The T1 rod is nice to use on stroker cranks for a couple of reasons.

1) The Big end is a bit smaller, so it makes clearancing issues a little less of a problem.

2) The smaller wrist pin (22mm vs 24mm). With this setup, you can get the wrist pin "higher" in the piston to offset the amount of shimming you need of the cylinder. The more the cylinders are shimmed out, the less and less the pushrod tubes will seal and then to a point, WILL leak (or just fall out :) ) T1 motors got it easy, their pushrod tubes expand to a great deal of length which is nice for stroker motors.

Putting a T1 rod in a 1.7L motor will do you no good, it will be a nightmare.

You will need custom pistons (22mm wrist pin), custom wrist pin height, and probably cylinder shimming. With all that work, you might as well make it bigger.

For stock stroke motors, I believe the intended rods for them are just fine.



On another note....
A peppy T4 CAN be done. In a stock form, the T4 reciprocating mass is QUITE heavy, heavy crank, rods, flywheel, etc, along with a lowish (in relative terms) C/R makes for a soggy motor.

Now, you stick in some lighter rods, lighten the flywheel, and have fun with the compression, you will have one HELL of a snappy motor. Yes, there are more varibles to it, but I won't go into them right now, but you get the point.

I think you can make a stock rod'd/stock crank motor quite snappy as well, put a good cam in it and get that C/R up so it works better.

But, thats just what I think, I could be wrong.

Later,
Tom

If you want to remove rotating mass, take it out of the flywheel. It's not hard to remove 5 or 6 pounds on a lathe. The total weight of the stock rods is only about 7 or 8 pounds. Take the parts to a good engine builder and have them do the cutting and balancing as a unit, including the pressure plate and crank.
If it's in your budget, and you still want lighter rods too, get a set of Pauter rods. You'll save over 2 pounds there.

In my opinion the stock 2.0 rods really sucked, too heavy, too short and too small of a rod journal...not to mention weak bolts due to all the weight flopping around..and a huge heavy 24mm wrist pin.

One of the strongest points of my bigger engines is the rods and cranks that utilize TI journals. The bigger bearing of a TI (2.165") transmits load more evenly over the crank journal, thus keeping it stronger. The TI rods use a 22mm wrist pin, which is lighter and plenty strong and easier to find better performance pistons for.

The stock 2.0 in my opinion had a really crappy rod ratio, I have a 2056 combo engine that utilizes the 5.4 H beam TI rod with a modified 66 stroke crank stroked to 71mm and counterweighted...I also have a 1997cc engine that utilizes the 66 stroke crank modified to 69 stroke(stock TI size) and a 5.325 chevy length rod with the TI journal.....Both these are in testing now and if they work out every engine we build will utilize TI rods and one of these 2 cranks, as the combos with my stroker (2270cc) engines have spoiled me with the benefits of a TI rod.

As for why TI guys like TIV mains:
On a big stroke TI engine you have a huge increase in "Overlap" from the throws, resulting in a weaker crankshaft, especially the center man journal. The stock TI main journal is 2.165" just like the rod journals. When adding the larger TIV center main, or all the TIV mains the crank is safer when taken to high RPM wth a heavy load behind it....

All in all the VW TI engine is a great engine that makes huge power, its weaknesses can be made up with some chevy and TIV parts.....The VW TIV engine is a super strong engine that can be made powerful and longevity filled with a few TI parts, some thought and development....

If you decide to do a TI journal conversion in yourengine, choose the crank grinder very carefully. I have had excellent results with DPR machine in santa Ana Ca for these cranks. I designed a "Split to top" tolerance that they have follwed flawlessly and will make any crank you want..

BTW, The best rods I have found when doing TI journal conversions were not Pauter, my choice has been Scat rods for weight,strength and clearance...They'll hold 400BHP in a Turbo TI for many passes at the strip..

Ah ha
 

Well, what do you think that I should do to my 1.7 to give it more hp? I want a peppy motor that will move the car smoothly and I'm gonna keep the stock FI. What are your thoughts on hydraulic lifters Jake?

My thoughts on Hydros::

do a search here you''ll find some heated debates..

The last set I installed was circa 1992 in any aircooled engine...I turn down 2-3 jobs per month because I refuse to install them in any engine we build..

From that you should get a thorough understanding of my views...LOL

Otherwise, what kind of power are you looking for...I would say atleast a 2056 or a 2270 will suit anyone just fine...power everywhere and fuly stretable and fully trackable. 30MPG to boot!

Keeping the stock FI limits you to 2 choices with me, thats bone stock, or a 2056 "A" Version....realistically 110BHP is normal from this engine....