I also used the midplate with the larger opening. I noticed that my results showed the block to be more restrictive than it was in other test, but it stayed the same after disassembling, checking, cleaning etc.

The Eclipse was one of the blocks with which I did quite a few more testruns than usual but I coulnd't find out why it was more restrictive for me than for others.
I've asked Gabe about this. Apparently, the problem can't be fixed just by adding washers or the like. I'm willing to do a retest, but I want to wait for an "official" solution, otherwise the retest will be pretty much pointless.
I don't think many blocks should have a great disadvantage from being used on a lapped CPU. For me it's just one of the things with testing: I can never cover all the bases and no test result will ever be universally applicable or 100% correct. I just do my best to get results that are helpful to as many people as possible.
In my opinion, it's very valuable and important that there are several people doing these kinds of tests and everyone is using different methods and setups. That way, once you've read up on several different tests, you get a broader picture.
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