N/A to FI: AFAccord's 10:1 Comp Turbo F23 Build Thread/Restoration

[AFAccord]

damn son. nice work.

Thanks.

Everything looks super sexy buddy. Can't wait to see this thing put down some numbers.

Could you explain why you didn't go ARP main studs. The main caps are guided into place by dowel pins. I didn't think you would have to do anything when switching to main studs. Sort of like using head studs. And what bore would you have to "align-hone"?

I just have to get past making my oil clearances spot-on and it should be smooth sailing afterwards!

The ARP studs have a much higher clamping force, and therefore oval out your main bores. You'll have to spend ~$300 for an align hone to round them back out, then you'll have to start from scratch with your bearing selection and mix and match OEM sizes for each journal since it won't be anything close to stock specs. There are guys with F-series making 600+whp, and you won't ever see them complaining about their OEM main bolts. I

You'll have to get the mains bored where the crank sits. Those holes will squish slightly with the ARP studs and will no longer be round within spec.

http://youtu.be/Rs-WO5CfLno

 

[akoutmos]

What is the torque rating for the ARP studs vs the Honda spec?

 

[AFAccord]

Honda's final spec for the bolts is 58ft/lb. I don't know exactly what ARP's spec is, but I want to say it was a little less, between 48 and 54ft/lb.

Either way, you can't compare torque specs between studs and bolts. There are many factors like the friction loss by twisting a bolt into the block that make them incomparable. ARP's catalog even says to have the block align-honed in step 4 of installation of their main studs.

Don't get me wrong, studs have many advantages, but in the case of Honda's main caps, the OEM bolts are not TTY like the head bolts, and they get the job done with no issues in everything but the most extreme of cases. There's just too much work and extra costs involved for me to justify or recommend converting to studs.

 

[akoutmos]

Gotcha. Thanks for the info. I didn't realize that you needed to machine the block just because of main studs. I'll keep that in mind.

 

[Russianred]

^ Yeah, I guess what happens is the bores become slightly oval-shaped due to the new increased clamping force from the ARP studs and thus must be precisely adjusted, or line-honed if that's what it's called.

 

[AFAccord]

On the recommendation of a friend, I chose to resurface and soften the edges of the pistons. This should allow for better air flow and flame travel for a more efficient burn, as well as reducing the potential for hot spots on the edges that can cause detonation under high loads. I took care of this today with a 120 grit flapper wheel on a Dremel, and some Scotch-brite pads. Have a look...

Taped up

Before and after

I've been double checking my ring gaps recently, and it appears they're much larger than I asked the shop to make them. (want .017" gap, but first rings are .022-.023" instead) Honestly, I don't know exactly how much of a difference this is, but .022" would put me in the 'race only nitrous/blown' setup according to the rings' spec sheet. I imagine that would cause a lot more blow-by gasses and shortened life at a minimum. I'm going to double check the gaps for the second rings this week and see how those turn out, in case I need to ask the shop about those as well.



In the mean time, here is the block as it sits now.

 

[AFAccord]

Some bitter sweet news...

Stopped by the shop after work with the block and pistons so the machinist could double-check my measurements. Sure enough, he said they appeared to be gapped to the maximum specs by Wiseco for a blown race engine with nitrous. He remembered going over the spec sheet with me and talking about using the moderate street turbo specs. Long story short, they're going to order new rings from Race Eng where I bought the pistons, and gap them correctly for me.

I almost feel bad for the guy because the rest of this work has been so clean and detail oriented. He's also done lots of work of heads and manifolds for me in the past on my all-motor setup with no issues, and has always been very courteous and accommodating to my requests. Most of the shop's work is high-end nitrous V8's making 1,200 to 2,000hp, so I can understand where his mind might have been when he was working on my parts. Regardless, I'm glad he quickly owned up to his mistake and offered to fix it no questions asked.

Hopefully within a week or so I'll have everything back and ready to order bearings. For now, I've got my wife's summer tuition to pay, so I'll probably stick to body and interior/wiring chores over the next month or so until I get some more "play" money.

 

[AFAccord]

Checking main bearing clearances today.

I plastigage'd everything twice, once parallel with the bearings, and once perpendicular. Here are the results with six yellow halves and four green halves, as well as how I'm interpreting what I found:

~.0017"

~.0016"

~.0015"

~.0015"

~.0014"

Ideally, I would like to see:
1 - .0015"
2 - .0015"
3 - .0016"
4 - .0015"
5 - .0010"

 

[jdmcg3]

what did you use to paint the block?

everything is looking great. i wish i had you skills..


also im going to be contacting you for some help with numbers. youre gonna hate me and think im stupid.. but im set on this idea lol

 

[AFAccord]

Used VHT very high temp flat black on accident. I meant to use regular engine enamel since the VHT stuff is supposed to be heat cured. I sprayed my header and turbo manifold and cured them a couple weeks ago, but they're a little easier to fit in my oven.

There's no reason you can't figure out what you need with a little reading and patience. Do you know how many times I've rebuild the bottom end on this F23? Zero times. This is my first endeavor pulling the internals. Everything else I know comes from reading forums, watching youtube videos and a little practical application.