Good to hear Mick…well except the rock damage. I’m running an Improved Racing 520 series oil cooler in the Chevelle with the 434. I’m roughly 750 crank hp, and it does a great job at keeping my oil at 205-210f. I also use their thermostat at the oil cooler ports on my pan, along with -10 line. I bought all the bits and pieces directly from Improved, including their fittings and line. It’s a well designed cooler with a lot of R&D behind it to ensure it’s up to the task. I’d honestly like to see my oil temp up around 220-230 to ensure all water vapor gets eliminated…and it might get up there if I ran the car hard enough for an extended amount of time, but there’s just not enough room around here to open it up that long without me ending up in jail. I run it hard when I can and shift at 7800 when I’m feeling special, so it’s not like the car idles around all day. I’ve bought several setups from Improved for builds I’ve done here and their customer service is always great. They understand oil coolers as good or better than any company out there. I run Driven LS30 oil exclusively for what it’s worth.

 

Thanks Chevelle, I sent them an email asking for their recommendation for oil cooler and thermostat , we will see what they say

 

I bought a spring tester an this is what I found
pac 1209x springs new are
510lbs@1.100inch
160lbs@1.800inch

i have taken my old springs out and tested them
410-430lbs@1.100inch
130-140lbs@1.800inch

So that’s a huge WTF. Springs were in for 17 months Drove Mayb 70 miles a week with 5-6 200mile runs
Cam is a solid roller 258/272 .670 .660
I have justified changing my valve springs out it seems

 

That's a big loss on the open side. I am sure PSI has a version of the 1209x which is finish polished as an endurance spring. This is why you have to test, otherwise it's just a bunch of guessing. Message @TurboBuick6 on here, he works for PAC/PSI and can make a recommendation. Might look at a conical spring too, since you swapping them so much. Way better harmonics/control, but high maintenance.

 

That's a pretty stout cam. It will, and was, hard on the springs. Ill also ask what oil temps you saw?

 

It is hard on the springs. I will just keep changing them out every 12 months, Takes me about 3hrs.
if I ever get sick of changing them all I can do is go hydraulic.
I have the largest B&M oil cooler and when I’m running hard I’ll see 280f . When I’m cruising it’s 215f
Im getting a price on a custom oil cooler, twice as big as Wht I hv now, if to expensive I’ll add a 2nd B&M, I’ll be happy if I can keep temps under 250f when into it

 

Look on ebay for leftover Nascar oil coolers, there are a variety of sizes available. I would absolutely put more spring in it. The 1209x are probably right at the limit when you put them in and just degrade after that. With roller rockers, I wouldn't run less than 200lbs on the seat and probably shoot for 550lbs open.

 

You might have better luck with PAC's circle track 1500 series endurance springs than the 1209x, but they're 2-2.5x more money. If they still wear out and break then it is a huge hit on cost.

Which cam lobes are you running? Solid roller should not immediately mean you're killing springs. The tight lash endurance lobes should be easy on springs. Comp's low shock line is the newest on the market. Cammotion LLSR another example.

 

This cam is a comp cams low shock specced by Tony. The last 4 yrs before this cam I used cam motion LLSR cam.
The cam motion cam I would get a yr then one of my crower solid lifters would fail, that happened twice
Thats why I went for the big jesel keyway lifters
The latest comp cam has been going for 17 months, no lifter failure , only springs lb rate loss
Im unsure of the risk/reward going to a heavier spring. I’ll still get lb rate loss with a heavier spring and may not hv to change springs for 18months.
Ill fire the question off to Tony, will follow his advice.
Ill have a look on eBay for a nascar oil cooler, see Wht I can find

 

Tony will always spec the lightest spring needed to safely handle the load. Maintenance is maintenance. Part of the hobby.
Also beware of buying used oil coolers from the teams. They have likely had metal go through them and you CANNOT a get it to come out except one bit at a time. You’ll find metal in your filter and it will drive you nuts. I’ve thrown $500 coolers in the dumpster many times because of metal in them. Lots of good deals on there with stand alone and radiator/cooler combos. Don’t do it!

 

I did discuss Valve springs with Tony before last rebuild . I asked him about my latest bit of wear , will see Wht comes back
Thanks Chevelle , no eBay coolers

 

Reading through this, the fact you have lost lifters previously and now spring loads are going away, you are starting off with too little spring.

I am assuming you have roller rockers as well? I recommend 180lbs seat for those on a hyd roller setup.

You should probably look at a PAC-1237X. If you have no interest in those, I would recommend a min of 200lbs on the seat with at least a 500lb rate.

 

Thanks I will look into the 1237

 

I got onto Mr Mamo asking whether there was a better spring we could use. He talked to the guys at pac and they came back with the 1237 so it looks like a spring change again. Tony is looking for a better locator’s than what pac supplies tho so be a few weeks before I hv in hand

 

I have also noticed that my PAC locators are not as tight of fit to the guide as the ones I've used before. Tony told me the same thing. On my old AFR 225 cathedrals, the locators had very little movement around the guide compared to the PAC units I had. Almost like the guide O.D. acted as a dowel pin for the locators.....

 

I remember speaking to someone on this and they liked to see say .010 to .020 clearance between spring and locater - enough so the spring does not stick to it when you put it on but there is not a lot of wiggle either.

 

Tony mentioned there should be be a new part coming out from pac which fixes the tolerances.
In the meantime he is trying to get better

 

It's going to run like a different motor with a proper spring in it. It should pick up noticeably across the powerband.

 

Maybe Comp has tighter fitting locators??? If you have accurate dial calipers, measure the inside diameter of your current locators so you know what you have, and call around to get the right locators....

 

I don’t set mine up tight. The guide expands due to thermals and if it’s set up too tight, it will break the spring seat/locator every time, with an iron guide. A brass guide is a little more forgiving because it’s softer, but it can still break it.