Are these rods forged?

[big_ben]

The mazdamotorsports page has these conecting rods listed as the ones used in the WC Protege's. What are so special about them. Also, there are rod bearings for the WC Protege's. What's so special about these also. They say they are Carrillo, what's that? They also have the 15:1 comp piston set from the WC Protege. Kinda pricy though. Anyway, here is the site, any comments welcomed.

Mazda Motorsports

 

[Keith@FP]

Carillo makes bulletproof rods. They'll be forged and pretty much unbreakable. On a Miata, they're also lighter than stock.

Keith

 

[big_ben]

So does this price of $354.65 include all four. It says 4 in the column that says "req" at the top. What does that mean? If this is the price for all four, that is a steal! What about the rod bearings, is says 8 on there. Why?

 

[big_ben]

Dammit! I just called mazda motorsports and asked a few questions about this stuff. Basically, anything made my Carrillo is not available to the public. He said that those parts shouldn't be on the site and they are in the process of removing them. I asked if we could get these prts from Carrillo, and he didn't know. But as for the price, that $354.65 is the price per rod.

 

[Gyre]

It says 4 in the column that says "req" at the top. What does that mean?

Probably requires four.

 

[big_ben]

I figured that out when he said the rods were $354 each.

 

[20ESGUY]

you should be able to get them either direct from Carrillo or through a distrubutor. Back in the day those things used to be used on high HP chevy's and VW's with ultimate success. As far as I know they still make rods for the old A/C Veedubs, so getting them shouldn't be a problem. Check with Scat
( www.scatvw.com), they are a Carrillo distributor if my memory hasn't failed me.

 

[Tonpow]

Wow! 15:1 piston set?

 

[big_ben]

Wow! 15:1 piston set?

I'm not positive on this. I just know that the WC Protege's have somewhere around 15:1 compression. So it must be the same pistons. But I doubt they are available to the public. If anything, the heads they have on the site would give you the best gains. But look at the price.

 

[Keith@FP]

We're a Carillo dealer. Just got off the phone with them, and they have no Protege application. Best guess is that they're fulfilling an order to a certain spec but don't know what it's going in to.

With enough interest, we could get some rods made. The Miata rods are $998/4 but that's because we buy them in quantity.

Keith

 

[big_ben]

I really want to install rods, but that damn cost of them is really holding me back. I think I'm just going to wait until I get a miata to dump that much money into a car.

 

[Keith@FP]

Either way, we're willing to help you with your need to dump money into a car, Ben

Keith

 

[big_ben]

I'll bet you are! I'll definetely be buying some stuff from you guys when I find my miata. By the way, which Miata do you recomend? The early or late model. I love the looks of the late model, but doesn't the earlier models have stronger drivetrains?

 

[Keith@FP]

The older ones are our favourites (1994-95 in particular). The drivetrain is no different than the later cars although the gearing has changed over the years. There has been speculation that the rods of the 1999+ cars are not as strong. The biggest difference is engine management. Check out the tech section of our Miata website or give us a call.

http://www.flyinmiata.com/tech/

Keith

 

[big_ben]

Thanks, I guess since it is going to be a weekend toy/autocross beast, I'm not really that hung up on it's looks. There are plenty of body kits for the miatas anyway. Hopefully I will have one within the next year.

 

[Keith@FP]

You can still make a 220 whp newer Miata that will keep you occupied. One did pretty well at the SOLO II Nationals in SM2 and SM2L this year. With only 2300 lbs or so to cart around, that's fast enough for lots of people. The suspension's a little better on the newer cars - more rear travel.

Keith

 

[big_ben]

If I can find a newer year model for a good price I'll go for it. But If not, I'll just do a fixer-upper job on one of the old ones. The only thing bad about the old ones is I'll need to do a rebuild before installing a turbo so I'll have peace of mind.

 

[Keith@FP]

Not necessarily. We've turbocharged cars with over 120k miles on them and run them at 12 psi for years.

Keith

 

[big_ben]

I emailed Carrillo and this is what they said.

Ben,
Thank you for your interest in Carrillo rods. We do not stock rods for the
Mazda Protege but can manufacture them. Current manufacturing time is about
8 weeks. Your cost as an individual direct is $319.00 per rod.


Sincerely,
Scott Greatrake
CARRILLO INDUSTRIES

That's still damn expensive!

 

[Keith@FP]

Yeah, Scott got that email when we were talking to him. "Do you know this Ben guy?".

You want the best, you pay for it.

Keith