Marine rods and pistons?
Thread Starter
Teching In
Joined: Apr 2019
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From: northern MN, moving to twin cities area soon
Marine rods and pistons? Someone posted in another thread but didn't get back yet... that there are stronger than normal rods and pistons in marine LS engines, I don't know if these are from GM or some kind of aftermarket but could anyone fill me in if this is a strength upgrade?
Even if they might be less appropriate for higher HP shorter 1/4 mile type things than Gen 4 or aftermarket rods, i'm looking at a towing application wanting higher constant loads - like a marine engine sees and someone said even Gen 4 rods run HARD will make the big end out of round over time. (I dont know about it one way or another just what another commenter posted)
Even if they might be less appropriate for higher HP shorter 1/4 mile type things than Gen 4 or aftermarket rods, i'm looking at a towing application wanting higher constant loads - like a marine engine sees and someone said even Gen 4 rods run HARD will make the big end out of round over time. (I dont know about it one way or another just what another commenter posted)
Thread Starter
Teching In
Joined: Apr 2019
Posts: 40
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From: northern MN, moving to twin cities area soon
I did a search for 'marine rods and pistons' and saw no topics so I created a new topic. I thought this would be of interest to others doing such a search in the future, in case others want to see a discussion about it or would never know of it being mentioned in a different topic. I wasn't meaning to spam the board, just keep information separated so someone doesn't have to dig through 50+ posts in my original root post.As I get feedback or hear of something totally new, plans refine and change or are replaced by better ones. I updated my original thread with project plan changes if it matters and wont recopy it all here.
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Just a thought, when someone posts something in another thread, it wouldn't hurt to quote their post for reference. To your question (in essence), is there a shelf piston or rod designed for marine use, I'm not aware of one. You could call JE, Diamond, etc and see if they may have something they did custom for a marine engine builder. Better yet, ask them what would they suggest for your application (towing 10K lbs with 5.3 boosted to 550ft lbs)? You'll likely hear, you don't need anything extravagant. Not sure if they have a database to pull from and provide details (not sure how they operate regarding proprietary designs for builders, etc).
Bottom line - marine engine builders do many things when designing an engine for marine use due to the application.
Please know - You could melt a custom piston if not keeping all critical engine parameters in check including tune.
https://www.google.com/search?q=ls+e...client=gws-wiz
Bottom line - marine engine builders do many things when designing an engine for marine use due to the application.
Please know - You could melt a custom piston if not keeping all critical engine parameters in check including tune.
https://www.google.com/search?q=ls+e...client=gws-wiz
Last edited by tblentrprz; Aug 24, 2021 at 08:18 PM.
If your looking for a rod upgrade on a budget, go with the Scat h-beam. They are 4340, available in 6.100 length, .927 top pin and 2.1 big end pin. Basically a drop in rod. The extra .002” in length won’t hurt a thing. You’ll have to balance and wait about 3 weeks for delivery, but then again, if your building an engine right now, your waiting for weeks for most everything anyway. Here’s a link. I missed the other thread I guess, so I’ve no idea if this has been discussed already…
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/s...make/chevrolet
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/s...make/chevrolet
Thread Starter
Teching In
Joined: Apr 2019
Posts: 40
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From: northern MN, moving to twin cities area soon
The risk of melting parts is another reason I wanted to start with a 'junkyard' 5.3L unrebuilt for my first attempts at tuning. Rather kill a $300 core than a $1000 core 6.0L. Once i've learned enough to feel competent on that i'm wanting to upgrade the internals and freshen the engine up so I feel more confident about going longer distance and raising boost. This is ALL a learning experience for me, i'm just bouncing the plans off many minds (already modified things that people that know more than me talked me into altering) to try learning with words instead of broken parts, but some things i'm willing to try and learn that way if the idea just seems a bit untested or at least not verified as a bad one.
