So people have been asking for them so David bought a Torque plate to do Subaru blocks. After it arrived I guess he had a conversation with the guys that build them and they made a suggestion, buy another one. Apparently they are of the opinion that the block halves should be bolted together and torque plates should be bolted to both sides then it should be honed. So David decided to go ahead and order another torque plate so that he can be sure everything is perfect. For those that don't know what a Torque Plate is. It is basically a plate that is bolted to the top of the cyclinders that replicates the pressure a head being bolted down to the motor would have. This distorts the cylinders in the same way as when the motor is assembled. This way the cylinders are machined round under operating conditions. I'm obviously biased since I'm related to the owner, but its really nice to have a local machine shop that is willing to take the time and spend the money to get the proper tools to work on Subarus.
In short, I am completely unfamiliar with building up motors/machining/boring, etc... To be clear, this is something that you use when you decide to bore the cylinders out? I suppose this part was not made clear in your OP (if it was and I am a moron then yeah...) This plate allows you to recreate an "environment" that mimics the heads actually installed? Essentially is it another "tool" that allows you to be more precise and accurate when performing this process?
Most OEMs don't, most OEMs arent making 500 plus whp out of a 2.5 liter. Is it 100 percent neccesary...NO...however its a simple step that I'm not sure why a shop like RAW would skip.
coolant temps at WOT? I wonder if combustion chamber temps versus coolant jacket temps would have a noticeable effect on the expansion of the wall (think dT across the wall)
a guess.. you might be the only builder putting the block together, putting both plates on and then boring/honing. this cannot be a bad thing. besides boring and honing the block, this supposedly also might be useful when checking/boring/honing/blueprinting the crankshaft journals. as to heating the block too. dunno if ive ever heard of that being done. does this machine shop build/flow/blueprint/setup heads?
They don't have a flow bench to do porting, however David ported my Version 8 heads and did an awesome job. They have all the equipment to cut valve seats etc....