First we start with super strong aircraft quality 4340 steel, certified to meet or exceed SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) standards. We constantly pull samples and run tests on the chemical composition of our 4340 raw steel to make sure it meets every index included in the specifications. The approved raw steel is then forged in a massive 6 story tall 8000 ton (that's 16 Million pounds!) hot die forging press. The raw forgings are then run through multiple heat treating processes in which normalizing, tempering and quenching heat treatments are employed. This multi-stage heat treating significantly improves the mechanical properties (strength, resiliency, etc) of the forgings while also ensuring these properties are uniform throughout the entire piece. After heat treating, the forgings go through a rigorous process of being X rayed from 4 sides (A minimum of six separate times!), sonic tested, and then finally magnafluxed to thoroughly check for any small cracks or other defects. Finally, the forgings that pass the test are induction hardened. This ensures that the hardness throughout the entire crank is between 36-40 on the Rockwell Hardness C scale, producing an unbelievably strong piece with a tensile strength of 156,600 PSI, and a yield strength of 134,850 PSI!! The cranks are then rough machined. This includes shaping the counterweights, etc. Then they are heat treated AGAIN to release any inner stresses and prevent any last "settleing" of the steel before final machining. Cranks are then shot peened. This is a process in which the surface of the cranks are bombarded with smooth round steel shot. Each shot ball leaves a smooth spherical impression, compacting the surface of the crank and causing a compressive surface stress which closes up the grain structure of the crank on a microscopic level. Since cranks can fail from tensile loads opening up tiny surface flaws, this microscopically "compressed" surface of the steel greatly reduces the possibility of any stress cracks developing by not giving them a place to "start." Exhaustive testing has shown that not only does this help to increase the maximum load the crank is able to take by over 20%, but it it also helps to increase the fatigue life of the crank by up to 50%! These are rated to easily handle 1000+ horsepower. Nitrous? Blower? No problem. The only thing stronger than these 4340 cranks is a solid billet crank, which is rated to 2500+ horsepower and will run you about $3000+. As you can see in our pictures, the quality and workmanship on these is amazing. All our Platinum Series cranks have fully profiled counterweights to help reduce windage and cut through the oil film in the engine. They all feature .125" fully radiused journal fillets and fully chamfered oil holes as standard features. They ARE drilled for a 4 speed pilot bushing, but you will need to install the bushing yourself. We sell the bushings as well. All versions come pre-balanced at a specific bobweight (listed with the model,) setup for internal balance. The bobweight we use is usually somewhat heavier than the final bobweight of the finished rotating assembly. The reason for this is to ensure you won't need to add any metal to the crank during balancing. For normal applications, all you will need to do is lighten the counterweights down to the desired amount when the final balance job is done. Adding heavy (mallory) metal to a crank is a very expensive and time consuming process. Removing metal is simply a matter of drilling holes in the counterweights, which is a normal part of any balance job. This makes balancing inexpensive, easy, and able to be done by any local shop. Don't be fooled by the low price. These are not "blems," ground undersize on the journals, or have any other kind of defect. As we explain above, there are no problems with balancing. There is no hidden "catch." They are the real deal, premium cranks straight from the manufacturer. Thousands of these cranks have been sold so far and are being raced with great results. You simply WILL NOT FIND a better quality crankshaft in this price range!!! The 2.009" (Chevy) width rod journals allow you to use any off the shelf big block Chevy rods with perfect side clearance. The smaller 7.120" counterweight diameter on "B" crankshafts allows the counterweights to clear the block in all "B" engines without any modifications. |