Rod construction?

[mercrazy]

Are cracked ca rods cracked before or after honing?
Also, where do I remove weight to balance rod weights?

[LakeFever]

Ls rods are powder metal one piece and you crack the cap off yourself. These Merc rods look to be drop forged, then machined, then cracked. I’m interested to know if that’s accurate. Balance take off the side of the beams iirc. I wouldn’t worry much about a few grams here or there. Using a gram scale weigh all your rods, pins, and pistons. By mixing and matching I was able to get mine very close without any grinding

[KIRCHNER]

they make a jig for balancing the big end,and the small end,then t overall weight off the sides of beam. a bit too tech, for me..

[laser_ED]

they make a jig for balancing the big end,and the small end,then t overall weight off the sides of beam. a bit too tech, for me..That method of balancing is what the car guys call ,,bob weight;;;most of the drag race outboard builders do their own by matching rod weights.Also racers lighten rods to help overall rotating weight.There are alot of opinions on both sides of that issue..Fishing motor rods 81 series short bolt ,280 long bolt,, big 5250 260 rods and drag 5250 lighten chatfield rods.The mercury tech that builds some of the best running drag engines out there uses chatfield rods and the auto verde rods with machined rod caps...The builder likes big rods better because he says they stuff the block and bring crank case pressure up..As I said many options and opinions...

[KIRCHNER]

when i was drag racing the engine builder did the bob weight balancing for our s/b chevy 406. 630 hp,all motor. what fun!