Why do I need Rod bolts?

Mitsubishi did a fantastic job of building a really solid platform to build off of with the 4G63. In the case of the 2G and Evo they downsized the rods, but even then the Evo bottom end has been able to survive abuse at levels never dreamed of in the DSMs. 500whp, 550whp, even 600whp on a stock bottom end.

While in the long run its nearly suicidal to the block at this level, it shows what Mitsu did to make a nearly bulletproof factory motor. However at around 400whp or whenever the boost is over 30psi it becomes really apparent that rod bolts become an issue. Between the increased cylinder pressure and the increased RPM that the Evo is capable of, these do fail. When they fail, they fail big:

Though the reason it failed wasnt directly the rod bolt, the weakest point is always the fuse and in this case the overboost and high rpm caused catastrophic failure. If you notice that picture of the connecting rod, the rod is UPSIDE DOWN :(. Dont be a statistic, get bolted. Price installed- $260