EAGLE RODS vs. THE COMPETITION

[ace0073]

Ok, so i read the other 'EAGLE RODS ARE HERE' thread and still came up empty so i decided to start this one. My question is regarding the Eagle ESP rods--quality and price. I have seen many prices for various ka24de rods from various manufacturers but never anything like....

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...QrdZ1

I have heard the statement 'you get what you pay for' many times and it makes me hesitant to purchase. It is so weird, we (I) always want the best deal but when i see something like this i get scared that i will be disappointed and end up buying twice......going cheap first, then realizing that i shouldve bought quality when my cheapo's fail. I have some assurance since Eagle has been around for a long time but are there any 'real-life' rod reviews out there? I even found Crowers on ebay.....

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...ZWDVW

Quite the price $$$ difference. So along with rod reviews, what do you all think of this Eagle ESP Rod deal??

[S13FX]

Well have you looked at the AMS/Turbo240 Sportsman Series Rods

They fall in between the price of them both for $400 bucks. And I think if your not looking for like 600rwhp the AMS rods are the best bang for your buck right now.

And the best part is they stand behind their product 100% and the customer support kicks ***. Id rather pay the 100 extra bucks for them and know I can have someone reliable to talk to.

http://www.amsperformance.com/...=1023

[WDRacing]

I'd buy the Eagle rods in a second. The AMS rods are basically the same. I wouldn't worry about the Eagle rods being weak and here's why. The H-Beam design is the strongest rod design for a rod aside from the design Pauter uses which seems to combine both I-Beam and H-Beam.

Reguardless, Eagle does not make a bad product. The exact same H-Beam design is being ussed by everyone now, Scat, Manley and even Summit is offering an H-Beam. Because they work and work well.

I was aiming for the sky when I bought the Pauter rods, but unless you want big power, you just need a good rod. The Eagle certainly fits that description.

Although I can't resist the chance for a plug. I'll make you a smoking deal on my rods and pistons

WD

[S13FX]

Yah now your aiming at the ground lol.

[WDRacing]

Thats it, we're officially broken up

[9sec240]

Whoops, I was logged in under Ivans name, This is Chris@AMS.

Thanks for the support WD...

We have not had ONE quality issue from our rods EVER. I may not be able to whore them out all over the internet for $5 over what it costs to make them, but I stand behind them 100% and you can always come straight to us if you have any problems or a tech question.

I wish I could say the same for the Eagle rods, but unfortunately I have see quality issues with them in the past, both here at the shop and on the great wide internet. Sure you can use them, hell, you can use stock rods to make 540whp like that one guy did. Its all what you personally feel comfortable with.

For anyone that wants factory support and an umatched customer service record, they come to us.

[Jookmasta]

gotta agree with the ams peeps on this one. if the price difference was significant, then yes i would go with eagle but will i pay the extra 5 bux to have a number, website, forum, and people to talk to should anything go wrong? u bet ya.

not trying to say that the ams rods are the best but i don't see the eagle rods people posting and supporting our forum. not to mention that no one really knows the track record on eagle's customer service............

[halnfl]

I agree with you on this one. Back in my l98 days I had a eagle crank/rod combo that was GOOD for 750 hp. That ****ing crank came apart about 12 runs later and it was almost forever before eagle took care of it for me. I'm not saying they make bad products, b/c I have used other parts from them on my GN and had good success. But their customer service isn't even close to AMS', and that is from my own experience. I put customer service over alot of things. If someone stands behind their product I'm more likely to buy, specially if they are far from where I live. I bought a product a few years ago and threatened them I'd fly up there and beat the **** out of them if they didn't make it right, needless to say they did. You shouldn't have to do that for someone to make something right, and AMS always makes it right.

[hnugen]

I have not heard of any problems with eagle rods in the KA-T community. The Honda crowd seems to love them for how much they are. However, Honda motors are limited by the open deck so they do not push them to 350-400whp. the people who can afford sleeves can afford baller rods.

[DammitBobby]

Got to remember 1 thing AMS rods came out with lower cost rods before Eagle did. I wouldn`t think twice about buying from AMS. I am through with fly by night Internet companies that don`t give a crap about the customer. AMS has a great reputation and they stand behind their products. I have called them a few times and they have been very helpful. They are one of a few companies that is actually does R&D on the KA`s.

[scarboroughdub]

i understand product support is something great to have but.... when it comes to rods how much customer service do you need for them.

once you recieve them you look at them and go, hey this looks cool, then its off to the machine shop to have them assembled by your engine builder. his job is to measure everthing and make sure everything is up to par.

once the motor is assembled your done, what are you gonna do call ams and ask them what life you have left in your rods that are currently in your engine?

once in the car if you blow it up, screw a ring land or bend a rod, then your done you have to rebuild, your not gonna call for warranty. its a mechanical racing part that is going to be abused.

thats my 2 cents, personally im not in the market for rods but if i was i would give those ebays a try, personally i use peuter.

not raggin on ams as they are top notch, im just saying how much support do you need for rods.

[WDRacing]

Chris, my intent was never to sway bussiness away from AMS. I hope thats not what you think...

I have always been a preacher of, "you get what you pay for" and I've always said I'll pay more money for service everytime.

I guess my point is that Eagle rods are better then stock and I see no problem with buying them. This isn't a thread to compare AMS to Eagle, its to compare Eagle to ALL of the options. Everyone knows that AMS makes nothing but quality products and stands behind them. That has never been in question. If I were rebuilding my motor, I'd buy Eagle rods over stock...thats it. But I was going to use Pauters so...I believe if you're going to build somthing, might as well make it bullet proof.

WD

[Swedish Mike]

Eagle rods are nice, as I´ve said before, they are used in one of the worlds most powerful SR for years and never any problems.

Our fastest MR2 (10sec) also run Eagle and the block gave up before the rods at 700bhp.With the motorsport block he´s running the old Eagle´s again and no problems.

Got to admit that it feels better to run the expensive brands but Eagle are great for guys building street engines.

[halnfl]

what I'm saying is if there is a flaw in the part that comes to surface after something brakes the company you got them from should stand behind their product if they garuntee quality. I'm sure if an AMS rod broke because of a structural flaw they'd take care of it because thats how they are. Eagle took care of mine but not without a big hassel. By the way I too run Pauter's.

[eazye2000]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...QrdZ1

I personally bought AMS's K1 Rods, but that's my $.02

[sxseguy]

FWIW, Eagle Rod's .pdf catalog rates their Nissan 4-cylinder rods at 900 horsepower!

[ace0073]

After reading all these replies, i am swayed to believe that Eagle rod/AMS/Pauters...etc. are just a matter of preference. I mean everyone says mine are rated at 400hp or mine at 900hp or mine are stronger then yours. Well, since I am definitely in the market now I have another question.....with all the discussion of hp ratings and price, has anyone had an eagle rod fail?......a pauter?.......a crower?........any rod that was not stock? I mean, I plan to build a motor once, correctly but I want to be smart about spending my money. Currently, Im considering the AMS Pro but honestly my only reason is because its a mid-priced product. In my mind I feel like ok.......eagle $300, Pauter $800, AMS Sportsman $400, AMS Pro $675. I cant really afford the upper range so Ill just go mid-range...AMS Pro. I just hesitate to believe that cost dictates how much hp they will take. technically, I could get the eagles (if they are a quality product) and put the extra $500 into some head work or cams or anything else!! I hate to 'beat a dead horse' but all and any opinions will be appreciated. dont forget the main question.......have you had any rods that were not stock, fail? if so, what was your setup and under what conditions...ie. bad tune, etc. also, for reference my goals after the built motor are 450+ usable wheel hp using turbo and maybe nitrous. also for sh*ts and giggles, has anyone ever melted or broken a forged piston? I ask because Im considering using a special heat coating on my pistons that top fuel cars use but it costs $250+...not sure if its money wasted. here is a link to some info:http://www.embeeperformance.co....htmlhttp://www.embeeperformance.co....html

considering EPC-100 on skirts with EPC-108 on crown of arias pistons

[eazye2000]

There is someone in here that had a Crower go through the block. Whether it was a bad rod out of the box, or bad machine work/assembly...I have no idea. And I've never had any first hand experience, or heard anything good or bad about Pauter Rods.I'm personally running the AMS rods. I also bought all of my engine internals from them as well. They've always been more than helpful on the phone when I call and can help you with just about any question you have about your KA motor.And I'm not going to say that the Eagle rods are crap. They probably originate in the same factory as any other H-Beam rod. Just didn't get the final machining finished at the same place. Just my speculation though. So they are probably just fine. But this being an Eagle VS The Competition thread.. I'm going to have to say I wouldn't hesitate to give them a shot. I've used Eagle rods in quite a few of my Small Block V-8 engines with no problems. But then again, the KA has such a long stroke when trying to compare them to the 'SR' or 'Honda' rods. I really don't know how to explain what I mean, but if WD gets back in here, he's pretty good at fixing what I mess up.. lol

Another $.02 down the drain..

[Brandon93240]

You keep throwing money away you'll be broke, lol.

[extreme135]

Ive running eagle rods in by newly built KA-T with arias pistons for 2000 miles, so far so good at about 400hp, i was going to go with ams rods originally since that is where I bought all of my internals, they do indeed have good customer service, but they where out of them at the time, but so far I have no complaints with the eagle's, you hear good and bad things about all rods and parts, but alot of there malfunctions are do to many other things involved than the rods or parts not holding up.

[Chezedik]

Although I can't resist the chance for a plug. WD

Now that's how I know you're gay...

[Chezedik]

My new rods are eagle, and they look really good, for the price, they can't be beat.