This Honda engine is a mere 1600cc plus a bit from oversize 0.50mm pistons.
To emphasise the value of using a premium product like these ductile iron Darton Sleeves, it is worth telling the following story:
This engine has been around since January 2008 when we first fitted the Darton Sleeves and bored it for standard size forged pistons. The owner and his people built the engine and dyno’d it with very reliable results. Unfortunately, the crankshaft had an incident recently which chopped out the thrust and sprayed the metal up into the cylinders and badly scuffed the pistons and sleeves and crashed the crankshaft into the webs of the block. That was the end of the pistons, crankshaft and block and the owner also thought he had lost the sleeves because they had vertical scoring from the metal.
When we examined the block after this mishap we were able to successfully remove the old Darton Sleeves, machine a replacement block to take them, fit, and then bore these same sleeves out to oversize 0.50mm. That is how strong and reliable the ductile iron material in the Darton Sleeves is and this is the factor that provides the essential stability in the cylinder when pumping out some serious horse power.
This example is a good reason to go that extra step when designing your project engine. By all means spend the dollars on the fuel injection and on the engine management system; but it’s all to no good unless the combustion pressures remain in a soundly constructed cylinder: above the pistons rings and below the valves.
It also helps when the engine assembler and the dyno people know what they are doing. Thanks guys.
Ref Job 18131
