The JDM STi Ver7+ seems to have all the good stuff. Fully forged internals; crank, rods, pistons. Now the rods are one of the weak links when pushing lots of power. I think it is one of the weak links when making power with only a 7k rpm redline; too much torque without enough rod speed? Now the JDM STi's rev to 8000-8500(spec C). They also have less torque in the lower revs; less stress on the rods at lower engine revs? The USDM STi doesn't have forged pistons. There are quite a handful of Japanese tuners pushing 400+whp; bug-eye JUN STi with STOCK internals. Of course that car is a track car, different driving environment. Tuning also is the difference too so you don't melt pistons or bend rods. Is there really a need to upgrade the factory forged rods? WHEN in power output should the foctory forged rods be replaced? 500whp? I'll be tearing apart my EJ22T and comparing those rods with the EJ257 forged rods.
EJ22T rods will not hold up to 400whp (Mustang dyno). That is pretty much their limit. I've heard that 350whp is reliable on the stock internals of the EJ22T. Your pistons are the weakest link. All Subaru crankshafts are forged. All of them.
that is good to know. I have also heard that 350whp is fine on OEM ej22t parts. but as long as you are in there might as well go all out.
xephyr, or say Mark...has ran a good amount of boost in his EJ22T(dude from Colorado). A guy near sea level ran 27+ psi later bent a rod. But of course that is SERIOUS BOOST though. I'm sure they're making a good HP number. Well...I found some pics of the EJ22T rods. And a quick snap at the EJ257 rods. I dunno..which ones look better?
The EJ22T ones look a little beefier near the crank side. As well as the small side. But it also depends on forging and metallurgy. I'd pretty much bet that a new set of Rods is more of a security investment than just keeping these and hoping for the best.
IMO the ej22t one looks better. notice how the edges appear to be thicker. also notice how when it gets close to the crank/piston it slopes up to it and isnt just a sharp angle. kind of hard to explain but it just looks more hard core.
Is there a benefit to cryo treating pistons? And is there a chance that it might deform the item? If cryotreating can be done to crank rods and pistons, **** I'll do it.
Talk to Mark. They cryo treat EVERYTHING. He always does razor blades so they last like 4 months. I was thinking about doing my whole motor. Russ
If you're in there and don't at least throw in a set a Eagle's, you are being foolish. They are a great value, and plenty strong for most people's power goals. They are also cheap insurance. These blocks are getting harder to find by the day. Many people have read the large post from Mark Ramirez about boosting into the mid 20's on his TLeg shortblock over on nabisco.. They often forget he has a comp. ratio at about 7.5:1. But most importantly, as he stresses over and over, proper tuning and great design is the key to extracting SAFE power out of these motors. Great engine management is not something to overlook. Mark, at the time he wrote that post, was running the Link Plus with a wideband and EGTs. If you are gonna be aggressive on your setup, these things are a must. Especially if you are running a custom setup, or a mishmash of parts. On the newer cars, there are so many out there running similar setups that tuners can go with off the shelf maps. Not the case with the EJ22T. tbc...
