Rod/Stroke Ratio - What's Your Angle?

Longer rods also give the pistons more "dwell," the brief periods of time the piston is at top dead center and bottom dead center. A longer dwell allows for better flow of intake and exhaust gases since the piston moves slower between up- and downstrokes.

Longer dwell also offers more time to fill the cylinders during the intake stroke and more time to scavenge during overlap. And since the piston hangs out at or near TDC longer, the combustion stroke has more time to deliver a thorough release of energy on to the piston.

In a stroked motor, the piston ultimately reaches greater speeds to cover the additional stroke. The speed makes intake, compression and exhaust strokes more turbulent and, consequently, more powerful. It also comes with its price in component wear, something to consider when looking into parts that increase stroke.

With a short stroke and a long rod, however, the piston accelerates more gently from TDC. It picks up its greatest speed further down the bore, at the point where the crank pin relative to the rod angle reaches 90 degrees. Since the pistons move from TDC slower, the entire bottom end absorbs less mechanical stress.

Advancing Toward A Thin Line
Even the short-stroke/long-rod combo has its limits. To accommodate extra rod length, some builders will move the piston pin higher into the slug, or opt for a deck plate. Either method requires an experienced wrench with access to a lot of custom parts.

Longer rods in a stroked motor can act to offset any increase in rod angle, but also requires a shorter piston. The deeper you dig into a piston to shorten it, the greater your odds of cutting into the oil ring groove and wreaking havoc with oil consumption. Most piston companies in the sport compact market engineer pistons with tighter ring packs and bridge rings to help avoid this problem.

Regardless of whether you take the stroker route or just run longer rods, you reach a point where you can no longer shorten a piston any further without compromising dependability.

Friendly Advice
Most engine builders believe longer rods are better, but a fringe of enthusiasts still dig the low-rpm torque that shorter rods can make. We advise builders who want a ratio of less than 1.6:1 to use the strongest aftermarket rods they can find, given the angle. We also recommend aftermarket sleeves to better fend off the lateral stress created by the rod angle.

Here's one last nugget to impress your friends with: a formula for calculating piston speed in feet or meters per second. The equation illustrates the point that the longer the stroke, the faster the piston travels at the same rpm.

Take a B16A2 vs. an H23. At 7000 rpm, the B16 slug moves 18 m/sec. At the same rpm, the H23 piston hauls additional ass-22 m/sec. Simply multiply stroke by rpm, and voil-minutes of endless doodling in class.

Stock Rod/Stroke Ratio Information For Some Popular Honda Engines