Titanium rods

[BFB]

Have any of ya’ll ever run titanium connecting rods?
_________________
Forced induction can overcome a lot of obsticles that gets in it's way
"You are the Engineer and the Mechanic.  
Build it your way not the way someone else does it. Their way might not work for you." - clonebug
An interesting thing happens in forums where everyone starts parroting the same thing and "common knowledge" takes over.
“ The monkey see monkey do mentality seems to run deep in VW people. "Gene Berg said it was so 30 years ago so thats the way it is" “ - bdkw1

[slalombuggy]

How much fkn money do you think guys on here have?

Jezzus if a set of valves is $4000 how much do you think a set of rods is worth?

[bugguy1967]

I made semi-custom titanium Ferrea intake valves. They were about 700.

Rods will set you back about 3 grand from Pauter, but the benefits will be few, unless you’ve exhausted all other options for weight reductions.
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"A petrol engine can start readily, run smoothly and give every appearance of being in good order, without necessarily being in good tune." - Colin Campbell, "The Sportscar Engine"

[BFB]

sorry if titanium is out of your budget but there's no need to ruin or divert a post because of that. considering some of the rides ive seen on here and a few of the lurkers ive talked to that have well over 20k in some engines they've built , and ive seen several Pauter engines in the classifieds for sale for 30k + , I dont think my question is unreasonable to assume that people here can afford them. in fact I think it'd be insulting to assume the samba's members couldn't
_________________
Forced induction can overcome a lot of obsticles that gets in it's way
"You are the Engineer and the Mechanic.  
Build it your way not the way someone else does it. Their way might not work for you." - clonebug
An interesting thing happens in forums where everyone starts parroting the same thing and "common knowledge" takes over.
“ The monkey see monkey do mentality seems to run deep in VW people. "Gene Berg said it was so 30 years ago so thats the way it is" “ - bdkw1

[Dauz]

I've ran aluminum rods. They're drag race only.

[Tbirdusa]

Does a titanium hip count? I run that!
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Royals 2015 World Champions
Chiefs 2017 Superbowl winner
1986 Falco records Rock Me Amadeus!

[67rustavenger]

[slalombuggy]

[Tbirdusa]

I fold. And sold my VW habit to a guy in AZ.
_________________
Royals 2015 World Champions
Chiefs 2017 Superbowl winner
1986 Falco records Rock Me Amadeus!

[UK Luke 72]

Maybe Mexxspeed?
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2276 Beetle build https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=670744&highlight=2276+beetle+daily
2276 EFI Conversion https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=689172

[John Connolly]

JET used to make them. Berg sold them.

Pauter used to make some aluminum rods too, sand and drag stuff. I'd guess lifespan was short on those.
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[VWporscheGT3]

[BFB]

I was just informed today by Carrillo that titanium rods have a lifespan of 120 hours. I figure thats just long enough for a race season
_________________
Forced induction can overcome a lot of obsticles that gets in it's way
"You are the Engineer and the Mechanic.  
Build it your way not the way someone else does it. Their way might not work for you." - clonebug
An interesting thing happens in forums where everyone starts parroting the same thing and "common knowledge" takes over.
“ The monkey see monkey do mentality seems to run deep in VW people. "Gene Berg said it was so 30 years ago so thats the way it is" “ - bdkw1

[Dan Ruddock]

Porsche titanium rods, all they had to go was 24hrs. Legendary

[Beetspeed]

Porsche GT3 street engines (and similar street Ferrari's) run Titanium rods as stock and sold tens of thousands.
I know for a fact that GT3 engines can run 200K kilometers without rod issues.

Also older Corvette engines run Ti valves as stock. Those surely run very high milage on the valve train when maintained properly as well.
Special care/procedure and tools upon removal and re-assembling is needed though.

Ti as a material for valves and rods works (very) well imo.
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'75 SB 1303 2,4ltr T4 turbo: 10.58 @ 129.9mph
'65 Ruska buggy 1192cc EFI 80hp N/A

[BFB]

yeh the guy at Carrillo mentioned that but said the oem rods were beefier. so if the stock rods will last that long because their beefier are the Carrillo ones just weak & flimsy ? how does one titanium part last thousands of miles and the other a couple hundred, maybe.
_________________
Forced induction can overcome a lot of obsticles that gets in it's way
"You are the Engineer and the Mechanic.  
Build it your way not the way someone else does it. Their way might not work for you." - clonebug
An interesting thing happens in forums where everyone starts parroting the same thing and "common knowledge" takes over.
“ The monkey see monkey do mentality seems to run deep in VW people. "Gene Berg said it was so 30 years ago so thats the way it is" “ - bdkw1

[Vanapplebomb]

There are a TON of things that play into that. Ultimately it is down to the design goals. What may seem “weak and flimsy” for a road car expected to go 150k may be plenty beefy for a race car that only has to run short distances for a limited time.

There are several Ti alloys commonly used, each with different strength and fatigue properties. The solution treatment, aging process, and any heat treat processes greatly affect the strength properties and size of the grains. The forging process changes alignment of the grains. The beams section profile and length changes the columnar buckling strength. The geometry and surface finish have a large impact on fatigue strength… so many other things.

It’s all about the design goals. A rod for a dedicated race engine and a rod for a high performance street car have different priorities. That’s all, really.
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1800 Type 4 Berrien 295

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=487021

[stealth67vw]

The Acura NSX ran titanium connecting rods from the factory also.
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John Bates
JB Machining Services
1967 street Bug 2276 w/ 48 IDAs, 2020lbs with driver
7.76 @ 89.55mph 1/8 mile
12.34 and 108.10 mph 1/4 mile

[bugguy1967]

The weight of the reciprocating mass and piston speeds play a large part in rod life. Run your titanium with a sub 300g piston (custom) and you can drive it for a very long time.
_________________
"A petrol engine can start readily, run smoothly and give every appearance of being in good order, without necessarily being in good tune." - Colin Campbell, "The Sportscar Engine"