Ten years prior to Eagle's official opening were spent developing the technology, relationships, and design that has become Eagle Specialty Products, Inc. Eagle formally began business in August of 1992 offering just a couple of part numbers. Eagle's commitment to quality and service has resulted in customer loyalty and satisfaction. This,in turn, has fueled rapid growth over the years. Eagle added crankshafts to our lineup a few years later as well as expanding our offerings in connecting rods. Continuous design improvements and improvements in materials and manufacturing techniques have resulted in Eagle being the largest and most respected aftermarket connecting rod and crank manufacturer in the industry. We never stop researching ways to make our products lighter, stronger, more efficient to manufacture, and more diverse. When you stop moving forward, you get passed by the competition.
While Eagle has been copied and imitated over the years (some companies being so bold as to use the same part numbers!), the similarities are only skin-deep. They may look similar on the outside, but what you can't see is the material properties, quality control, precision machining, and attention to important details. Eagle constantly purchases our competitors' products and phyically and metallurgically tests them to evaluate where we stand against our competition. Eagle strives to be among the best connecting rods and crankshafts available today both in strength and cost-effectiveness. Eagle rods have been tested against some of the big, well-known custom rod manufacturers and have proven themselves to be as good as, and sometimes superior to, all of them. Just because another product costs more, do not think it must be better. Eagle has invested a lot of resources into efficient manufacturing processes. We are engineered and equipped for large-scale manufacturing. This is the key to our cost-effectiveness. For this reason, we do not offer custom parts or short-run parts. If we did, we would be about the same price as the traditional custom rod manufacturers! Eagle strives to offer rods and cranks for the most popular applications. We currently offer over 200 different connecting rods and 180 different crankshafts. Eagle is not, nor do we strive to be, the cheapest rod available. Too often, companies take shortcuts in manufacturing, quality control, or material to reduce costs. These are important attributes we are not willing to give up. Eagle never compromises manufacturing practices, material, or quality control checks for the sake of cost.
All Eagle H-beam rods are forged from certified 4340 chromoly steel. While a lot of companies make rods from this material, if you pay close attention, you will notice not all 4340 is the same. For instance, to be classified as "4340 steel" certain alloying elements must be present in certain percentages. AISI/SAE specifications call for 1.65% to 2.00% nickel content. While this seems like a small difference, understand that this is almost an 18% variation. 4340 steel with 1.65% nickel will act a little differently than 4340 steel with 2.00% nickel content. This is just one of many alloying elements involved in creating 4340 steel. Through extensive material testing, Eagle works closely with the foundry we use to achieve a much tighter tolerance of all alloying elements to our specific requirements. Along with this, the heat treatment and tempering process used is vital to producing a stong steel. While exactly what we do is a closely guarded secret, all of this attention to detail results in a stronger and much more consistent material. Our "4340" steel routinely tests 10-15% stronger than "typical" SAE/AISI spec 4340 steel.
Another important design feature is all Eagle H-beam rods are manufactured from a 2 piece forging. This is significant because it enhances the strength of the rod cap by orienting the "grain" of the metal with the direction of stress. The stress exerted on the cap is perpendicular to the stress on the beam. Forged metal, like wood, has a grain "flow".
While wood is stronger in compression and tension when the stress is applied along the grain, it is weaker when the stress is applied perpendicular to the grain. The same is true for steel. Although not as severely different as wood, forged steel will show the same type of result. It might be minor, but several "minor" enhancements combined together result in a major improvement. Eagle also never uses "cracked cap" type of manufacturing. This is a cheap alternative to try and produce a more perfect fit between the cap and the beam. The problem is that in order for this to work, the rod material must be brittle (that's bad), and we would have to make the rod as a single forging (see above). Instead of resorting to those kind of measures to achieve a "pefect" fit - we just machine the rod and cap perfectly. So much so that it is difficult to see the parting line at all!
Eagle uses the state-of-the-art Sunnen Krossgrinding system to achieve perfect bore size and consistency unmatched in the industry. This system is completely computer controlled and produces perfect and repeatable results every time.
Eagle crankshafts are polished on purpose-built Q-PAC micropolishing equipment. This machinery teamed with specialised polishing media produce a journal polish like no other in the industry. We routinely see a 2 R.A. or better (sometimes a 0 R.A.!!) on all crankshaft journals.
If you are not familiar with those numbers know this: several years ago GM bragged about the incredible journal finish they were able to achieve on the Cadillac Northstar engine. It was heralded as a breakthrough in machining technology. It was a 7 R.A. finish. While this finish is exceptoinal in its own right it is eclipsed by our revolutionary ESP Armor Process. While you will not see any pictures of this equipment, the results speak for themselves.