Main cap girdles re-discussed

I doubt you would be able to find much evidence or testing to prove if they have any benefit or not - if your engine didn't hold up to the abuse you were giving it and grenaded itself, would you build the exact same combo with the exception of the girdle and hope it holds together the next time round?

You don't even have to grenade anything. Normal tear down show cap walk on the three engines I've seen that had girdles on them. The walk witness marks were no different than when the engine ran without a girdle. That's enough for me to generate an opinion with information available. They don't do anything on a SB except tie the studs together and lighten your wallet.

If you think a girdle is going to help you.. spend the money on a better block. End of story.