hey marc were you having a bad night or something???
just as i wouldn’t question your knowledge on suspension tuning, i don’t think you should question mine in regards to boosted honda applications.
i never claimed blockguards to be the cure-all wonder for our motors. i merely stated that overheating problems shouldn’t be the reason one doesn’t use them.
plenty of aftermarket sleeves for hondas use the so-called “horrible” closed deck design. i am sure you have seen pics of aebs sleeves, and are therfore aware that they use a closed deck design. jg sleeved motors also use a closed deck design. darton’s new sleeves (may be what aebs uses, not sure) share this design as well. in fact, one could argue that, if installed by a capable machinist to ensure they do not slide downward, darton sleeves would prove superior to GEM’s sleeves, due to the fact that these sleeves are centrifugally cast. now please don’t tell me that these companies do not know how to design an engine.
i know people who are running some of these blocks in their street cars who have yet to suffer from the overheating issues that you state occur from “closing off an open deck block at or very near the point of combustion…” i currently have a plain blockguard in my car and have never experienced problems of any sort. even when my car was turboed, i never had cooling issues. now, as time (and money) permits, there will be GEM sleeves in my future, but currently, my only regret in regards to the blockguard is the fact that it still utilizes stock sleeves, so i am limited to the amount of boost i can safely run. i will tell you this though, i feel safer boosting on stock sleeves supplemented with a blockguard than on the factory sleeves alone. that is all i meant when i said people should acquire some experience with this type of setup, because as i just stated, not everyones car will overheat.
also, please excuse me if i was incorrect in describing a blockguard as a “girdle” & not a “brace” or whatever you think is the most appropriate term. personally, i use the term interchangeably because to my understanding, a “girdle” is something which offers additional support (ie a girdle which supports a sagging tummy), just as a “brace” is something that offers additional support as well (a brace to hold a fence straight). i am well aware that for honda motors, there also exists an additional “girdle” or “brace” for the crank, be it factory or aftermarket. in fact, there is a “girdle” supporting my bottom end right now!
i really respect your views expressed on this board as i can tell you are an educated member & would never intentionally seek you out to start a flame war. so sorry if i came off as offensive to your comments, that was never the purpose of my original post.
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