When it comes to massive amounts of boost and huge cylinder pressures, modified diesel applications are among those with the largest numbers. After all, they are relying simply on compression alone to ignite the air-fuel mixture in the cylinders. So, it only stands to reason that diesel rods need to be able to handle a significant amount of load to thrive in a performance diesel application.

Enter Boostline connecting rods. Originally designed for high-boost, high-RPM race engines, the company’s wares were only a natural fit to be applied into other areas of the aftermarket. A connecting rod doesn’t really know what fuel is being burned to create cylinder pressure, or how it’s being ignited. All the connecting rod knows is the forces being exerted on it.

Part of Boostline rods’ strength is derived from the forged 4340 steel material, and part of it is due to the unique “three-pocket” design. The triangulated design helps keep weight in check while providing strength in a number of areas and directions of force. Add in the larger cap fasteners which provide an additional 23-percent of clamp load, and you have a connecting rod capable of handling some serious cylinder pressures.

To create these new connecting rods for the 2002-’12 6.6L Duramax and 1989-2012 5.9L/6.7L Cummins engines, Boostline’s engineers started with a proven 4340 steel forging, which they then machine the patented “three-pocket” design into. The unique design provides a 60-percent increase in bending strength along with a 20-percent stress reduction over conventional H-beam designs.

Then, in order to handle the other stresses of 2,000-plus pound-feet of torque, oversized 12mm ARP2000 rod bolts are utilized which adds 23-percent more clamping force than a similar 7/16-inch ARP2000 rod bolt. Between the design specs and the incredibly tight manufacturing tolerances held by Boostline’s Mentor, Ohio manufacturing facility, these connecting rods are rated for greater than 2,500 horsepower in extreme-duty engines.