I just wish I had some hard numbers. Like for instance, pmr's are good to about 425ish and forged rods are good to about 600ish. What about forged rods that are heat treated, polished, peened, and cryod?
I think that while you understand what you need to get where you want to be, you're missing something about forged rods, and what working them over does for you.
I know of an engine that was put together, with shot peened and polished forged rods, plus cryo, that didn't make it 20 miles.
I had a set up on a PMR motor, that was runnin close to 400, if not a bit over. Had 28k on it like that. Drove like an idiot on empty roads, had at least 30 hooks on it, hit the rev limiter at 4k a few times, a few drag races, towed heavy in the hot tune all the time, etc. Treated it like crap because I had a spare motor AND a spare vehicle to drive to work.
Rather than puttin my nice clean, freshly machined spare block together with forged rods, I got a great deal (not so much in retrospect) on a T444E forged rod motor with 140k on it. Tore it down to a long block, looked everything over as good as I could with my limited tools. Retorqued the mains, put an OBS cam in it from the spare motor, studded and springed it, and swapped all the go fast parts from the PMR motor over to it. So the differences were, studs, and springs. Same turbo, injectors, HPOP, fuel system, etc.
It's sitting in my driveway right now, sounding like it outa be chuckin a rod any second. I got 1000 miles out of it.
Forged rod bottom ends, are literally a gamble. The PMR motor was factory assembled with 230K when I pulled it. Never a single hickup.
The forged rod motor, I can't answer for. Dunno what it's life was like, but it should've held everything the PMR motor did, without a second thought. Maybe I disturbed something messin with the mains, even though the caps never came off, that was just enough to smoke a bearing.
But hopefully that illustrates how much of a gamble these bottom ends are.
Oh, this is what I've found so far, haven't got it out of the truck for a complete tear down yet. HPOP res screen.
a true 400hp to the wheels in the DD/tow tune is plenty for most people out there for day to day use. I think we as a community have lost sight of what all these terms actually mean. My DD is 650hp capable but is quite content at 400ish ponies day in and day out.
:whs:
Of the various diesel and gas trucks I've owned or driven that were runnin hotter than stock, you get much over 400-450 and it get's to the point where goin WOT on the street isn't an intelligent option anymore. To much smoke, to little road to run out on, not enough traction in 2wd on dirty pavement, etc.
400-450 feels pretty damn good, it's enough to make you smile a little anyway.