Originally posted by broke1
I think Bamford or Laz was running all 4 billets w/ NO girdle.It was one of em and thats the 2 fastest TSM 109's.Choice is yours,girdle is cheaper than all 4 mains.
That was actually Dave. Roy runs a girdle on the motor Laz had his hand in.
Dave's motor made allot of power but the billet caps moved around allot and therefore they had to look at other alternatives. They will be running a girdle this year.
Although it certainly does not hurt to have billet caps on a girdled motor they are not necessary as stated earlier. A stock cap will never be the first thing to fail in a girdled motor. Once the girdle is installed the caps main purpose is bearing retention. It no longer has to carry the entire load of the motor.
These girdles are relatively easy to install. You could install one "out of your garage" if you have a manual mill in your garage. If not, any competent machine shop can do them.
I like to see a light hone on the main bores to make sure everything is still round after the install. most of the time everything is good but once in a while it needs the hone and you really cant tell until you do it.
Usually with a thou and a half clearance on the mains if the plastigage is good and the crank can be turned by grabbing the snout of the crank and turning it by hand. then you are fine.
there were allot of good replies on this thread and all i am doing really is elaborating on what has already been said. thanks guys, hope this helps.