Torque plate

Hey guys i am thinking about buying a torque plate so i can check my piston to wall clearance, tapper and ovality. My question is how much difference do you think it will make if the plate i buy is different to the machinests plate ? Obviously if one is made of steel and the other is alloy it will be off. But say if they are both alloy but one is thicker then the other ect. I know its a broad question but has anyone ever seen the difference's in something like this? I cant really ask to borrow the machinests plate as he is 3 hours away

Cheers

If you're going to the trouble of buying your own plate, just send it to the machinist with your engine and get him to use it when machining your block.

The ideal torque plate is made of the same material as the cylinder head you're using, and is the same thickness as the head (from the deck surface to the when the studs seat themselves on the head) as well.

Platinum Racing Products make some for the RB30 that should fit the bill.

Hi mate that is the torque plate i am looking at. I would have done that but the block has already been bored and honed with there plate. Was thinking i could maybe bolt the head on and run the bore gauge in from the crank case and get the measurements that way.

Does anyone see a problem with going in from the bottom of the bore with the head torqued down?

Sounds like a pretty valid way to measure it up to me. The important thing is to replicate the stresses and strains that the head bolts cause to the bores. In fact, measuring from the bottom using the head bolted on using the fasteners you intend to use in the final build sounds about as ideal is it gets.

Herman is a qualified engineer and makes top notch gear - maybe give him a ring and ask his opinion as he has done a ton of research in this area.

Cheers - Matt.

Measuring from the underside with the head installed is going to give you the most realistic data. Obviously it's a little hard to machine the block like this though so hence the torque plate was invented :)

Hi guys sorry for the late reply in the end i am going to go over the bores at their shop with their plate this time and if i start to enjoy myself i will get one of my own for the next one. Thank you for the replys