Main Cap Girdle 101

[Sofgwhat]

How much extra horsepower do you think a girdle will enable a stock block to handle? What's the most common block failure? From my limited experience, the webs break or the bolts/studs break loose from the web. Again, the web

So can someone explain to me how tying the caps together (with a girdle) will help strengthen the webs or caps? I can see it might help a little, but physics tells me that the crank wants to force the caps off in the direction of the bolts. The usual failure is the bolts pulling out and taking chucks of metal (web metal) with it. The girdle looks like it wants to hold the caps in relative position to one another, not strengthen the "up and down" force.

Don't get me wrong, I am seriously thinking about buying one, but I started to think is it because it helps or because everyone else has one.

I'd like to hear from the guys who have experience with these girdles and which manufacture they suggest.

 

[TIMMY2734]

Im not a firm beleiever in the girdles. But i put one on my motor anyways for two reasons. They really arent all that expensive and the second is that hopefully it will save my rotating assembly should the block give way. As far as which one to get, id go with DSS. They also ainclude teh main studs in the price, which is somethign youd probably purchase anyways