Keep 7 bolt or 6 bolt swap

[Blownuptsi92]

alright so I was told I had a 6 bolt in my 92 tsi remove the motor to find its a 7 bolt ugh. So anyways whats better a 7 bolt or 6 and what makes 6 bolts less prone to cw? I plan on doing a rebuild machining a block as well running eagle rods wiseco pistons and bc 272 cams what can handle this better 6 or 7? Other than flywheel what else needs to be converted for a swap if thats better way to go? Also what rear ends are in the 7 bolt 1!gs? New to these cars so any advice or tips ard welcome thanks.

 

['97 Cayenne]

Here's my opinion. If you plan on making big power(over 350whp), switch to a 6bolt. If you don't plan to go that high, keep the 7bolt. Here's my reasoning. It is said that the earlier the model of 7bolts are more prone to CW. You have the first year of 7bolt. In sense, you are more prone. The most talked about reason for CW is the thrust bearing that the 7bolts use. It is said that they are an inferior design as opposed to the 6bolt. When you get up to the '98-'99 7bolts, those use a 'split thrust' bearing. I personally haven't researched as to what that means BUT it's been said that those year 7bolts CW little to not at all. The reason i mentioned how much power you plan on making is because, as you must've figured, the more stress you put the the crank and that thrust bearing, the more opt you are to CW.
If you go the route to change engines you could swap out your block for a '98-'99 7bolt block. Or you could swap to a 6bolt block, but that requires drilling out the stud holes in your 7bolt head to match the 6bolt. OR you could just swap out for an entire 6bolt. There are numerous threads on here that I've found myself for doing a full 6bolt swap.
I myself own a '97 7bolt in my gsx. I'm taking my chances with this one because the entire engine appears to be brand spanking new with 100,000 miles. And the crank endplay is within factory specs

 

[Pauls99Gst]

1g 7 bolts are just fine, the whole crankwalk idea is very over rated.
Keep the 7 bolt. Get an act 2600 with a sprung disk or even a street disk.

As long as the clutch engagement isnt to rough the thrust bearing will last and you will never have a problem with crankwalk.
Plus if your motor hasnt goten it by now its not going to happen. I have my 99 7 bolt and have been making over 500whp for years and dont have any wear on the bearings and I have a very harsh engaging clutch.
Your motor will be fine

And actually in my opinion I feel like after a 7 bolt is built, its a stronger shortblock then the 6 bolt, or atleast is as strong. Just my .02 , I own 3 dsm's 2, 7 bolts an 1 6 bolt.
LMK if you have any questions. I also have little tips if you stay with the 7 bolt to help with keeping the wear to a minimum.

Also yes the split washer style is better but you don't need to have it. The only thing that will cause CW to finally kill the crank is lots of torque and a very harsh engaging clutch. The best thing you can do right now is measure the crankshaft play ( back and forth) and see if its within specs. if it is then your car is fine and will probably handle more then you can throw at it. Like I said before if it hasn't goten CW yet and if the specs are ok then your golden IMHO.

 

[mebetter]

Both motors have been known to last a while making good power, so long as proper maintenance is done, good tuning, and it's built right. If you have the motor out and just want to ease your mind, I say go for the 6-bolt; but really it's 6 one way half the dozen the other in terms of longevity.

 

[TSITurbo95]

As stated, crankwalk is over rated, and I would not worry about it. Both 6 and 7 bolts make good power, there are plenty of people making good power on both. It's all up to you on what you want to build.

In reality, if nothing is wrong with the 7 bolt, run it how it sits, and build another motor on the side, weather it being 6 or 7 bolt, that's entirely up to you.

 

[98_gsx_]

If your going big go with the 6bolt, however the 6bolt is better and the swap is not to terribly hard to do or that expensive. I did it in mine and I couldn't be happier. If you do the swap keep your 7bolt head, but you have to bore it out to 12mm.