Adding larger turbo or more boost to your Smart Fortwo 3 cylinder engine? Keep your engine together reliably with HP's forged connecting rods!
Product Features
• Forged from vacuum drawn 2 pieces 4340 chrome moly steel
• Upgraded H beam design greatly increases strength and durability
• Combination tested to 300HP on 3 cylinder engine
• Twin oil holes on big end exactly same as original rods
• Honed to exacting tolerances within 250 millionths of an inch
• Optional forced pin oiling (rifle drilling) for long wrist pin life(MOQ 5 sets)
• Each connecting rod set is balanced to weights within +/- 1 gram
• Dimensionally and magnaflux inspected to ensure extreme reliability
• Multi-stage heat treated for dimensional stability and fatigue life
Overview
When increasing the power output of your Smart Fortwo cylinder engine, internal parts begin to fail as they are pushed far beyond their original factory spec limits. Hench Performance Forged Connecting Rods are designed to replace the factory units and take the beating from today's high-output power modifications. Drive fast and reliably with HP forged rods, guaranteed to support 300HP!
TECHNICAL DIMENSIONS
Center to Center: 123m
Big End Diameter: 43mm
Big End Width: 18mm
Small End Diameter: 18.87mm
Small End Width: 18.87mm
Rod Bolt Dimensions: 5/16"
The H-beam design is the workhorse of our connecting rod product line. This design features strength, durability, stiffness, and rigidity. HP H-beam Connecting Rods are a great upgrade over weaker factory units.
All HP rods are designed specifically for the application using relevant cylinder pressure and other application-specific factors. We put our vast European engine knowledge to use when designing each application.
Also referred to as Forced Pin Oiling (FPO), rifle drilling increases wrist pin longevity by providing additional lubrication. This upgrade is highly recommended for street-driven cars that see mileage put on them.
Honing the connecting rod big end in-house on state of the art equipment ensures the tolerances are set correctly to ensure proper bearing operation. Lesser quality rods are often not honed with the same attention to detail.
Made from strong and durable 2 piece 4340 forgings these rods will withstand almost everything you can throw at them.
HP BOLTS
All HP rods could come with high quality rod bolts similar with ARP 2000.
INCLUDED HP ROD BOLT TORQUE SPECS
*The following torque spec is for the included HP 5/16" rod bolts using assembly lubricant. Do not follow this guide using other bolts for example ARP +625.
TORQUE WRENCH
When using a high-quality torque wrench, first verify the torque wrench has not been dropped and is properly calibrated. A un-calibrated torque wrench can lead to under/over torque and rod bolt failure. Torque each rod bolt to a final torque of 55 NM. We recommend torquing the bolt, breaking it loose, and re-torquing the bolt 3 times per bolt. This ensures proper rod bolt stretch and that the rod cap is fully seated. Do not exceed 55 NM.
TECHNICAL DETAILS
Connecting rods are some of the highest stressed components in an engine and thus require extreme attention to detail to ensure proper operation and reliability. Hench Performance ensures the success of your next engine build by putting each set of connecting rods through a rigorous quality control process. For years Hench Performance H-beam Rods have been an integral part of delivering the power that the highest powered turbo setups and race engines demand.
Extra attention has been paid to even the smallest details such as the bearing tangs, wrist pin fit, and big end side clearance, providing a level of fit and finish not found anywhere else. Each and every set is finish machined and honed in-house for perfectly round and on size big-end bores, resulting in the industry's lowest failure rates. All rods in this series feature generous wrist pin oiling and optional rifle drilling. One of the hallmarks of a high quality connecting rod is its strength to weight ratio. In order to create this balance of strength and lightweight, our optimized H beam design is utilized and validated using modern CAD drafting and FEA analysis techniques. These techniques ensure the rod is as light and strong as possible, perfected for today's powerful and high rpm European applications.
FAQ
ARE THESE ARE A DIRECT REPLACEMENT FOR MY FACTORY RODS?
These rods produced as per stock dimensions, can replace factory rods directly.
ARE THESE CONNECTING RODS FORGED?
Yes, all Hench Performance Connecting Rods are made from tough and durable 4340 forgings. These forgings far exceed the quality of most factory rods that are typically made from powdered metal as a cost-saving measure.
WHAT OTHER PARTS WILL BE NEEDED TO INSTALL MY NEW HP CONNECTING ROD SET?
At a minimum, you should use a new set of connecting rod bearings when installing rods.
DO THESE RODS REQUIRE ANY ADDITIONAL MACHINE WORK FOR INSTALLATION?
HP connecting rods are delivered to you in "ready to install" condition. Other engine machine work may be required though when rebuilding an engine, such as decking the block or boring and honing cylinder walls.
IS BALANCING THE ENGINE REQUIRED WHEN INSTALLING THESE CONNECTING RODS?
Since HP rods are sold in balanced sets this is not required. For extreme performance application, this can still be done if desired.
HOW MUCH DO THESE RODS WEIGH?
The average weight of a single rod is around 295 grams. Rod weights can vary slightly per set. More technical information can be found in the basic dimensions section above as well.
WHAT IS THE MAXIMUM RPM LIMIT OF THESE RODS?
The maximum RPM limit can be affected by many factors. In this application, we suggest not exceeding 8000 RPM with HP bolts. If you plan on exceeding this RPM level, consider upgrading to ARP 625+ bolts.
WHEN SHOULD I UPGRADE TO ARP 625+ ROD BOLTS?
Generally speaking, high RPM conditions put the most stress on rod bolts as the rod and cap are literally being pulled in opposite directions. If you plan on pushing your engine far past factory redline or 8000 RPM we would suggest upgrading to 625+ ARP bolts.
DO I NEED RIFLE DRILLING?
Rifle drilling is not required. However, we do strongly recommend it for daily driver and high mileage applications. Rifle drilling has been proven to extend wrist pin and bushing life and has also been utilized over the years in several VW/Audi factory connecting rods.
WHAT IS THE HORSEPOWER RATING ON THESE CONNECTING RODS?
Many high horsepower vehicles all over the world using HP rods. We rate our 4 cylinder H-beam rods for 800+ HP.
WHAT ARE THE MOST COMMON REASONS FOR CONNECTING ROD FAILURE?
As one of the highest stressed components in the engine, there are several things that can contribute to a failure. The most common failure is caused by improper installation followed by improper tuning. We recommend that you seek professional help for both installation and tuning. Oiling system health is also essential to ensuring safe engine operation. Momentary oil starvation can result in spun rod bearings and engine failure. In extreme applications also be sure that you are using heavy duty wrist pins.
SHIPPING
We have stable contracted shipping agent which have obviously advantage on cost and delivery time.
For customers from European countries, strongly recommend you to choose DHL which including all tax and VAT in destination.
For the other customers, we could send by UPS or DHL and normally it needs 5-7 business days.
RETURNS
If you need to return your parts we will accept returns within one month as a new/unused item in its original box for a refund/exchange. If you have a problem or need a different part just contact us any time and we will help you to get what you need.
QUESTIONS ON FITMENT FOR YOUR APPLICATION?
If you are not sure if the parts will fit, please send us a message and we will let you know within one business day. If we can keep a mistake from happening before the purchase that is always a plus for You and us.
PHOTO DISCLAIMER
The pictures shown are stock pictures and may be slightly different than the actual part, please refer to the description of this listing for proper fitment and specs. Please send us a message with any questions you may have.
THANK YOU!
We want to thank you for looking at our products and look forward to supplying you with quality parts for many builds to come!