Balancing my internals.

[HurryupandrunS13]

Hey I was wondering if anyone on here has balanced their stock SR internals before. I am planning on it and was wondering where to take the meat off of the rods and pistons. Pictures would be extremely valuable, but any help is appreciated. Thanks!

[wynnEZ]

Why? Why spend all the money on stock internals? Spend your money on head work and forged internals.

[srdub-t]

shouldnt a stock motor already be balanced

[Slipstream]

should be. To find out, you have to weigh everything and then have the crank balanced to that weighted average to check for sure. But it should be right on the money from the factory.

[fast_s13]

i had mine balanced at a machine shop cost $150....i wouldnt waste time balancing stok internals tho

[Hijacker]

While factory balancing isn't as accurate as having a shop do it, Nissan does a damned good job of balancing internals.

[slik_s13]

stock internals should already be balanced from the factory. i got my bottom end balanced for 160.00 i went with forged pistons.form what i saw they did most of the balancing on the crank and did minamal to the rods (little shaving on them nothing too much). i dont have any pics though. your rebuilding it right?

[HurryupandrunS13]

Yes I am rebuilding my SR. Why does everyone think balancing stock internals is so pointless? A balanced rotating assembly frees up more, as minimal as it may be, horsepower. I have found Nissan rods are forged steel, and also heavily shot peened from the factory, so why not use them? I would upgrade pistons if I was planning to make BIG numbers, but I'm not. Just a consistent 250ish whp would be kool. I am going to balance regardless, just looking for pointers or helpful insight. Thanks.

[Hijacker]

People are advising against it because it would be wasted money. The stock assembly is already very well balanced, so you won't see much, if any gains. Maybe a few horsepower. In the end, your money can be put to better use elsewhere.

It's your money, however. Spend it as you see fit, but since I assume you're having a shop do the balancing, then let them decide where to shave material. A shop that's been doing motorwork for a long time will know better than a bunch of yahoos with an internet connection (no offense guys!).

If you're attempting this yourself, and that's why you want pictures and places to shave material, save your bottom end by having it professionally done. Unless you have someone teaching you, or happen to know what you're doing, I would strongly recommend against the DIY approach for this. And I'm usually a huge advocate for DIYers, but this kind of work I prefer to see competent professionals do.

[HurryupandrunS13]

Nice. Good comments Hijacker. I was planning on a DIY balance, with someone experienced in this matter, at my dispense. And god knows if I had money to spend on this thing it wouldn't be for this! I am just trying to get the best engine I can by doing "free" mods. I am also going to do a mild port and polish on my head, once again DIY. I did a bit of research and have found the factory balancing to be up to and beyong par. That still doesn't mean it couldn't be more exact...... I'm not that anal about it, just like to do whatever I can, at no cost, to improve my engine. How about knife edging my crank? Any experience, pros or cons?

[slik_s13]

not every crank is the same or not every rod is the exact same.i rebuilt my sr and kept the stock rods because i know they can handle what im shooting for, the only reason i balance my rotating assembly was because i went with bigger forged pistons which weigh different.if i would have rebuilt back to stock everything i still wouldnt balance the rotating assembly. i dont think it would of needed it. but heck if thats what you want then do it and see how much HP's you can get out of doing that. im not sure if a buck fity is worth it though.

[HurryupandrunS13]

Yeah I wouldn't spend money on it, just want to do it myself. I work with a guy in his 40s who has done previous work in performance shops (not bolt-ons and stickers). and he has explained the benefits of balancing to me. I really agree with him, but he is also EXTREMELY maticulous! If I can't balance my rotating assembly, I am definately doing headwork! FREE HP FTW!