MERICAPOWEREDS14

http://youtu.be/w88tVTdoAQw?hd=1

Katech sells these rod bolts for LS series engines and says you do NOT have to resize the the bearing journal, They claim that they do no distort the rod journal. They are 200 dollars, ARP sells similar bolts and says you have to resize them for 85 dollars. Well Katech, you are wrong and are screwing customers. We checked these rods with the stock bolts and they where perfectly round. Throw the Katechs in and stretched them to .0065 (recommend between .006 and .007) and went out of round by .0025!! What a joke. Wish we would have bought ARP's even tho we knew being a higher torque that they would displace the bore with Katechs but we had to see for sure. The Katechs are also almost half the size as the ARP's..

Here is the info off of Katech's website....

"
Gen 3 / 4 Rod Bolts Extensive testing by Katech for GM’s LS1 ASA engines showed the production rod bolt to be the weak link in the stock bottom end in the LS1 engines. Our rod bolt is the best you can get and fits production connecting rods without having to re-hone them to size.
These direct replacement bolts are made from H-11 material for extremely high tensile strength with threads rolled to J-graded specifications.
INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS
• H-11 high tensile material - 260,000 psi yield strength
• Bolts directly in place, no resizing necessary
"

I am NOT trying to post this to talk any crap. I build engines and I believe people NEED to know this info. These are strong bolts. But they ARE NOT AS ADVERTISED

bww3588

iTrader: (49)

Further reinforcement that you can't just slap rod bolts in and go.

I installed arp bolts in my stock rods and they were .003 o-O-r before re sizing.

MERICAPOWEREDS14

Exactly! I do not have anything against these bolts OTHER than they are not what is advertised. ANY good machine shop will tell you the same. The rods WILL be out of round. I'm just tired of hearing the Katech hype when its fake.

01ssreda4

iTrader: (96)

Interesting. Common sense tells you, but you ignore and believe the hype. Thanks for the correction.

Wnts2Go10O

iTrader: (12)

can i get a "well duh?"

RonSSNova

iTrader: (3)

Maybe they meant "as long as you don't tighten them"

My machinest would tell you to resize no matter what bolts you install, even stock ones.

PREDATOR-Z

IMO there should be more confirmed testing in various scenarios.

blue98Z

iTrader: (29)

Nice video!

I've been fortunate. Stuck the ARP's in and stretched to their spec's and rolled out. 5yrs and god knows how many miles/track passes I've put on it since. I'm sure eventually it'll surface but that'll be my excuse to build my monster

hiltsy855

iTrader: (35)

I assume you followed their installation procedure. Did you torque to 45 ft. lbs. and then check for .0065 stretch?

KAT-A4963 ROD BOLTS
INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS
FOR LS1, LS2, LS3, LS6, L92
3/12/2008 Rev.0
• Remove factory bolts and ferrules. Clean bolts
• Apply the supplied CMD Extreme Pressure Lube #3 generously to the bottom of the rod bolt head and the threads
• Torque bolts to 35ft-lb and then loosen completely at least 3 times to burnish threads
• Final torque rod bolts to 45 ft/lbs. The equivalent bolt stretch should be between 0.006” and 0.007”

KCS

iTrader: (20)

Can't say I'm surprised.

96capricemgr

iTrader: (1)

I would agree with those saying no real surprise but at the same time those calling for a larger sampling are correct as well.

Did you test the whole set?
Was this the single worst one?
If you only tested one then you don't know if this is normal, the exception or hell maybe this is even the lowend of distorsion??????????????????

A single result isn't much of a result, repeatability is key, I think most of us would like to know what the other 7 do if you are willing to put forth the effort for the community.

MERICAPOWEREDS14

... I tested them on all 8 lr4 rods and 4/8 ls1 rods, all came up all over the board. this is just the one we grabed out of the box as we where about to leave so i could get the video.

and hitsy, yes we followed instructions, and you are not just supposed to torq them to 45 ft lbs. you are supposed to STRETCH THEM to .006 to .007. and we ended up about 39-41ft lbs depending on which rod. but we stretch things like this. if we would have torqued it to 45 ft lbs. there would have been even more distortion and also over stretched the rod bolts. there also isnt a dimple in the bottom of the bolts for the rod bolt stretch gauge, these bolts are all hype and they are making money off of them and people that just believe hype.

RonSSNova

iTrader: (3)

They spec stretch and don't provide a dimple for the measurement tool?

Now that is amazing.

1bad03snake

iTrader: (16)

I was about to buy a set of katech's last night before I read your post. I picked up a new set of ARP's rod bolts for $75.00 and i'll get the rods resized sometime this week.

95ONE

iTrader: (1)

Sometimes, there are just crappy rods! As much as I argue this exact point... There needs to be much discussion.

What still kills me.. No one ever describes the type of ARP bolt they installed! killer. I bought the ARP rod bolts designated for the cracked cap LS1 rods. Part #134-6006. Hi perf 8740's. NOT the Pro 2000's.
I tested with stock rod bolts and then with ARP's to stretch and then only to torque. both came out to exact same. - 1 stretch was a little more torque but within spec. No re-honing was needed.

The result? Test them first to find out your luck. ARP or Katech. You are most likely NOT going to need to be re-honed. you might, but odds are you won't and life will be great. Always test to be sure. This is a repeat of what everyone has ever said x's 1million.

machinistone

Yeah, of course they distort the bore - any time you change the clamp load applied from what it was when the rod was originally machined, you will change the size and geometry of the bore. Additionally you cannot just check clearance with platigauge or even a two point bore gauge because they are not capable of showing nth order distortions that are present in the bore. Even the three point precision AG gauge shown in the OP's video may sometimes not show these orders of distortion, so you need to properly re-size the rods every time you change fasteners.

MERICAPOWEREDS14

I don't know how many rods you personally have installed bolts in and checked but 99% of ones that I have done or had done went out of round. You say the opposite of what almost any machine shop or true engine builder will tell anyone. It always needs to be checked. You also have to have the right tools. which almost NO ONE has but a machine shop. Plain and simple

}BlueFire{

iTrader: (8)

Just out of curiosity and I will say I know nothing about engine building but... wouldn't the pure fact of you taking a cracked rod apart throw off the measurement? To my knowledge your supposed to do one bolt at a time so the cracks line up n don't throw them out of round. I know its not in the instructions but seems to be common sense in the ls world.

}BlueFire{

iTrader: (8)

Kind of like reusing tty fasteners or certain gaskets even tho it goes together the same way n looks right your throwing off the clearances and therefore the whole point your trying to prove? I dunno in my head it makes sense. Maybe someone else with more knowledge will chin in and bring things in perspective.

96capricemgr

iTrader: (1)

Thank you for clarifying that you had tested more. That means a lot more than the initial post that did not mention the rest.