problems with really high lift cams in cold weather?
I dropped a valve due to a snapped valve spring on a cold morning. It was about 15 degrees out when it happened. It may be due to me not warming the car long enough though. I only let it warm for about 10 minutes before driving. I had dual springs with only about 8,000 miles on them with a TR224 cam. I snapped the spring at only about 1700 rpms. If I were you and forced to drive a high lift cam in cold weather, I would make sure your motor is warmed up completely first...unlike what I did.
Now I am forced to fix my heads and replace a shortblock....
Just make sure that your operating oil temps are up to 180 b/f you start to drive it and of course make sure oil temps are at least at 180 b/f romping it as the COLONEL has suggested. To play it really safe, i wouldn't move it until you see the 180 oil temps.
What cam you going with? The G5X3?
What cam you going with? The G5X3?
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FWIW it's 28 degrees here right now and i'm having no problems. As stated before, it's crucial to let the engine warm up to operating temps before brining up the rpm's. While cold, I do not shift over 2300 rpms...
Josh
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Your going to have a nice killer set-up!!! Make sure you let me know when your done so i can check it out neighbor!!!
This cold weather thing has become a major concern as far as cam selection for me goes. When I fire up the truck, the RPM's immediately jump up to about 1500. I'm not sure if the cars are like this too, but, this talk I read about brittle springs has me worried. Just hearing about one horror story is about enough for me. I can't afford any downtime in the winter here.
What I should probably ask, is it the spring design itself (918 vs dual, etc), or just the amount of lift the cam throws at the springs that's the problem with a cold-spring-breakage?
I wonder if I should really sweat it, too. I'm either going with a .525-ish lift, or a TR grind at .558. Is .033" all that much? Not really...






