JVL...I?m an old school guy, I like big bearings because I like low rpm grunt and simple toughness.
Damn near nothing will make these mills anything but tractor motors anyway, so I?ll take a little toughness in exchange for a few hp above 5k.
Recipe weight on the other hand...that?s a slightly different story on a four banger.
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I suggested think of a lathe ----chuck speed for a 1" dia piece of steel might be 1000 rpm, while chuck speed for a 14" piece might be 180..
For given rpm the liner feet per minte passing the tool at 0,5 radius is XXX inches per minute, the linear speed at 7" is a inch dimensioned sh!t-ton higher..That why we slow the chuck down...
So higher speeds ---all things being equal (like material strength) a smaller journal lives better-er-er..
That's why Chevy guys like the old 2" rod journal, rather than the later 2.1 and why Ford guys would buy rods with 2" Chevy journal and why the hot thing in the last 15+ years has been the so called "Honda Journal at 48mm....
It is also why Volvo themselves ruduced rod jounral from 54 all the way down to 49mm. Lower "bearing speed" at any given RPM.
And why Mistubishi G32 2,0 and 2,6 went down from huge to 50mm and went even lower to like 46mm for the 4G63
And why on my own race motor I went from 54 to 50..
Why everybody reduced journal diameter on everything...and they all live better...
Especially if ever subjected to revs..
The lighter weight--and less stress, less vibration is icing on the cake.
The
ONE thing to transform the redblock into a modern engine is reducing reciprocating weight...either B23 or B230..