A stick of OIL on an "I" beam rod is well known by most race engine assemblers.
The "H" beam rod "sheads" engine oil.
Some call this effect as Windage
Another way to observe is to install a camera inside the crankcase.
What I saw was a "Taffie Pull" around the rod/crankshaft area with "I" beam rods

 

No idea what the price difference between all of them are but you could look into a Callies Dragonslayer crank, it's a middle ground between the Compstar and the Magnum. It's pretty much a magnum core without some of the extra machining done if I remember correctly.

My google search says they might not make it anymore, although it was on their website..

 

What's the DS going for these days? I purchased one in 2014 and it was little over 3K.

 

There was a really long discussion on FB last week about LS crankshafts, probably the best technical convo I've ever seen on FB.

Along the way some folks started talking about whether forged was stronger than billet and vice versa.

I know some crankshafts are "finished" in the US.

 

You can hear it from the Callies guys themselves right in this video. They say everyone else is using the same dies over in china, but Callies has their own die and own formulas for the metal and heat treat that they have done for them over there. They finish machine and inspect them in the USA. Magnum is forged in the USA and all work done in the USA. Apex is their new tweener line for guys that need more but don't need a billet. Then they also make billet crankshafts here in the USA. They don't appear to make the dragonslayer anymore.

They also state the Compstar is good for 1800 horsepower and at 2000 horsepower you want the Magnum or Apex and that a Billet is not needed at 2000 hp.

Skip ahead to 8:30 into the video to hear the discussion of where each type of crankshaft is made and the specifics of each model.

 

When I purchased my balanced rotating assembly from TSP back in 2013 I think it was just over 3K which consisted of a Callies DS 4.00" crankshaft, Compstar H-beams, Wiseco pistons and HD wrist pins. I imagine it will cost much more in these times.

 

Rhey don’t make the dragonslayer but with a magnum crank and the rest of your parts it looks like it would be 4000-4500 today.

 

..OUCH

 

It doesn’t seem that bad considering how everything has increased due to inflation and my yearly income has double in the last 12 years as well.

 

A forging is stronger than billet. But you can buy forged billet, then machine it into whatever shape you need. Though I'm not sure if a forged billet would be as strong as a piece that was forged into the actual rough shape you need, before final machining. My guess would be no.....

 

I agree. It's kinda like sticker shock. Nobody likes to pay $4,000 for a crank. But way back when they made $10/hour, let's say the same crank was $1,000. Now they make $40/hour, and the same crank is $4,000.

 

Ya, this could get into an entirely different discussion LOL. Keeping up with inflation is key which I've been lucky enough to outpace inflation over the last several years. Heck my teenage daughter makes $15 an hour doing minor tasks at HyVee grocery store in air conditioning and I worked for $4 an hour walking through corn fields in 90-degree heat detasseling corn and stacking hay bales when I was her age LOL.

 

I hear you! My old *** started when minimum wage was at $1.60/hour!!! Hell, there was still dinosaur dung in the cornfields!!!

 

LOL. I think minimum wage was something like $5.15 when I started detasseling at 14 years old, but there were some loopholes in there that allowed them to pay us less than that. Something about the possibility of earning more with bonuses (tips) if the entire team hit certain unobtainable goals. I remember clearly 2 of us were far quicker than the rest with my buddy being the other and he was better than I was. We would finish our rows and go back in and help the girls catch up. We never reached goals as a "team" to get any of those bonuses (tips).

This is another reason to view our 401k's differently. Say inflation is 6% as an example then if your investment gain is 10% it's really only 4% as the dollar loses value.

ETA: Another off topic discussion is how poorly farmers will pay anyone for labor who isn't their family while they get massive amounts of money from the taxpayers in the form of subsidies.

 

Yup, businesses incorporated as farms are not required to pay minimum wage. If anyone here has ever been to, or heard of, Frankenmuth, Michigan, the Bavarian Inn and Zehnders are both legally farms! When I worked at Bavarian Inn I made $1.25/hour when minimum wage was $1.60/hour. Sorry for the off topic.....

 

Also I think you can get the Magnum with a HD snout for blower apps and since you are still exploring your options from other posts keep that in mind. Especially when you start getting into the rowdier head units that take a good amount of power to run.