How good is an Eagle rotating assembly?
Thread Starter
On The Tree
iTrader: (4)
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 193
Likes: 0
From: Dirty South, Louisiana
How good is an Eagle rotating assembly? I might should have asked this question before i ordered my LT1 396 eagle kit, but how do the eagle kits stand up as far as durability and the pressure of nitrous.
The forged cranks hold up fine so long as they are dimensionally correct they should be inspected and it is not uncommon for them to need machining before assembly.
The rods hold up fine, only snag you can hit is if you picked the wrong ones they have horrible clearance. One local engine builder insists on a few torque cycles and resizing them before they will install them.
It is cheap chinese stuff either way. You could buy American for just a little more money. If your Eagle stuff needs machining or ends up hard to balance it could surpass what it would have cost to run better parts up front.
Nobody cares about that though they just hear Eagle know it is popular and blindly buy. Their popularity is based solely on popularity. It is kind of like Old Milwaukee or something not particularly good, but cheap, easy to find and gets the job done. If you actually care about what kind of beer you buy though it doesn't make the options list.
The rods hold up fine, only snag you can hit is if you picked the wrong ones they have horrible clearance. One local engine builder insists on a few torque cycles and resizing them before they will install them.
It is cheap chinese stuff either way. You could buy American for just a little more money. If your Eagle stuff needs machining or ends up hard to balance it could surpass what it would have cost to run better parts up front.
Nobody cares about that though they just hear Eagle know it is popular and blindly buy. Their popularity is based solely on popularity. It is kind of like Old Milwaukee or something not particularly good, but cheap, easy to find and gets the job done. If you actually care about what kind of beer you buy though it doesn't make the options list.
On The Tree
Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 179
Likes: 3
From: Eastern Kentucky
I'll go out on a limb here and say that I like them. I'll use the Eagle components on about 4-5 builds per year. I also use Howard's, Lunati and Callies. I typically use them with Mahle, SRP/JE or Diamond pistons that weigh about 400 gr and have never had a balancing issue. I've only been building engines for about 5 years and have never experienced an Eagle crank failure. Most of my builds are around 450-525 FWHP and some are sprayed quite heavily.
I have had to turn a crank or two and the hardening of the journals was not compromised at .010. I have seen bearings destroyed from lack of lubrication and the journals on the crank can usually be polished up with very little difference in size. While there are cranks that I prefer I have no reason to recommend anything else for a hot street build up to around 500 HP. I've also heard the argument about the dimensions not being correct and I believe that to be older information or else I've been very lucky. Of course that's just IMHO.
I'm currently starting a LT4 build for my Vette that I hope to have around 500 Horsepower and 500 Torque. I have some old parts hanging around that I'm going to use and the 4130 Eagle is one of them. So are the Eagle rods and the Used Mahle pistons. This is going to be a daily driver and I won't anticipate any problems with the used bottom end stuff at all. Confidence is high. I could use anything I want but there's no reason to go any "better" for my modest needs.
I have had to turn a crank or two and the hardening of the journals was not compromised at .010. I have seen bearings destroyed from lack of lubrication and the journals on the crank can usually be polished up with very little difference in size. While there are cranks that I prefer I have no reason to recommend anything else for a hot street build up to around 500 HP. I've also heard the argument about the dimensions not being correct and I believe that to be older information or else I've been very lucky. Of course that's just IMHO.
I'm currently starting a LT4 build for my Vette that I hope to have around 500 Horsepower and 500 Torque. I have some old parts hanging around that I'm going to use and the 4130 Eagle is one of them. So are the Eagle rods and the Used Mahle pistons. This is going to be a daily driver and I won't anticipate any problems with the used bottom end stuff at all. Confidence is high. I could use anything I want but there's no reason to go any "better" for my modest needs.
Last edited by 1963SS; Nov 6, 2011 at 10:57 AM.
Thread Starter
On The Tree
iTrader: (4)
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 193
Likes: 0
From: Dirty South, Louisiana
I hope it works out for me, my goal is for my car to run 10's. but i want to do it as a daily driver with a/c, stereo and not a hulled out car. will be spraying a 150 shot of that (Micheal Jackson) LOL!!!!
Trending Topics
On The Tree
Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 179
Likes: 3
From: Eastern Kentucky
my goal is for my car to run 10's. but i want to do it as a daily driver with a/c, stereo and not a hulled out car.
My 4350 pound Impala gets 21-22 on the highway, gets driven over 12,000 miles per year and runs an 11.78 @ 116 with no spray. I will turn off the stereo and A/C though.
LS1 Tech Stories
The Best V8 Stories One Small Block at Time
6 Common C5 Corvette Failures and What's Involved In Repairing Them
Pouria Savadkouei
Retro Modern Bandit Pontiac Trans AM Comes With Burt Reynolds' Autograph
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Greatest Cadillac V Series Performance Models Ever, Ranked
Pouria Savadkouei
Top 10 Most Powerful Chevy Trucks Ever Made!
Hennessey's New Supercharged Silverado ZR2 Has 700 HP
Verdad Gallardo
Coachbuilt N2A Anteros Is an LS2-Powered C6 Corvette In Italian Clothes
Verdad Gallardo
Awesome K5 Blazer Restomod Comes With C7 Corvette Power
Verdad Gallardo
10 Camaros You Should Never Buy
10 LS Engine Myths That Refuse to Die
Verdad Gallardo
Eagle makes good stuff IMO and will hold 1000+hp if your builder is good and checks out everything b4 putting it all together. World records have been set using Eagle parts and thousands of racers use them every weekend at the track with minimal failures.
My shortblock was built in 2003, using an Eagle crank, rods, and Ross pistons. It was then topped with a set of ported GTP heades and a small (.22x/.23x .53x/.54x 112 lsa) HR cam. This combo ran 11.6 @ 116mph NA and 10.9 @ 127 on a 150 shot. It was ran this way on the street for quite a while and had countless bottles ran through it. I then switched cams and ran 11.3 @ 119 na And 10.50s on the jug. WHen the car we retired from street duty the heads where upgraded to AFR 227s and a single plane intake. It then ran 11.1 @ 121 na and 9.8 @ 139 on a 200 hit (250whp increase). The car is now apart for a refresh on the motor and will be put back together with the same rotating assembly but will be switching to a solid roller cam and will be hit with a bit more nitrous.
CLiff notes : eagle shortblock built in 2003, ran hard and put away wet for 8 years
CLiff notes : eagle shortblock built in 2003, ran hard and put away wet for 8 years
TECH Enthusiast
Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 556
Likes: 0
From: Apopka FL
as long as your tune up is good you will be fine. we have been running the same eagle crank sense 02. we have many many sub 10 runs on it and been as quick as 8.96 at 154 with a ysi 383 combo.
I have a 4340 crank in my car, buy the ARP2000 rod bolts, stay away from the L19's. It will make clearancing the block a bit easier. The crank was a little hard to balance, but we got it under a gram.
Went a bit overkill on my block but it clears everything just fine.
Went a bit overkill on my block but it clears everything just fine.
Oh and FYI I had to take a bit of weight out of my 4340 Eagle crank to get the balance perfect. No other work required.
Mine SB is a 383 forged Eagle crank, Eagle H-beams, SRP -5cc pistons, Howards billet splayed caps and a short fill. My builder is very happy with the way it came out and says the bob weight is also pretty light. So it will rev up fast.
Mine SB is a 383 forged Eagle crank, Eagle H-beams, SRP -5cc pistons, Howards billet splayed caps and a short fill. My builder is very happy with the way it came out and says the bob weight is also pretty light. So it will rev up fast.
I bought my 3.875" Eagle crank at least 5 years ago. I think it was right in the middle of the debacle Eagle was having with some of their cranks. Mine balanced nicely. No metal had to be added, however the pilot hole is oversized whereas the crank snout is a tad undersized. I can't use a pilot bearing because it's too loose, however a bushing is fine. The crank hub slides on easier than a stock, but there is enough interference where it doesn't cause concern as well as being keyed. I'd buy another one with confidence as long as it was ran though a machine shop I trust.
i built an ls about a year ago with eagle forged crank and h beams............runs fine and everything went well on machining the consistancy in the work from eagle wasn't bad for a budget forged crank and rods............like 96caprice said long as everyting is dimensionally correct i woudln't be afraid of the eagle FORGED stuff at all...
