General FAQs

Q. Why is the pricing for Club DSPORT Reference series engines more than my local tuning shop or machine shop?

Time is money: The major reason for the difference in cost is the difference in time needed to achieve the level of precision and detail present in Club DSPORT Reference series engine assemblies. A Reference series engine is improved in every way possible to the highest degree of precision currently attainable. For example, some companies may offer a “built” VR38DETT short block assembly that may require less than 10 hours of total time to assemble with no machine work being performed on the components. A Club DSPORT VR38DETT short-block assembly requires no less than 40 hours from start to finish. These hours are spent on precision machining, inspection, testinng and assembly. No component is ever assumed to be within spec, until it is measured and approved for installation.

Value of Experience: Club DSPORT engine assemblies utilize many of the same machining and assembly procedures used in Formula 1, IndyCar and other top-echelon racing series. Our staff has championship experience and this is what you’ll find in every Club DSPORT Reference engine build.

Q. What’s the value in spending more on a Club DSPORT Reference engine versus a cheaper competitor?

Club DSPORT Reference engines will outperform and outlast the competition. Considering the cost of swapping out engines and the cost of replacing an engine that fails, we feel that Club DSPORT Reference series engines offer an incredible value. Spending a little more now will save thousands more in the future.

Q. Can I expect similar results purchasing the Club DSPORT pistons, rods, stroker kits or other components and having another company do the machine work and engine assembly?

No. While the Club DSPORT components are engineered to be the best for the engine family for which it was developed, the level of precision that 99 out of 100 machine shops can attain is below Club DSPORT tolerances. Using the Club DSPORT components will deliver better results than off-the-shelf products, but the quality of the machine work is critical to the performance, longevity and efficiency of the engine.

Q. I was told that the main housings should be line honed and not line bored. It seems like a faster and much cheaper operation. What’s wrong with line honing?

Line honing simply doesn’t correct the alignment issues that are often present and this operation cannot hold the housing diameters to within the same tolerance as line boring. If out of alignment and housing bore differences are acceptable at over 25 microns of tolerance, line honing is a viable option.  However, line boring can achieve results that are 5 times or more precise.

Q. How many hours are spent precision honing a cylinder at Club DSPORT?

If the goal is to make the cylinder as round as possible with a matching surface finish to the other cylinders, most cylinder honing operations take about one hour per cylinder. This is one area where we spend up to 20 times longer than most machine shops while also requiring a tool that fewer than one-percent of all machine shops have on hand. The tool is called a profilometer. A profilometer measures the quality of the finish on a surface. The cylinder walls are once area where finish is critical to results. The finish must have enough wearable surface area to provide a long life while also having enough valleys for proper lubrication in the cylinder. The peaks in the cylinder must also be of a proper ratio and size to allow for proper break in of the rings and cylinder.

One challenge in trying to match the surface finishes of all cylinders is that the hardness of the material can vary from engine block to engine block or even from cylinder to cylinder in an engine. As a result, different grade abrasives may need to be used in each cylinder at different pressures to achieve like finishes. While time consuming and expensive, this is one area that is well worth the extra time and money. Improved ring seals lead to increased performance, increased efficiency and reduced blow-by and oil contamination.

Q. How much more power, reliability and longevity will a Club DSPORT Reference engine deliver versus other available “built” engines?

We are confident that there isn’t another engine assembly available that will outperform a Club DSPORT reference engine in terms of performance, reliability or longevity when placed under like engine conditions. By not making any compromises in terms of reliability or longevity for minute gains in performance (as some other builders perform), a Club DSPORT Reference engine simply delivers a performance increase through increases efficiency without tradeoffs.