Do I need to upgrade Connecting Rods?

D-RobIMW

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All the L15B7 (SI and Non) share the same rod (Part # 13210-5PA-A00)
This is not true.

There are two part numbers for the 1.5T.

13210-5PA-A00 and 13210-59B-J00, the latter being the non-Si.
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Overeazy

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This is not true.

There are two part numbers for the 1.5T.

13210-5PA-A00 and 13210-59B-J00, the latter being the non-Si.
Interesting though, it looks like they upgraded the rods in the 2019 models?

Honda Civic 10th gen Do I need to upgrade Connecting Rods? Screenshot_20190323-054617
 
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Daelen@MAP

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This is not true.

There are two part numbers for the 1.5T.

13210-5PA-A00 and 13210-59B-J00, the latter being the non-Si.

Interesting, both my local dealer and a few online parts houses listed the same rod. That's the only one we have not bought both of, guess I need to buy that other part number and see whats different.


Thank you for the heads up!
 

D-RobIMW

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Interesting, both my local dealer and a few online parts houses listed the same rod. That's the only one we have not bought both of, guess I need to buy that other part number and see whats different.


Thank you for the heads up!
I bought both last year. They're dimensionally identical, but the 5PA was 6 Rockwell harder according to my test. I'd be interested to see your test results, from a different batch, though!
 

joshhjackson2112

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Trying to find a clear answer here. Referencing Post #8.
I am thinking about upgrading my rods before I get the W1 turbo/custom tune for some peace of mind. When a novice such as me sees that people are experiencing failed rods, I only think about upgrading that one part for preventative maintenance. What else goes into this? Are there other components that I should change out while I am already in there? I am thinking of building the internals this year and want to be prepared.
For everyone's knowledge, I have PRL cai, maperformance turbo back exhaust system, ctr retrofit clutch, and TSP stage one. I plan on upgrading the internals, upgrading the intercooler, W1 turbo then drob custom tune. I don't have any desire or plans for flex fuel.
All that said, what do I need for building internals to avoid destroying my block. Any suggested products?
 


charleswrivers

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Trying to find a clear answer here. Referencing Post #8.
I am thinking about upgrading my rods before I get the W1 turbo/custom tune for some peace of mind. When a novice such as me sees that people are experiencing failed rods, I only think about upgrading that one part for preventative maintenance. What else goes into this? Are there other components that I should change out while I am already in there? I am thinking of building the internals this year and want to be prepared.
For everyone's knowledge, I have PRL cai, maperformance turbo back exhaust system, ctr retrofit clutch, and TSP stage one. I plan on upgrading the internals, upgrading the intercooler, W1 turbo then drob custom tune. I don't have any desire or plans for flex fuel.
All that said, what do I need for building internals to avoid destroying my block. Any suggested products?
This is a decent read. It talks about the justification of replacing other parts (pistons, rod bolts, etc) when replacing rods... and how replacing pistons with aftermarket ones can directly affect the stresses your rods take. Also the valve train.... and how you can bend/break a rod and damage your engine, but the initial failure point is the drivetrain.

https://www.enginebuildermag.com/2017/03/preventing-connecting-rod-failures/

I’ve rebuilt a few small engines, including rods/pistons... but past head work, I’ve never dug that deep on a large motor so I can’t add much. If you’re doing it yourself, cleanliness is key... don’t reuse hardware that should be reused... and while you’re in that deep, do everything you want since you’re already that deep. If not... if you’re already paying for the labor to get in deep, might as well pay for a smidge more labor and additional parts cost to replace pistons. If you want to see the peak power that a 27WON turbo can provide past redline, IMO, I’d look at the valve train. I base this on a couple tech pieces I’ve seen about valve float in K20C1s being seen at 7300 RPMs and the lack of information about our engines. Back when I had an RSX, the A2 engines shared the same valve train of that era’s R engine... and that engine’s rev limit was 8600 RPM. 500 higher than our A2s. I don’t know when our valves start floating and if I was that deep and the head was pulled (though you can probably do rods and pistons from the bottom only) I’d see if there were some valve springs that’d let you push to 7000 RPM without a doubt in your mind that they’re good for it.

It’s kind of all in what you want. Check out the parts/labor prices and if you’re not on the bleeding edge and not shooting for massive torque numbers/higher revs, decide if gambling with what you have is worth the cost of a possible short block/rebuild down the road... which is not a sure bet, but probably a pretty good one given what data we have, especially if you’re staying away from ethanol. The closest I came to doing rods on an engine was on this Z, but the stock rods were supposed to be good to 500 ft/lbs so I decided to let it ride. I had some seals done on it and the 60k stuff (timing belt, water pump) and when it compression checked fine, I didn’t do it. Had it had low compression, it would have had machining done with new rods and pistons at the time. This is the first car I’ve owned where the prospect of breaking the engine seemed very real... but it is a tiny little engine already being asked to do a decent amount from the factory.

Good luck!
 

kshawn

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Tsp now offers a pre built block. I'd give that a look. Takes a lot of the guess work out :thumbsup:
 

joshhjackson2112

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Tsp now offers a pre built block. I'd give that a look. Takes a lot of the guess work out :thumbsup:
Damn... That is super convenient. Not a horrible price either. Wonder how much it would cost to build my block the same way. I would only want to buy a complete block mine shot.
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