Is premature stroker engine wear much of an issue?

[Slither]

Opinions on the 351 strokers in the 408 range please... is premature wear (from bad rod ratio) a real issue for regular street/performance use (not racing)? I have seen opinions across the board, from "don't stroke or you'll burn oil in 6K miles," to "I've got 70K miles on mine and it still has that same compression as the day it was born..."

Does anyone have hard facts based on years of shop experience? If not, how about good/bad personnal experiences with stokers lasting forever/falling short?

Thanks

[Master]

I would call Bill at S.A. he has stroked enough of them to give a history of the pros and cons.

Scott
4279454
SA 428
3:54

[dmiller]

mines lasted 1366 miles so far.

i'll be interested in the answers too.

351 W stroked to 408

doug

[Brent]

Slither,

I really like the "Windsor" stroker pkgs. over the 302 based strokers. The 351 has almost 3/4" taller deck and is a tougher block. When stroke is increased the "side load" on the cylinder walls increases as well. A stroker will usually egg shape the cylinder walls over time.The key words are over time. Unless you are in the 1% of Cobra owners that put 5-7000 miles per year on their car you will be fine. A very popular stroker pkg. is the 347. This is based on the 302 block and a 5.4 long rod. One major problem with this combination is the fact that the hole for the piston pin comes in contack with the oil ring. This motor will use oil and it has a shorter life span. This is not a blanket statement for all strokers!

The Windsor based 408 is a good combination.



Brent
4279401
Candy Apple Red/White
402 FE/Toploader/3.54

[Slither]

Brent,

If I understand you correctly, I think the pistons I was planning to use have the same issue (SRP 206063 pistons). Is this correct? With these pistons, and the Eagle 4.00 crank, 6.200 H-beam rods, 30 over on a '74 block it gives 408ci.

Thanks,

Paul

[clayfoushee]

One of our CACC guys is running a 427W stroker with Paxton Supercharger. His nickname is Schrapnel.

Clay

'98 Unique #9299, 427FE side oiler (454-stroker), top-loader (close), 3.31 rear

Annapolis, MD

[Brent]

Slither,

On some higher stroke kits the piston/rod combo has a shorter compression height. This means the wrist pin is "higher" in the piston, which causes the pin to protrude into the oil ring groove ( a special spacer is used to support the oil ring). This type of combo has an increase in oil consumption and ring wear.This is NOT drastic but it does happen. The 408W is a great racing motor and offers the BEST DURABILITY of the large stroker packages. This kit will turn a moderate amount of rpm’s (6,500) and have great low end torque.

When using either the 396 or 408 stroker packages, the choice of cylinder heads becomes VERY important (due to the increase in air requirements). If you want the motor to run strong,the aluminum TFS twisted wedge or the Dart Windsor SR’s. Either of these heads will make great torque and alot of horsepower over a broad band. AFR is a good economical head as well.

Another option is a 393 stroker. It is VERY economical horsepower. It uses a 3.850 stroke, 351 W rods 5.956, and a 302 piston.

Have fun!!


Brent
4279401
Candy Apple Red/White
402 FE/Toploader/3.54

[rdorman]

Hal Copple (sp) has what, 70,000 on his stroker. I have heard of bearing issues on the 427 ones but not for sure.

Schrapnel seems to break a lot of things! Hope his luck is changing for the better.

Rick

[chris knueven]

slither,
i have a 351/427 stroker combo,i cant ay enough good things
about it. the oil consumption is almost nil on this engine.
i dont think i have ever added oil between changes. i do change
the oil about every 1500 miles(oil is cheap),running castrol
20/50. i just passed 14k and the leak down test i just ran
was within a couple of percent of when i built the engine.
i do plan on freshening the engine this winter because i do
pound the p!ss out of this thing. on my combo i have a 4.170
stroke crank with 6.125 rods. this keeps the pin out of the oil
groove. like i said,i cant say a bad word about my combo.
chris
p.s.-i built the engine myself with parts from coast high performance

[rdorman]

If it will survive Chris, it will survive any one!

Chris, going to Mid-Ohio this weekend?

Rick

[clayfoushee]

Chris, adding a Paxton to it would "freshen it up" a bit:D. You can really test it then[8D]!

Clay

'98 Unique #9299, 427FE side oiler (454-stroker), top-loader (close), 3.31 rear

Annapolis, MD

[Slither]

Thanks for the info guys... keep the info coming for all who might be interested. Looks like my 289 will really be a 408... that should keep a smile on my face :D