guys, i do understand that all engines need blueprint to be 100% on spec. what i am asking for is his opinion in the EVO motor in general. i am scared that people will see his posts and assume that the evo motor is junk even though i don't think it is. all i am asking for is his professional opinion about the engine stock wise. i also agree that once you start modding blueprinting the engine is a good idea because it will improve performance as well as reliability. darkhorse, you are doing an incredible job and i am sure i will take a ride over there just to see your magic first hand. in no way or form am i disagreeing with you but i would like to hear what you think because you have a lot of experience with engines and your opinion will mean a lot to me.

 

This reminds me of something I used to point out to people a few years ago..

Accuracy and Precision... The words are sometimes used interchangebly, yet can mean a world of difference..

Our engines are sturdy, reliable, and make horsepower, but that certainly doesn't mean that there is little to be gained in Blueprinting..

Our engines are assembled within tolerances for an assembly process, therefore they fit together accurately. But no engine is perfectly in spec unless their tolerances are matched and compared with precision.

The main difference is the long term durability of something that is assembled with precision and attention to details. Also these details DO Gain horsepower? Why? Because it has a net cumulative effect.. Stress relieving (Seasoning either naturally or through a Cryogenic or other process) Allows you to do your final machining with less likelyhood things will "bind up" or leak, or anything else.. Deburring, align honing, radiusing and chamfering, all of these time consuming and expensive details allow things like
Lower friction, enhance fluid dynamics, improve fitment (and therefore reduce metal to metal wear).. And we're not talking directly about power increasing modifications.. but it DOES increase power, its nominal but the net effect is its measurable, and sometimes significantly if you are comparing to engines which have tolerances that are too tight (excess friction = bad) or are too tight in some respects, and too loose in others. The long term benefit is an engine built with attention to this type of detail may or may not make more power, but it will last longer, and be more forgiving of environmental problems.

Has anyone looked at some of the early engines? Blue smoke, large displacement, Very inefficient in many ways including build process.. as the factory build process has gotten better and more precise (repeatable due to CNC machining and close tolerances and improved casting methods) they make more power from the same displacement. The theory behind the engine hasn't changed much, but the attention to detail and R&D has gotten better, and the assembly process has also improved. All Darkhorse is doing, is what every other machinist strives for, and that is take it one step better and giving each individual engine, the individual attention it needs to give it that additional bit it needs to make the long haul.

Nothing he has ever said about any of his modifications says anything terrible about a production engine.. It is however a production engine, which is mass produced and assembled from a parts bin with little regard for closely matching every component. Its no different for any car produced on an assembly line, just some get more attention to part to part variances..

 

I also forgot to add that all of the processes used in engine blueprinting, such as Magnafluxing and other checking process Dont in themselves increase horsepower, but increase the ability to handle more stresses without failure, therefore you can increase compression, Engine RPM, Valvspring Seat pressure, etc, and the engine can handle these stresses better, therefore more horsepower reliably.. Even things such as indexing spark plugs (Aligning the electrode so its gap faces the direction which will produce the best and most even flame front) all make a difference..

 

i agree 100%. the problem is that you have people that are noyt really knowledgable about engines and all they will see is " The difference once the head was rehoned was unbeleivable. The cams rotate with ease in their housings and do not bind up at all as they often do on the stock head. Oil pressure was stable and no lifter noise." you have to agree that this will scare a lot of people that fail to see that this statement is relative to something and it does not mean that the engine is about to bind and drop out of the car. that is why i am asking him for a general impression of the block that will compare the engine to other blocks and will give a more general opinion. for example, " the enigne is good and strong and seems to be reliable but there are a lot of things that can be improved upon by machining the head..." in contrast to " by inspecting the head i found out that the cams might bind du to an off spec measurments...."

do you see my point?

 

I absolutely agree with your point if the comments are taken out of context..

My General opinion of the engine and its quality is its up there with the best engineering I've seen.. Its a tried and true design that works well.. (not that my opinion matters much, nobody knows me from a hole in the wall, but they may some day! ROFL)

 

No, the motors are not junk. There is no "magic" I am doing here, you guys are more than wlecome to stop by if you want though. All I am doing is spending the time. SOme may argue that it is not necessary, thats fine. You all must realize that I am not trying to solicit work here, I am not saying that unless you send me your motors, they are crap, and will blow up. All I am doing is sharing with you what I have found. This is the type of work I do, it may not be for everyone, and I wouldnt expect it to be. All it is is my approach, the way I was taught and my experience. Take it for what its worth, or not worth- thats up to you. I am not offended by any of you questioning this stuff- I think its good to question it, hell I question everything- as a matter of fact, it was my questioning things so much that got me to the point that I had to find the answers out for myself, and all this is is some of the answers that I have found. And in my opinion, there is some stuff that can be improved.

I would love it if I had the opportunity to take two identical engines, and leave one completely alone, and completely blueprint the other, put them both back together and run them side by side and see what the difference was.

I am glad that you all enjoy the information, I enjoy sharing it with you!

 

thanks for the reply and keep up the great work. also keep up the information that you are providing because it is very useful and educational.