A few years ago, Tick Performance was advertising a redesign of their valve spring retainers that made them the lightest retainers on the market.



So, back in 2022, I purchased a set of the retainers with the intention of installing them when I replaced my valve springs. Fast forward to 2024, and they have yet to be installed. That is when I noticed that, despite the website claiming them to be the lightest retainers on the market, no actual weight was posted on the retainer. This had me curious, and so I ordered a set of Brian Tooley retainers to compare.

Tick on the left. BTR on the right:


The BTR retainer is more concave than the Tick retainer. BTR in the first picture and Tick in the second:



The BTR retainer also includes a secondary step for the inner spring, whereas the Tick retainer does not. Tick on the left and BTR on the right:


I placed both retainers on a BTR SP003 valve spring. Both retainers fit the spring perfectly as the ODs of the first retainer step are the same. The Tick retainer has a larger overall OD than the BTR. BTR in the first picture and Tick in the second:



Now, time for the weight. Is the Tick retainer the lightest on the market? Tick in the first pic and BTR in the second:



It would appear that it is not. Given the concave shape and smaller OD of the BTR retainer, I'm not surprised that it came in lighter than the Tick retainer. Since my scale rounds to the nearest gram, I weighed all 16 retainers to try and get a better idea of the individual weight. Tick in the first pic and BTR in the second:



The Tick retainers came in at 238 grams, which puts them at 14.875g per retainer. The BTRs came in at 204 grams, which puts them at 12.75g. BTR advertises them at 12.7g. In the end, the Tick retainer is a solid 2 grams heavier than the BTR retainer, which means that they are, in fact, not the lightest retainer on the market.

 

Good write up. It’s awesome to see some of the old fashioned tech is still done here.

 

I do what I can when I can.

 

Nice work. IMHO, if I was going to run a dual spring, I'd go with the BTR, even if they weighed the same. Not having that extra shoulder for a dual spring would be a no go for me. Perhaps the Tick is for a single spring? Is it advertised as a dual retainer?

 

They are advertised as being for dual springs: "Ultra Light Weight Tool Steel Retainers for dual valve springs, fits most 1.270"-1.300" dual springs made."