KJL

I am upgrading my engine and was wondering if I should replace the 32 year old stock damper with maybe a Street Fluid Damper. It costs about 150 bucks. I believe my current damper is still in good condition. Any thoughts?

Eddie 70

I put the streetdamper on mine, but it is probably overkill. The stock damper should be good enough. Someone that knows more will hopefully reply and explain why.

scottw

I think it is a good idea to go with a new stock damper. If your spending the money on a new engine or rebuilt engine spend the extra on the damper. No need taking the chance on a 32 year old part.

Sigforty

I put a street dampner on my old motor and just carried it over to the ZZ4. The design is nice and it seems to work really well. I also like the idea of never having to worry if my balancer slipped. I would say if you can afford the extra money over a stock balancer go with the Streetdampr. If you want to read more about it check out the Fluiddampr website here. http://www.fluidampr.com/streetdampr.html

Mark B.

gkull

Fluid dampers are a lifetime investment. The SFI 6 1/4 i have has been on lots of different motors.

You guys or gals that have dampers last so long must drive around like a bunch of grandma's. My original L-82 broke from the inner to outer ring within the first 3-4 years after I had installed a beefed up TH350. I don't think that the stock dampers were designed to change 1000's of rpm in a near instant when the tranny would bang the next shift. :steering:

KJL

Thanks for the replies, Seeing how I have installed a Transgo kit and I am looking to up my rear ratio from 3.08 to 3.55, It sounds like a good time to replace the old damper. :thumbs:

jackson

Well, I'm in the minority ... I'm not a big fan of fluid dampers for most street cars. I'd go with a good quality new elastomer type like what came on it. BHJ Dynamics makes as good a rubber damper as there is ... as well as some of the best machine shop tooling. I have some of their tooling.
http://www.bhjinc.com/

no_radio

If you are modifying the engine, particularly raising the power band or redline RPM, I would recommend a fluid damper. Even Chevrolet recognized this, and put a dual mass damper (though not a fluid damper) on the LT4 in 1996 due to the increased RPM the engine was capable of pulling. The fluid damper dampens over a much wider range, according to those who manufacture them at least. Given that racing engines typically run them it can't hurt, and a little overkill is a good thing IMHO.
FYI, I have been running a FluidDampr Street Damper for a year or two. The other nice thing is that it has timing marks every 90 degrees and mor marks BTDC and ATDC. Makes tuning and adjusting valve lash easier.
Jeff