RPM Rods ?????????

trmnatr · Post by **trmnatr** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 11:52 pm

Anybody know anything about RPM rods ?

Anybody use them ?

trmnatr · Post by **trmnatr** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 11:55 pm

Here is the link

http://www.rpmmaxx.com/rods.html

SKeown · Post by **SKeown** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 12:20 am

Probably the same Chinaman makes those as the Eagle, CAT, Scat and a slew of other names.

SKeown

needforspeed66gt · Post by **needforspeed66gt** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 3:04 am

We have had several mopar customers bring us RPM International cranks and the machine work was worse than CAT. One of the cranks had the counterweights all so big that it couldn't sit into the block all the way - they hit the bottom of the bores before sitting in the bearings. One guy sent his crank back twice after we rejected it each time the replacement was worse than the previous one even though they had been "hand selected" I have not seen their rods, but if the cranks were any indication....

n2omike · Post by **n2omike** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 11:29 am

RPM (Racing Parts Maximum) rods are what Probe sells under their brand name. They are pretty cheap stuff, and can be had dirt cheap from other vendors.

I purchased a set of RPM 5.400" lightweight I-beams for a 302 Ford based engine. They were supposed to be weight matched to withing 2g. Wrong. Weighing them on a balancer showed just the SMALL ends to have a 4 gram spread. They were also ordered with the ARP 2000 bolt upgrade. When torqued down, they were a full thousanths out of round. (one was only 2 tenths out, but most were a full thou)

First, I asked the vendor about the balance issue, and he said, and I quote, "That's Chinese for 'Tolerance'". and laughed. I then asked him about the out-of-round big ends, and he said it was because of the bolt upgrade.

He was open for an exchange, so I ended up sending them back for a credit on a better set of rods. No more Racing Parts Maximum components for me.

There are a few vendors that sell the RPM parts under their own name, including Probe and AD-Performance.

There was a Chinese website with some hysterical Engrish translation and some ghetto shop pics, but they've been taken down. The stuff is about as backwoods Chinese as it gets. They might work, but will NEED to be checked out, and probably fixed before they go into an engine.

Another link to the same stuff...

http://www.racingpartsmaximum.com/index.html

Good Luck!

Keith Morganstein · Post by **Keith Morganstein** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 11:54 am

This isn't a direct answer, just my opinion. Sorry about a sidetrack

I've stopped looking at different import cranks rods and have settled with Scat for most applications.

Scat are the best out of the box for fit and size. They go the extra step in many ways. Finish, size, moly on bolt threads, very well packaged and well matched on weight. You can loosen and re-tighten the rods without any surprises.

I look every crank or set of rods over carefully and find very little wrong with them.

It's worth the few dollars more. Just make sure it's really Scat. It's easy to tell.
The rods have Scat forged right into them. They should be in individual bags, coated with cosmoline and sealed, then packed in scat rod boxes. They will have moly on the bolt threads. The bolts have ARP Scat on them.

Just make sure they come from Scat in CA, not eBay or someone saying
"private label Scat".

I say this because there are COUNTERFEITS.

fastvette · Post by **fastvette** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 1:03 pm

From what I have seen the PBM cranks and rods are made by Scat. I have never had a problem with a Scat part.

Randy

SKeown · Post by **SKeown** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 1:09 pm

Believe it or not, I got some CAT rods for my AMC (the only supplier at the time), they came with ARP 2000 bolts and measured perfectly, only one was .0005" wide on the small end, not the bore but width and fell within 1.5 grams.

SKeown

trmnatr · Post by **trmnatr** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 4:33 pm

Keith Morganstein wrote:This isn't a direct answer, just my opinion. Sorry about a sidetrack

I've stopped looking at different import cranks rods and have settled with Scat for most applications.

Scat are the best out of the box for fit and size. They go the extra step in many ways. Finish, size, moly on bolt threads, very well packaged and well matched on weight. You can loosen and re-tighten the rods without any surprises.

I look every crank or set of rods over carefully and find very little wrong with them.

It's worth the few dollars more. Just make sure it's really Scat. It's easy to tell.
The rods have Scat forged right into them. They should be in individual bags, coated with cosmoline and sealed, then packed in scat rod boxes. They will have moly on the bolt threads. The bolts have ARP Scat on them.

Just make sure they come from Scat in CA, not eBay or someone saying
"private label Scat".

I say this because there are COUNTERFEITS.

I have used Scat and Eagle many times, Eagle usually needs some work on the cranks

I dont have an issue with Eagle rods

rustbucket79 · Post by **rustbucket79** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 4:34 pm

Keith Morganstein wrote:This isn't a direct answer, just my opinion. Sorry about a sidetrack

I've stopped looking at different import cranks rods and have settled with Scat for most applications.

Scat are the best out of the box for fit and size. They go the extra step in many ways. Finish, size, moly on bolt threads, very well packaged and well matched on weight. You can loosen and re-tighten the rods without any surprises.

I look every crank or set of rods over carefully and find very little wrong with them.

It's worth the few dollars more. Just make sure it's really Scat. It's easy to tell.
The rods have Scat forged right into them. They should be in individual bags, coated with cosmoline and sealed, then packed in scat rod boxes. They will have moly on the bolt threads. The bolts have ARP Scat on them.

Just make sure they come from Scat in CA, not eBay or someone saying
"private label Scat".

I say this because there are COUNTERFEITS.

What's your trick for getting the cosmoline off the rods? I normally give them a good ride in the parts washer, but there is still some patches of goop to hand remove. It would be nice to dip them in something, give them a quick wash, and move on.

Keith Morganstein · Post by **Keith Morganstein** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 6:05 pm

rustbucket79 wrote:
What's your trick for getting the cosmoline off the rods? I normally give them a good ride in the parts washer, but there is still some patches of goop to hand remove. It would be nice to dip them in something, give them a quick wash, and move on.

It's not very trick, but I soak them in clean mineral spirits and then brush them before washing (the old fashioned way)

trmnatr · Post by **trmnatr** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 6:24 pm

Keith Morganstein wrote:
rustbucket79 wrote:
What's your trick for getting the cosmoline off the rods? I normally give them a good ride in the parts washer, but there is still some patches of goop to hand remove. It would be nice to dip them in something, give them a quick wash, and move on.
It's not very trick, but I soak them in clean mineral spirits and then brush them before washing (the old fashioned way)

ZEP parts cleaner (oil based) and brush works very well

I have a dirty parts washer for dirty valve covers etc

I have 2 parts washers for new parts such as rods, fuel bowls etc, crystal clean fluid all the time

zeronine · Post by **zeronine** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 8:32 pm

Hmmmmm. makes me wonder.
RPM (Racing Parts Maximum or RPM international... whatever they want to call themselves) wouldn't just HAPPEN to have anything to do with ProComp... the company that has taken the "performance" world by storm would it ??

I have seen virtually every Eagle crank out of the box need massaging. I have never had an issue with any Scat crank. I have used both Eagle and Scat rods with zero failures.

What gets me is that Eagle and Scat, being of the Chinese performance breed are so reasonably priced, why would anyone want to risk saving minimal dollars on such important engine components of an unknown quality.

needforspeed66gt · Post by **needforspeed66gt** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 8:51 pm

zeronine wrote: What gets me is that Eagle and Scat, being of the Chinese performance breed are so reasonably priced, why would anyone want to risk saving minimal dollars on such important engine components of an unknown quality.

That's the million dollar question

The average consumer just see's a rod or crank with the same numbers...and one is more expensive, they are not educated enough about machined parts to realize there is a quality difference.

Then there's the group of people that are just idiots and will price shop anything like those old grannies that will drive to several different stores around town to use their coupons for 10¢ savings on onions at one, and 20¢ on bananas at another.....in the meantime they have wasted $$ in fuel

Buy a cheap crank and waste $$ fixing it or shipping it back.

n2omike · Post by **n2omike** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 9:06 pm

zeronine wrote:
I have seen virtually every Eagle crank out of the box need massaging. I have never had an issue with any Scat crank. I have used both Eagle and Scat rods with zero failures.

What gets me is that Eagle and Scat, being of the Chinese performance breed are so reasonably priced, why would anyone want to risk saving minimal dollars on such important engine components of an unknown quality.

I was looking for a lightweight rod that would be easier to zero balance than the heavier Scat H-beam. The RPM fit the bill, and I was assured by the vendor that it was a good piece, and was the exact same part sold by Probe. I bit, they came in, I checked them out... and sent them back! I bit the bullet and bought a set of Oliver rods. It cost me an extra $750, but I would have had to pay part of that in Mallory and balancing. Plus, they are going in a new Dart block, so peace of mind was worth it.

Yes, the RPM is the same part Probe sells, but that doesn't mean it's any good! LOL!