000: 1st tightening phase at 2.0 m.kgf, 2nd tightening phase at 4.0 m.kgf, 3rd tightening phase at 6.0 m.kgf

2nd point, What is the tightening torque for checking the axial clearance at the bearings with plastic coating?


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## IanW (Jan 7, 2019)

Afriad I haven't got the answers.

If you find out from another source can you please post here as I have just ordered the same rods.

Thanks


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## desertstorm (Apr 25, 2017)

Have a look at the Decimal Tenths you tube channel. There are many videos on there Nick has done about how to build up a 1.8T engine. 




If the rods have cut outs for tangs on the bearings these should face the front of the engine the intake side. ARP say the best way to tighten the rod bolts is based on stretch. This requires precision tools to measure and 90% of people go with 55Lb/ft .
Tighten and loosen the bolts three times to make sure they are fully torqued.This is what I have done on the 2 builds I have done and at 500bhp not had an issue with the rods. Wossner pistons are a different story.
If it didn't come with the lubricant then a moly lube is pretty much the same. Just need to coat the threads on each bolt before they are tightened. 
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MOLYBDENUM-D ... 4562901729?
I run these bearings in my 500bhp build . They are the goto bearing for Badger 5 on their big builds and not expensive.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ACL-CONROD-B ... 1857580810
Plastigauge for checking bearing clearance.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PLASTIGAUGE- ... 3694577268?


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## Milky_Way (Jan 28, 2020)

Thanx desertstorm !

I recently discovered this Youtube channel. He seems a specialist of the 1,8T !
A little difficult to understand 100% by moments due to its speaking flow (I'm French and I speak English only at work)

I already bought ACL Race bearings and Red plastigage
On the basis on your advice, I'll buy ARP Lube

Ok for the final tightening. Since I have a palmer, I will target the mentionned torque and refine with the palmer.

What about the torque for oil clearance checking ?
Because I think the bolts are not made to be stretched several times ...


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## Essex2Visuvesi (Oct 22, 2019)

By the sounds of things, MaxSpeedingRods make better rods than the do coilovers.  
I had their coilovers on my FC RX7 and they lasted the journey back from the garage as they were horrible.


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## desertstorm (Apr 25, 2017)

The bolts can be tightened several times they are not torque to yield. Just make sure you have the correct socket for them .
They need to be tightened to the correct torque to measure the bearing clearance.
The correct ARP lube is available if you want to buy that.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ARP-Ultra-To ... 3425690395?
Something like this is good for the bearings just to protect them on the first start.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lucas-Oil-Ra ... 4644686599?


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## Milky_Way (Jan 28, 2020)

OK

I feel that I well learned from youtube videos 

I bought Red Line assembly Lube, close to yours

By the way, remains to check the balancing to be right


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## Milky_Way (Jan 28, 2020)

I also heard bad things about their turbos ...



Essex2Visuvesi said:


> By the sounds of things, MaxSpeedingRods make better rods than the do coilovers.
> I had their coilovers on my FC RX7 and they lasted the journey back from the garage as they were horrible.


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## EddieMunster321 (Jan 14, 2016)

Milky_Way said:


> I also heard bad things about their turbos ...
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I cannot believe someone would use rods or bearings from a company like this, not when you can buy from specialists that have engineering history and support. Of all the areas to skimp on, rotating mass like this would not be one I'd ever, ever consider.


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## davebowk (Aug 16, 2019)

They have a very good review here https://bofiracing.co.uk/maxpeedingrods ... r-verdict/


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## StuartDB (Feb 10, 2018)

They are not rifle drilled, but Bill ran non rifle drilled 13 years ago on Ibizanet.

Integrated Enginering demonstrated actually stretching the ARP bolts on a bench before fitting them, as Karl said you are supposed to stretch them 3 times - I just did that under the car whilst fitting them. didn't bother measuring things with the flexible ruler as I wouldn't have done anything if it was wrong anyway.. as would have required engine out and crank out..


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## EddieMunster321 (Jan 14, 2016)

davebowk said:


> They have a very good review here https://bofiracing.co.uk/maxpeedingrods ... r-verdict/


A "very good" review from a company that sells them; you know they're talking nonsense when they say Carillo aren't designed for turbo-charged or high-power engines. What next, Mahle aren't good for low compression engines like WRC cars?


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## StuartDB (Feb 10, 2018)

I will say their documentation states arp2000 bolts are good for 12000 rpm, I thought arp2000 were okay for 8000 and arp500 good for 10000


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## desertstorm (Apr 25, 2017)

What ever people say about Max speeding rods they are better in a modified 1.8T engine than the standard cheese rods . There are plenty of people running 350-400bhp with them even more. I never looked at them as I was always going to go for more than what I would consider safe with these which would be low 400's.


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## Milky_Way (Jan 28, 2020)

My purpose is to make my engine reliable, knowing the standard cheese rods are the weak point.

And once my engine refreshed, I want to apply a stage 1 map, to target ~380 N.m / 260 ch


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## Milky_Way (Jan 28, 2020)

Following our discussion, I rewatched several times the Decimal Tenths video, to estimate the oil clerance on small and big end.

OK for small end with original pins with ~0,02 mm, compared to the specs, between 0,012 et 0,025mm

OK for big end with ACL race bearings, with 55Lb/ft on ARP bolts with ARP Lube. I obtain values between 0,02 and 0,05mm following the rods. To be confirmed by the red plastigage once mounted on the engine.
The specs are from 0,01 et 0,05mm and 0,12mm for the wear limit

Other aspect, the balancing. The 4 rods are included in a range of 0.5g. Not bad!
At the end, I'm able to obtain an overall balancing (piston, segments, connecting rods, etc ...) also in a range of 0.5g

But I'm surprised by their mass, about 604g with bolts, hence 30g heavier ...
I would be interested to know the influence of the rod mass on the engine performance

For information, I've check the mass of the other rods :
- Integrated engineering : 574g with bolts
- Bar tek : 599g with bolts
- Crower : 570g with bolts
- Carillo : 580g (no precision if bolts are comprised or not)
- k1 : 514g (no precision if bolts are comprised or not)
- Eagle : 575g (no precision if bolts are comprised or not)
- Manley : 580g (no precision if bolts are comprised or not)


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## desertstorm (Apr 25, 2017)

If you really wanted the engine to rev to very high RPM and to rev quickly you would want the lightest rods. When I rebuilt my engine the second time I went from IE H beam rods to the Hurricane I beam rods. 
I knew the Hurricane rods would be heavier as there is a lot more material in them but this also means they are very strong. More than I am ever going to need, I added a little more weight with thicker wall tool steel pins. The rods and pins are probably good for 800+bhp if you wanted it. They are heavier by my not so accurate kitchen scales.

ARP bolts 50g
Hurricane rod plus ARPbolts 640g
IE rod and ARP bolts 555g
BAM rod 545g 
Hurricane rod JE piston and 93c tool steel pin 1065g
IE rod wossner piston and pin 980g
BAM piston and rod complete 980g
AUM piston and rod complete 930g

I cannot feel any difference in engine response between what it was before and what it is like now despite the rods being quite a bit heavier. In the scheme of things there is a lot of mass rotating in the crank as well as the other components.
There is about 50g difference between a BAM piston and rod and an AUM piston and rod.


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## Milky_Way (Jan 28, 2020)

Thank you for your very helpful feedback

And 30g on 1070g in total (rod, piston, pistons rings, pin, clips, ...) represent only 3% of increase ...

Maybe the most important thing is balancing


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## IanW (Jan 7, 2019)

All,

Sorry to butt in, I'm in the process of ordering the extra parts to fit the Maxspeeding rods that have now arrived.
I've ordered all the required parts except the big end bearings, there is a bewildering array to choose from with a wide price range £25 - £150, there are 4 KS options alone?
I'm looking for some future proofing as I might go for a big turbo next year, so would be looking at something suitable for 400HP+.

I see in desertstorms pic that there are ACL Race bearings, are they any good as they come in around the £50 mark?
Any advice/experience welcome.

Also I'm unsure of the torque required on the con rod ARP 2000 bolts, the generic card that came with the rods says 45ft/lbs, the Haynes says 22ft/lbs then 90° (think these are smaller bolts though) and I have seen other references to 50 & 55ft/lbs, any idea/experience of the actual correct torque?

Thanks


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## StuartDB (Feb 10, 2018)

You need to follow the ARP2000 instructions.. the stock rods have a captive bolt and you tighten the nuts. I think it is 55ftlb but you need to stretch them first so tighten 3 times, loosening in-between. You also need a 'double square' socket.

https://arp-bolts.com/p/technical.php

if you find your kit number - you can download the specific instructions. eg 201-6102

https://arp-bolts.com/p/newkits.php

https://tech.arp-bolts.com/instructions/201-6102.pdf


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## IanW (Jan 7, 2019)

Found it,

Looked on the US Maxspeedingrods web site (.com) and it's stated as - Torque: 48ft ≈ 65 NM, it's not there on the uk site (.co.uk) site, same part number?

US
https://www.maxpeedingrods.com/product/ ... g-rod.html

UK
https://www.maxpeedingrods.co.uk/produc ... a4-a6.html

Also found this;

http://arpinstructions.com/generaltorque.html

Any ideas on the bearings?


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## desertstorm (Apr 25, 2017)

Torque the rod bolts to 50-55Lb/ft . I torqued the bolts on my original 500bhp build to 50Lb/ft and the current one to 55Lb/ft. ACL race bearings are one of the best you can get for a big build engine. They are the goto bearings for a lot of engine builders. 
These are the rod bearings I used.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ACL-CONROD-B ... 1857580810?


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## IanW (Jan 7, 2019)

Cool, Cheers, Bearings ordered.


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## Milky_Way (Jan 28, 2020)

55 ft/lbs seems the good torque to reach the recommended stretching. That's what I've done.

In addition, Maxpeedingrods confirmed me the ARP Lube is needed

I've also bought ACL bearings.


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## StuartDB (Feb 10, 2018)

Why didn't they include the little sachet of lube? Make sure you put it under the head too.


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## Milky_Way (Jan 28, 2020)

StuartDB said:


> Why didn't they include the little sachet of lube? Make sure you put it under the head too.


Good question. 
For the lube, that's what I did.


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