I've never seen them side by side before. The GT500 rods are definitely not as robust.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tob
I looked for but never found a rating for the factory GT500 powder forged rod. And while it does the job admirably in stock/mildly modified applications, it isn't the rod of choice when upping boost or pushing the rpm ceiling. They are rather narrow in the beam area, and they typically bend or break near the small end.
Stock (sfadchi's OE I believe)
There are others here that can probably provide the boost and rpm #'s that resulted in the following photos...
The big issue for Ford to upgrade is obviously cost. With economies of scale at work, I'd hope they'd have made the change here. There's a reason they felt them necessary on the GT engine. I wish that same line of reasoning was in effect here. The Manley billet H-beam for the modular engine was a truly beautiful part.
One less thing to worry about when screaming along in your GT500 with a TVS or a shiny new Whipple...
Like I said, my fingers are crossed. This would be a sweet change along with the others I mentioned earlier.