How long will my valve springs last me?
12-05-2009, 03:12 PM
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How long will my valve springs last me? I have a trex cam with patriot dual dual springs rated up to .660 lift. Trex cam specs 242/248 - .608/.612 - 110 lsa .
I hardly ever go WOT in my car, I might do a short 3-5 second sprint once or twice a week. I havent raced it in about 7 months. Any idea how long my springs should last at this rate?
I hardly ever go WOT in my car, I might do a short 3-5 second sprint once or twice a week. I havent raced it in about 7 months. Any idea how long my springs should last at this rate?
12-07-2009, 01:05 AM
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That is a tough question... I have a 228/232 .588/.595 cam using PRC dual valve springs and I have 9K miles on my cam...
I guess you get a different answer from everyone. They say street use takes away life of the springs. But that is all I use my car for is the street. My car is not a DD....
I guess you get a different answer from everyone. They say street use takes away life of the springs. But that is all I use my car for is the street. My car is not a DD....
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12-07-2009, 09:33 AM
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just to clarify...
whether you're WOT or cruising around town...you're cam is still operating at the same amount of lift....just not as often.
just because you're babying it...doesn't mean the valves aren't opening all the way.
whether you're WOT or cruising around town...you're cam is still operating at the same amount of lift....just not as often.
just because you're babying it...doesn't mean the valves aren't opening all the way.
12-07-2009, 10:48 AM
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Yes they were shimmed and installed correctly, I have heard so many different mileage claims. How will I even know when my springs are worn? Sorry for the questions but this is my first cammed LS1 with a rather large cam and I will be driving it 900 miles back to south florida in a few months so I am just worried if I should get the springs replaced now or just ride it out. Thanks for the help so far.
12-07-2009, 11:56 AM
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should be fine for a road trip.
worse case senario is you'd get some valve float in the upper rpm....which isn't a big deal on a road trip as long as you drive conservatively.
and honestly...the only way to really know (shy of seeing valve float on a dyno) would be to pull some springs and test them.
i guess that still doesn't guarantee they won't break....but when can you ever be sure of that?
worse case senario is you'd get some valve float in the upper rpm....which isn't a big deal on a road trip as long as you drive conservatively.
and honestly...the only way to really know (shy of seeing valve float on a dyno) would be to pull some springs and test them.
i guess that still doesn't guarantee they won't break....but when can you ever be sure of that?
12-07-2009, 04:07 PM
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I would say 30k miles. Sometimes when a car sits there and keeps the springs compressed it can weaken the spring. Also if you beat on the car all the time, well it puts a little strain on them as well.
12-07-2009, 10:15 PM
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Oh yeah true, well I stored it at my girl friends house in her garage and they will turn the car on twice a week for a minute or two. Well it looks like the guy above you went 33k miles with hard use. Even though its a smaller cam the lift is pretty close to it.
12-07-2009, 10:18 PM
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Oh yeah true I didnt think of that, well I stored it at my girl friends house and they will turn it on twice a week for about a minute or so to avoid that and hopefully to keep the battery charged up for a while.
12-07-2009, 10:19 PM
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33k miles an still going, even though your cam is a smaller the lift is still pretty close to it. I guess its sort of like a clutch, never really know when the ******* are gonna go out. Thanks for advice so far everyone.
12-08-2009, 06:12 AM
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Alot of guys just let cars sit for 5 months and then wonder why **** breaks.