And a torque plate still does not completely simulate the effect/presence of a head bolted down.
...and if you run aluminum heads and use an iron torque plate... you again are not doing what you think you are doing and you're even doing it wrong/worse now.
Just see yourself...Use a torque plate during the honing...then bolt a head on you're using, assembled, and then flip the motor over on the stand and measure the bore....its not round! The head pulls it out more than the plate! Anyone can buy a bore gauge and find this out.
Better than nothing, I guess.
That's the reality of it.
