Postby red_dragon » September 16th, 2009, 10:49 pm
The Eddies Honda Block Sleeving Process
Block sleeving is the process of replacing part of the stock cylinder walls and pressing in a new Iron Ductile Sleeve into the block. We machine out the entire sleeve are of the engine and replace it with a customs sleeve that integrate with the top of the cylinder block. The iron ductile sleeves we use at Eddies are much thicker than the stock cylinders and therefore very reliable. The reasons many of our customers sleeve their blocks is to increase displacement with a bigger bore and to strengthen the block for high boost applications.
Increasing the displacement on a Honda/Acura block is achieved through bigger bore size pistons or stroking the motor through different rods length and modifications on the crank. But in this case, we are focusing on sleeving the block, so bigger bore sizes usually increase 1.8L B18 blocks all the way to 2.1L and slightly more. Since stock Acura/Honda blocks can only go .5 to 1mm overbore, we would need to sleeve the block to be able to do 3mm and even up to 6mm overbore on these B-series motors.
This is a common thing to do in all honda/acura motor setups. B18 motors usually go 84mm to become a 2.0L, while a B16 with 84mm bore will be about 1.8L max bore on all motor race setups are 87mm bore while reliable bore for the street maxes out at 84mm. In effect, the bigger displacement usually end up in higher torque numbers in these setups.
Bigger bore blocks are also done in Turbo setups. But bore size is kept usually at 84mm max to still have a thick sleeve for strength on these high boost/high pressure applications. We personally don’t feel the need for big bore on Turbo setups. Many racers have been successful in making large amounts of HP with just an 81 or 81.5mm bore and have achieved a 1/4 mile time of around 10 seconds with a true daily driven car such as a honda civic or acura using pump gas when driving around town.
The other big reason to sleeve a block is to strengthen the block to be able to handle the high pressures during boost. The stock sleeves can actually handle a good amount of pressure, but in very extreme conditions, you need a block is prepped with a thick sleeve to hold these pressures. At boost, the block experiences more pressure than normal and can cause distortion and movement of the walls due to the heat and pressure. With these sleeves, it prevents that and keeps the block in tact to handle more stress than normal.
