I bought a set of assembled heads a while back and I also have valve train set that came with my cam kit.

Is there any way I can identify these springs on my heads? They look identical to my 981 springs, but obviously that means next to nothing. After doing some research, it's my impression that the stronger a spring is, the better, because it prevents valve float. And that as long as you dont hit coil bind, it really doesn't matter how strong they are (At low RPMs). I was worried about perhaps having springs too strong for my cam and wiping lobes, but after finding out this news, would it be safe to assume that as long as they're not binding I should be okay?

I'm using a Comp Cams xe262 - 218/224 @.50 and .462/.469 life. VERY tame, so I was worried that some really strong valve springs might be a bad idea.


Also, these retainers look pretty different than the ones I have, does anyone have any idea what they are exactly? I ask since I might be better off using these than my normal style steel retainers.

IF I can get by with these valve springs and retainers(What are the odds they're not steel?) it will save me some hassle of disassembling and reassembling the heads.

I bought them from a guy on TGO and I got the impression they were set up to run a relatively nasty cam, which is why I was concerned about wiping lobes with them. But I got to thinking (The real problem) a bigger cam is probably not any physically stronger than a smaller cam, and I would assume a smaller cam has slower ramp rates so it'd be able to handle stronger springs better anyway... at least that's what I deduced logically.

Also, if I can get by with these I can sell my 981's and retainers and put it back into car elsewhere... I wouldn't feel right selling what's on it not know exactly what they are.

So am Iright to assume that as long as they can handle the lift, they should work well enough? I dont plan on screaming this thing at 7000 RPMs all day.

 

Take the heads to a shop that knows what they're doing. Have them check each and every spring for force at installed height and max lift. If the coils bind, they'll know.

Then, have them check each and every valve for travel with the retainers installed on the valve. If you don't have at least more than .060" valve travel than the cam moves the valve, something has to change.

Too strong of a spring will cause excessive cam/lifter wear, and may actually bounce the valves off of the seat. The right spring set-up for the cam is the best approach.