First of all, only Smockdoiley and I have been talking about cost.
I am not teribly concerned with cost, but for the $300 more, you get four more bolts, eight more holes, and you have to use a special oil pan that will clear the front and rear mains. That does not sound like something that I want to spend money on.
Four bolt front and rear mains are a marginal improvement at best. I can understand the four bolt front main for people with superchargers that put more side loads on the crank snout, but still, It's the bearing design that causes most of the crank snout problems. If the snout was bigger and the front bearing wider, the engine would be able to take more side load, but stock engines were not intended for that, and the dart is based on the stock design.
I can't immagine a power level where I would think I was puting too much load on the front or rear main cap. I'm sure that level exists, but there are probably bigger problems that come up first.
Look at chevy 400 pistons. The dirt track guys build 400's all of the time, there are plenty of compression heights available. You just need to get all lefts, or all rights, I can't remember.
You need to look back at the history of small block ford strokers. Only recently people have started to use ford specific pistons for ford strokers. The standard formula from back in the day was: offset grind a cleveland crank for pinto rods, resize the small end for chevy pins, then use off the shelf chevy pistons and you are there.
Now, considering how much all of this costs, and the fact that I like to drive fast, why would I ever want to leave a single thing on the table? If it will take a big bore, and I will make more power, and it won't hurt my ring seal or durability, and I can do it with off the shelf parts, it would be stupid not to take advantage of the bigger bore. The only reason I can think of to go with 4.000 is if you are racing in a class with a displacement limit.
Also, it does not have to be expensive. If I get a good deal on pistons, like the deals I have found for my crank and rods, I will be able to make an all forged all made in the USA Dart sportsman based big bore stroker short block for less than $3,500 including machine shop work. I don't think the $1,500 premium over a stock block, cast crank CHP 347 shortblock is all that much. It will be able to handle at least twice as much power, and at least 1,500 more RPM before the bottom end self destructs.
I am not teribly concerned with cost, but for the $300 more, you get four more bolts, eight more holes, and you have to use a special oil pan that will clear the front and rear mains. That does not sound like something that I want to spend money on.
Four bolt front and rear mains are a marginal improvement at best. I can understand the four bolt front main for people with superchargers that put more side loads on the crank snout, but still, It's the bearing design that causes most of the crank snout problems. If the snout was bigger and the front bearing wider, the engine would be able to take more side load, but stock engines were not intended for that, and the dart is based on the stock design.
I can't immagine a power level where I would think I was puting too much load on the front or rear main cap. I'm sure that level exists, but there are probably bigger problems that come up first.
Look at chevy 400 pistons. The dirt track guys build 400's all of the time, there are plenty of compression heights available. You just need to get all lefts, or all rights, I can't remember.
You need to look back at the history of small block ford strokers. Only recently people have started to use ford specific pistons for ford strokers. The standard formula from back in the day was: offset grind a cleveland crank for pinto rods, resize the small end for chevy pins, then use off the shelf chevy pistons and you are there.
Now, considering how much all of this costs, and the fact that I like to drive fast, why would I ever want to leave a single thing on the table? If it will take a big bore, and I will make more power, and it won't hurt my ring seal or durability, and I can do it with off the shelf parts, it would be stupid not to take advantage of the bigger bore. The only reason I can think of to go with 4.000 is if you are racing in a class with a displacement limit.
Also, it does not have to be expensive. If I get a good deal on pistons, like the deals I have found for my crank and rods, I will be able to make an all forged all made in the USA Dart sportsman based big bore stroker short block for less than $3,500 including machine shop work. I don't think the $1,500 premium over a stock block, cast crank CHP 347 shortblock is all that much. It will be able to handle at least twice as much power, and at least 1,500 more RPM before the bottom end self destructs.
