3.8 RSR Cylinders

[Glenn from Denv]

I know it's not normally done but does anyone know of a source for JUST the 3.8 RSR cylinders?

I've got a little scoring (enough so that I'm worried about it) on my cylinders but the JE pistons look great as far as I can tell. I've got the normal carbon buildup from combustion on the top of the piston but the ring grooves are clean and the rings aren't cracked or damaged in any way that I can see.

BTW, how do you tell if the pistons need replacing?

[ChrisBennet]

Have thought about having your cylinders replated?
-Chris

[Steve@Rennsport]

Hi Glenn:

When evaluating pistons, I do this:

1) Measure their dimensions across the skirts and across the head lands

2) Measure the ring land clearances

3) Check for any cracks around the wrist pin bosses

Since you cannot plate Nikasil over Nikasil, one would need to bore the cylinders before they can be replated. This might require larger, oversize pistons to get a proper fit and given the thin walls of these 102mm cylinders, this is something that I would not do.

[Glenn from Denv]

Thanks for the info Steve. I checked for cracking around the bosses but did not see any.

I was thinking the same thing about the cylinders.

[cnavarro]

We can remove the plating then re-plate back to your existing bore size as we've done it before with little issue that just a little cursing and swearing obsenities at the nikasil for being so hard to work on :-) You can either replate them or i'll make you up a new set, billet CNC with 6.5 fins per inch with my next production run, and they'll outperform what you're running now, hands down.

Charles Navarro
LN Engineering
http://www.LNengineering.com
Aircooled Precision Performance

[Glenn from Denv]

Charles,

Making up a new set may be an interesting option. What kind of price are we talking about for a set and when is your next production run?

Note: these are NOT standard 3.8 RSR cylinders! They've been modified (along with the heads) for increased compression.

[cnavarro]

Glenn, I'm doing another run beginning in January. I'd be happy to eat the programming if it is something that I can resell to other customers, if not, the cost might be a tad bit higher. Maybe I can write the program to duplicate a 3.8 RSR and then duplicate your mods. Provided I will need a sample cylinder to start from, of course :-) Drop me an email at charles@lnengineering.com and I'd be more than happy to see what we can work out for you.

Charles Navarro
LN Engineering
http://www.LNengineering.com
Aircooled Precision Performance