I was thumbing through an import mag today and came across some sweet looking sleeves from darton. Here is a link to their site for a pic and info (CLICK HERE then click on "What's New" at the top and then the 3rd to last press release). Has anyone every tried these out, and what kind of noticable gains(if any) did you notice? I plan on doing a CRX Type-R project in the future , so any bit of research and feedback I can find is appreciated.

 

Oh, and what does the forum think about "Dart" B18 blocks?

 

sleeves only make the block stronger, for big boost / big nitrous. the factory sleeves are not supported at the tops. they can move and break out of the block with big power. it will not give you gains, only make huge gains possible.

 

sleeves are required for heavily built engines but add little to no performance gain

weakest to strongest (middle may depend on opinion)
stock open deck block stock sleeves (pistons, etc. remain the same)
stock deck with engine guard stock sleeves
stock open deck block aftermarket sleeves
stock deck with engine guard and aftermarket sleeves
Dart closed deck block and aftermarket sleeves

 

I would say worry about getting your engine first before you get sleeves. First work on your engine ( the head, fuel setup,..etc) and then when you think it is too strong then get your motor sleeved and throw a big turbo or nos kit... but t get sleeves now o a stock block would be kinda pointless. Like said above it doesnt much you engine stronger..it makes it so it can handle more horsepower without breakig. Anyway thats just my opinion...Good Luck

 

It's a block made for uber-high horsepower racing applications. It's pointless to even consider one if you are aiming for under 400ish horsepower.

 

Thanks guys. It seems these Darton sleeves could help with the overall sleeve integrity of a highly tuned motor, not to mention the possibility of increased cooling efficiency. Even if these results were small, every little bit counts. I don't plan on dealing with turbo, maybe a supercharger. I'm leaning more towards a n/a motor with high compression, vtec, additional headwork with lightweight, balanced internals. I'm just developing a direction to work towards for now, details will show themselves along the journey.

 

You don't need sleeves for an N/A motor unless you intend to overbore it.