Can stock b16a rods handle 350 to 400whp reliably. The setup would be b16 with Nippon pistons on stock rods, stock head, gsr cams, ramhorn manifold, t3t4 .57 trim and supporting fuel and tuning. Thanks

 

why upgrade pistons and not rods? if youre gonna tear into the motor you might as well only do it once. B series motors can handle about 350 if they are healthy and the tune is good, but that's really pushing it. You would be better off spending another $500 for rods instead of having to dish out thousands when you put a stock rod through the block.

My buddy had a sleeved gsr with stock rods and he only made 231whp and he threw a rod and put a hole right through the sleeve. Not really worth it to wreck an entire build just to save a couple hundred bucks..

Either shoot for less power, or upgrade parts.

 

im on a bone stock gsr, must have been a bad tune. i think the d blocks max out at just under 300 before internals start braking. with arp head studs and rod bolts b series can see 400 relatively safely.

 

You can put thos nippons on a set of used eagles and it'll be pretty cheap. You just have to ask them to machine the pistons for aftermarket rods when you order for an extra $50 bux.

 

just get arp rod bolts for your stock rods

 

Hell have to machine the big end of the rods. The extra tourqe oblongs it and hell still have stock rods

 

for NA sure. or boosted applications, no...

 

I have had 2 b16a's make over 400 hp. 100% stock engine. garrett t3t4 57 trim. only failure was when my brother 1-2-1 shifted it on the track.

 

My daily 4 door b16 EG is on stock B16 rods, Nippon LS pistons, and stock sleeves. 431 whp 19 psi for a little over 3 years.

 

^^^ nice.

 

Thanks for the responses. I have been doing a lot of research and searching but i'm getting some conflicting info. I understand the first thing to fail in a stock b16 turbo is the stock piston ringlands at about 300-350whp. Some people say the rods can handle 450whp some people say change them if your going over 300whp. Is there any proven info about when the stock b16 rods fail. I know it won't be a specific number because of variations in tuning and engine condition and maintenance, but what is a approximate number? What about if i changed my power goals to 300-350whp. I know a stock b16 can do this but i want it to be very reliable and I don't want to have to worry about anything. This will be my summer dd and use 91 octane gas. thanks

 

I would also like to know more about nastie's setup. thanks

 

One guy above said 231 and it ruined a sleeved block another guy says 431 bone stock for 3 years. So 231-431 whp. No one can tell you where its safe at. But if your having trouble paying 200-300 for aftermarket rods, hows it gonna be when your daily needs a new motor? Not trying to be a Dick at all man just trying to say some ppl make power and it last and others blow up way before they make the same power. Plenty of ppl push stock bottom ends 300-400 whp. But if your taking the time to build it with nippon pistons why not go ahead and get some rods.

 

231whp shouldn't blow anything up, even stock. something was quite wrong there.

 

I also say if you are going past 350whp then do the rods and piston

Ls ARP rod bolts dont need to be machined at all. Just tap out the old bols and put in the new ones. You should tq them to OEM specs or 2-3 lbft more thats it or yes you will oval the rods and caps. Pretty common misconception that you tq the rod bolts more like you do with head studs or main studs but that is a no no. ARP rod bolts are stronger because of the material they are made from so they have a higher shearing strength. I have seen a few blocks with spun rod bearing from over tq the ARP rod bolts.

 

I thought you were supposed to use a stretch gauge to properly tourqe rod bolts.

 

Its not a money issue. I got to extra motors in my shop right now. I'm just saying if a stock rod can reliably handle 400whp and i'm only gonna run 350whp why would i buy aftermarket rods? So ls nippon pistons with ls arp rod bolts on stock b16 rods should fit and work? thanks

 

We have built countless budget B16 builds with stock rods and Nippon LS pistons. All from 360-450 HP with not one rod fail. Out of all B series stock rods, I would say the B16 is the strongest. Short and fat, plus the short R/S ratio is a super plus. My personal daily driver is a stock B16 block .20 over, 81.5 LS Nippon pistons, ARP rod bolts, ACL race bearings, stock polished crank, BDL block guard, B16 head port and polished, BLOX valve train, Supertech valves, CTR cams, Golden Eagle head studs, AEBS intake manilfold, Neukin ram horn, 60-1 turbo .70 ar intake .68 exhaust, GSR trans with M-Factory LSD. Tuned by David @ Import Auto Pros on Crome. Same setup 3+ years, 431 whp. Setup made power to 8,900 RPM. Super fun on the freeway!

 

I had stock b16 rods on nippon racing ctr pistons in my motor, made this power on 15psi no issues at all!
9psi and 15psi dyno reads a tad low, so car was right at 420hp

 

did you machine the big end of the rods with the arp's or did you just torque and go?

 

The machine shop we use pressed them in, and resized the ones that needed to be

 

No Get the rod bolts for the rods you are using. If you are using B16 rods then B16 rod bolts. B series Vtec rod bolts are 10mm and the non Vtec are 8mm, thus the need for ARP rod bolts on a Ls motor.

 

Do you guys do any prep work to the rods?

 

revspeed had a b16 stock with a 35r if im not mistaken making dam near 600whp

 

i know its not near the max rods have seen

lsvt 266whp 8700rpm
completely stock bottom end

8500 all motor for 5 years raced over 20 times every weekend