Hello people

Im running a 2.1 zvh in my series 2, its got ross racing forged pistons with standard rods

Im thinking more power

What is the safe limit on zetec rods ? im thinking about puting some steel jobbies in

 

people have run 300bhp ok which is surely more than enough for a fwd car?

 

iv heard 250 is the limit!

so if you are goin more the change the rods mate!

 

its 250 for cvh rods

 

300 zvh rod (standard)

 

ian howell told me he hasnt tested them over 300 but one has never failed at that if thats of any help?

 

i know of a failure at 300bhp, would not go above this myself

 

Thanks for the info

if 300 is the limit then i may get jamsport to tweek the boost up to say 20-22 should see 265-70 then...

Prob get bored of that though

 

What spec is your ZVH?

Reason I ask is im going to build one soon and just wondering what to expect power wise

 

dta managment, stage 3 head with cvh35, dark greens, t34, 500 cooler and a few other bits

To be honest mate i bought the lump of a mate as my 1600 went bang, but if i was to do it again i would go down the full zetec route

Dont get me wrong im more than impressd with the zvh and it goes like fuck but you could get so much more from the full zetec

 

From this information, this makes 300 bhp above the limit of the rods. 300 bhp is the breaking point of the rods. I'd advise you impose a 20 or 30 bhp defecit to give you some form of protection against snapping them.

 

ive seen standard zetec rods break at 270 bhp turbo'd and 180 bhp n/a...

 

Oh shit didnt realsie that could be that weak, looks like im keeping the power as it is

 

That would make you safe useful power output around 250 ish then!!!

Stay where you are with you power output!!

 

that don't mean nothing tho mate

i have seen a cvh rod fail at 167 bhp but it does not mean its the rods limit

a lot of failures can be caused by other factors ignition timing fueling revs etc

i have seen a steel rod bend at 265 bhp because of too much ignition

my mates had 301 bhp with zetec rods with arp rod bolts fitted for about 2 years no problems

 

Obviously many things can effect a rod however when determining a 'safe' limit you can be pretty sure will not cause you problems what do you personally believe is the 'safe' point of the standard zetec rod where you are fairly safe to not to consider failure.

I think its about 260bhp myself, not for one moment am I suggesting authority, only thats the happy zone for me regarding standard zetec rods

 

300 is the limit so far on standard its not the power which breaks the rods look at revs ignition etc my last zvh was 310bhp plus i use to run 70 shot of nitrous but i only rev to 6000 never needed to rev more with nitrous..

sean

 

stick to 250-260bhp mate when you start going above that its gets silly and the power from 1st to 3rd becomes useless pluss it will be more reliable!! a good honest 250bhp zvh will do impressive 1/4 miles and there a machine an half at that mate, maybe start looking into transmission etc getting all the power to the floor instead of wasting power and money! am sticking to 260 when mines done, but who honestly knows the limit of zetec rods.... answer: Depends how you drive SIMPLE!

 

Thanks for the info peeps

I hink what ever power you run you get bored very quickly

Im just trying to weigh up th options to keep ther standarde rods or go with the hassle of fitting sum steel ones.

Ive got a satge 2+ box with quaffe diff do putting the power down isnt a problem

 

I have that box aswell