what the?
btw - none of the oem uz rods are forged
Ed, you & I discussed this point awhile back. The OEM rods are not forged in the traditional sense, but Toyota does state in their technical literature that they're "....sintered and forged...." And what they mean by sintered is the powdered metal forging process.
By using the PF process, they can achieve more consistent manufacturing, reduce scrap, reduce finish machining, and improve their QC/QA. Powdered forgings also have a more predictable level of failure, so the designers can optimise their designs (OK, reduce their safety factors).
So although they don't have the grain structure nor the strength of a traditional drop forging, they're a huge improvement from the box stock non-forged rods that other engine companies put in their motors.
This is the only reason I keep making the distinction, because it is technically incorrect to keep saying these are not forged rods. Are they traditional drop forgings? No. Are they "not" forged at all, and only castings? No, not at all; they're in between those two extremes, and for some applications, the PF is actually superior to the traditional forging.
And this is straight out of the Toyota TIS about the 1UZ's rods: