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Valvespring life?

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Old May 22, 2010 | 05:04 PM
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Question Valvespring life?

When should valvesprings be replaced with a larger cam (ms4) just curious thanks
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Old May 22, 2010 | 08:41 PM
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you will need to test the springs for how much pressure they produce.if they meets the specs on the cam card keep using them.
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Old May 22, 2010 | 10:11 PM
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totally depends on the spring as well... several different types of material are used for springs..
and they all respond differently

the true way is to actualy test the springs to see what the pressures are at over time

some materials will degrade slow...others will show no signs of wear and just break(one of the many reasons I always suggest dual springs no matter how small you think your cam is)

I have a buddy with some patriot duals that lasted 20k miles...
another buddy has manley dual springs on his and his cam actually failed before the springs did..47k miles on the springs and they still show good pressure...


typically though..on a larger cam.. I personally wouldnt push the envelope much past about 20k on dual springs and even less on single's
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Old May 23, 2010 | 12:36 PM
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Originally Posted by soundengineer
I have a buddy with some patriot duals that lasted 20k miles...
another buddy has manley dual springs on his and his cam actually failed before the springs did..47k miles on the springs and they still show good pressure...


typically though..on a larger cam.. I personally wouldnt push the envelope much past about 20k on dual springs and even less on single's
Holy crap! I never realized this. How long do springs last on something mild like 224/230? Then again I guess it's the lift and not the duration that determines how much wear and tear is put on the springs (I don't understand cam specs much). But anyways, let's just say a mild cam, how long will your springs last?
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Old May 23, 2010 | 01:11 PM
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Originally Posted by X-ray
Holy crap! I never realized this. How long do springs last on something mild like 224/230? Then again I guess it's the lift and not the duration that determines how much wear and tear is put on the springs (I don't understand cam specs much). But anyways, let's just say a mild cam, how long will your springs last?
Again...you have to test them at regular intervals
there's no way to tell you how long they are going to last
lift,duration,ramp rate,spring material, spring design, and even how you drive will determine how long or how short a life a spring will have

do you daily drive it? Or do you only race it?
Do you let it warm up at idle to full operating temperatur? Or do you just start it up and go?
When you go WOT.. Do you pull it to 5500 or all the way to 7000 rpm?

Do you change your oil often or do you wait till the light comes on every time?


As you can see there are a lot of factors
lots that I haven't even mentioned


I could give you lab test style results.. But your car isn't going to reproduce lab conditions...ever.
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Old May 23, 2010 | 09:17 PM
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Yeah there is no set rule. WAAAAAY to many variables.

FWIW my pretty agressive lobed XFI/X-ER 230/234 .612/.598 lift cam showed no float on the dyno after 30k and it has seen many 6500 shifts..... PRC .650 doubles.......
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Old May 23, 2010 | 09:20 PM
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Originally Posted by SOMbitch
Yeah there is no set rule. WAAAAAY to many variables.

FWIW my pretty agressive lobed XFI/X-ER 230/234 .612/.598 lift cam showed no float on the dyno after 30k and it has seen many 6500 shifts..... PRC .650 doubles.......

just because you show no valve float on a dyno does not mean that the springs are still good..

you have to take it off and actually pressure test them
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