wanting to out a cam in without changing the springs any recommendations? How much lift will the stock springs take?

 

i wouldnt base your cam change on keeping stock springs. If thats the case its not even worth the work of replacing the cam....... If your changing the cam to something bigger the springs need to change as well

 

good springs are a cheap insurance policy

 

To add to that, the stock springs have been known to cause/contribute to valvetrain instability and valve float even with stock camshaft combos....I would not use them on an aftermarket cam setup that has more aggressive profiles than stock!

 

This is for a friend. He want to keep the rpm around 6400 max. He doesnt want to have to take it to a shop and spend a ton in labor i have been told tha springs is kinda hard for a not so seasoned mechanic. he doesnt wanna have to take the heads out.

 

ok then what would be a good spring to go to and what kinda money?

 

No need to take the heads off to change the springs....but I cannot overstate how important sufficient spring pressure is for valvetrain control!

 

I have a lunati 212/218 531 lift jus the cam no valvetrain

 

remove rockers, put compressed air to the cylinders, get a screw type valve spring tool, install comp 918 springs (they fit on stock seats just as stock springs do and have good pressure to .600 lift) , reinstall all previously removed parts , and have a nice day not worrying if your springs will break....

 

do they hav to be shimmed or anything? this may sound like a dumb question but how do u put compressed air in the cyl? do you have to take the spark plugs out?

 

Get something that will screw into where your spark plugs go. I think they even make something for that, that you could prolly buy on summit or jegs. And yes to put compressed air in the cylinder you have to take the spark plugs out bc thats where the fitting goes.

 

Using the screw type valve spring tool that uses two hooks to grab the spring with a performance aftermarket spring is asking for problems down the road. You should use only the type of compressor that presses on the valve spring retainer.

 

^ good to know.....thanks for the info............I guess the bottom line here is dont short yourself alittle extra work to do things right because it will more than likely bite you in the *** later.

 

^This can be done, but I actually just used the TDC method when it was time to swap valvesprings. Just make sure you don't swap on the wrong cylinder or you'll drop a valve...

 

At the bare minimum, get LS6 springs. Even though this will still limit the lift/lobe type you should run, it makes waaay more sense than running on stock springs. Plus, the yellow ones can be found for 40ish bucks in the classified section.

 

thanks for all the info... went ahead with the 918 springs... did the swap and everything works great. thanks again

 

^^good choice!!