I was getting ready to turbo my gsr and I failed a leakdown test so now im gonna build a motor for my DA. I was planning on using wesco forged pistons or some other sort of forged piston idk yet. Now I was wondering if I should get my gsr 1.7 rods shot peened or build a ls block I have with eagle h beams. I’m shooting for 400 to 450 whp. I am solely looking for peoples previous experiences with shot peened rods. Not their thoughts of how they compare to h beams because yes the h beams will always hold more power but I dont feel like spending $800 for crower custom b17 rods.
Ive read and heard people say that shot peening will actually make the rod brittle…
So if you had a catastrophic failure of something internal, the rod can actually shatter, where if it was a stock rod, it would just bend.
Just have the stock rods reconditioned with some ARP fasteners, and call it a day.
But as you said, aftermarket rods will be stronger and able to handle more power.
You can pick up some forged Eagle Rods brand new for around 300. They include the ARP rod bolts as well. Takes the guessing and worry out. That’s my advice.
no eagle rods for the b17 though, crower only…ive been through this and bout a set of crowers myself. i can give any advice here, still building!! 
[QUOTE=sliminemkorn;2232080]no eagle rods for the b17 though, crower only…
[/QUOTE]
That.
I personally haven’t come across anything that has lead me to believe that Shot peening was effective and worth it for anything more than a high revving all motor build. Although, it is very affordable compared to other options.
If you are really stuck on using the B17 (which is a great motor) you might want lower your goals a bit to stay on the safe side but even for the $800 I think it’s worth it based on your goals. Someone can correct me but I thought stock rods would be unsafe above around 300HP. Sounds like you are willing to spend the $300 if Eagle made the rods. If you know that you are going to push it hard you mine as well spend the extra $500 now rather than blow the motor because it will cost a lot more than $500 to put back together.
That is true. I think ill just get my b17 rods cryo treated and lower my goal. I would like toget crowers but i will only get them if i win the lottery lol
Ringlands<rods<sleeves. Specifically rod bolts but with the b17s near perfect rod stroke ratio,its much less of an issue than non vtec b18,arps and call it a day…
Put some forged pistons on the stock rods…with a properly assembled motor(proper bearing clearances etc…) and an efficient setup you’ll be surprised what kind abuse these motors will take and the power they make.
[QUOTE=92b17a1;2232169]Ringlands<rods<sleeves. Specifically rod bolts but with the b17s near perfect rod stroke ratio,its much less of an issue than non vtec b18,arps and call it a day…
Put some forged pistons on the stock rods…with a properly assembled motor(proper bearing clearances etc…) and an efficient setup you’ll be surprised what kind abuse these motors will take and the power they make.[/QUOTE]
Thank you for a response from someone that has experience with this. I wanna be around 400 whp should this be doable on the b17 rods?
http://paeco.com/Connecting%20Rods.htm
I have seen these rods used on my freinds Porsche 924 track car, and a BMW 2002 track car. All the track rats we met at Watkins Glen swore by the Paeco catalog. They will make anything you want. Might be worth looking into.