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I have every block I build checked and measured for main bore alignment. About half of them are within specs. But, depending on the purpose of the build, I may have even a within-specs block align honed. Why?
I have my blocks align-honed, or align-bored, for two main reasons [no pun intended]:
...to establish the true center of the universe that the crankshaft centerline is, for all other machining and surfacing work;
...and to allow my machinist the leeway he needs to get the correct bearing crush for my main bearings. When I tell him I want one and a half thou clearances on my mains, that is what I get. The align honing lets him do what he needs to do to get the mains to within a tenth of a thou.
I do not doubt that things move around under high load and high RPMs. I also do not doubt that there is likely little HP output difference after such a procedure. But, I don't do it for more horsepower. I do it for longevity and reliability. I have never considered the procedure to be a waste of money or effort.
To me, it is where things start.
TF
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