Comments on: Connecting Rods: Material Choices (4) http://www.ret-monitor.com/articles/652/connecting-rods-material-choices-4/ Specific mission-critical info for professionals Fri, 18 May 2012 10:40:15 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7.1 hourly 1 By: Terry http://www.ret-monitor.com/articles/652/connecting-rods-material-choices-4/comment-page-1/#comment-6159 Terry Thu, 20 Jan 2011 06:16:35 +0000 http://www.ret-monitor.com/articles/652/connecting-rods-material-choices-4/#comment-6159 Steel rods benefit from a better stiffness and CTE match with steel bearing shells and crank pins. With regards to fatigue life and inertias in a high rpm race engine, titanium is a better choice. Reducing the mass and inertia of the reciprocating components will reduce bearings loads, and this will reduce friction losses. But as noted in the article, titanium is very notch sensitive and galls very easily. So it must be handled carefully, and re-using titanium fasteners can be problematic. Steel rods benefit from a better stiffness and CTE match with steel bearing shells and crank pins. With regards to fatigue life and inertias in a high rpm race engine, titanium is a better choice. Reducing the mass and inertia of the reciprocating components will reduce bearings loads, and this will reduce friction losses.

But as noted in the article, titanium is very notch sensitive and galls very easily. So it must be handled carefully, and re-using titanium fasteners can be problematic.

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