| Watts Shop Performance |
| Fully Machined Forged Steel Rods |
| Commonly misidentified as "billet" rods, fully machined forged steel rods are exactly what the name implies. Quite simply, they're premium grade forged rods that are treated to a high tech shower and shave. The machining process eliminates undesirable surface improvement of the shape for increased strength and/or reduced mass. Before the advent of readily available CNC machining equipment during the last 15 years, the material removal had to be performed on manual machines at great expense. Combined with the cost of the needed forging dies, the primary exclusive benefit of forged rods (dedicated big end grain flow) was deemed to be worth the added expense, so most high end manufacturers stuck with true billet rods. But with manufacturing cost reduction made possible by automated CNC workstations, the economics shifted and it has become possible to couple the advantages of a forging with a pristine machined billet like surface in the same rod. It truely is the best of both worlds and for this reason, fully machined forged steel rods are the ultimate choice for strength where weight saving of the reciprocating assembly is not a primary goal. They're a great choice for any high performance application short of Top Fuel. |