Spring problem after head/cam job ?
Thread Starter
Pro
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 644
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From: st. cloud mn
Spring problem after head/cam job ?
I was ready to do the heads/cam this fall and the mechanic said to hold off. He said engines are having troubles with H/C upgrades and this was the first I had heard. He said cars need springs every 10,000 miles to be safe. I have not heard this before and the mechanic said this problem has been around for awhile. He said a new "beehive" spring had be developed and he was waiting to see if it holds up better over the winter race season. "Beehive" refers to the shape of the new spring and this is supposed to cure the problem with the H/C mod. Is this good info? If so, I will wait to hear about the new spring's performance. :bs ....or not!
Safety Car
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 4,394
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From: Melbourne FL
Re: Spring problem after head/cam job ? (camiv)
This is a good ?. I think some of the top tuners should chime in here. I don't think the spring problem is as far reaching as the guy is leading you to believe. There have been some spring problems but, it seemed to be due to a "bad" batch of springs that were produced. It was not an accross the board type of problem. If you get a good matched setup (springs, heads, and cam) you should be realtively safe. Nothing is 100% but, there are a lot of H/C cars running around out there. I find it very hard to believe that every one of them is changing the entire set of springs every 10K miles.
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 1999
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From: Buy USA products! Check the label! Employ Americans
Re: Spring problem after head/cam job ? (camiv)
I would on a race motor like mine where all the miles are full bore and redline I will probably do it over the winter as to not have a problem at the track when road racing. Regular street driven I would say no.
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 1999
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From: San Jose/Bear Valley CA
CA Events Coordinator
Re: Spring problem after head/cam job ? (John Shiels)
I would on a race motor like mine where all the miles are full bore and redline I will probably do it over the winter as to not have a problem at the track when road racing. Regular street driven I would say no.
VR :cheers:
Melting Slicks
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 2,372
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From: New Milford CT
Re: Spring problem after head/cam job ? (camiv)
Camiv, In general the valve springs are the weakest link in a high lift, heads and cam job. Many people have broken a valve spring, but to be fair, many have not had problems also.
The more the cam lift, say over .570, the more the danger. Stock 2002 up Z06 springs and light weight valves are good to .570 lift, per GM racing parts dealers and Top Tuners. With its stock .551 intake lift cam, there are nearly ZER0 spring failures on stock Z06 valve springs.
That is why I chose a Stock Z06 heads and low lift Thunder Racing cam (.553). This way I give up 20rwhp but I gain reliabiltiy. Like I say, Stock Z06's rarely break a spring.
There are 2 spring makers that are failure free to date, that I know of. They are Isky 295. and Manley Co. This would be the way to go if you go more than .570 lift, or want to go to high rpms alot, or just want the best.
In any case with a high lift cam, the rule of thumb that I have heard is change the springs every 2 years or 20,000 miles, for safety.
Hope this helps, and I would NOT be afraid to do the heads and cam job because of this spring situation, Just choose your parts carefully, and you will be fine. The extra power is Well worth the slight risks.
The more the cam lift, say over .570, the more the danger. Stock 2002 up Z06 springs and light weight valves are good to .570 lift, per GM racing parts dealers and Top Tuners. With its stock .551 intake lift cam, there are nearly ZER0 spring failures on stock Z06 valve springs.
That is why I chose a Stock Z06 heads and low lift Thunder Racing cam (.553). This way I give up 20rwhp but I gain reliabiltiy. Like I say, Stock Z06's rarely break a spring.
There are 2 spring makers that are failure free to date, that I know of. They are Isky 295. and Manley Co. This would be the way to go if you go more than .570 lift, or want to go to high rpms alot, or just want the best.
In any case with a high lift cam, the rule of thumb that I have heard is change the springs every 2 years or 20,000 miles, for safety.
Hope this helps, and I would NOT be afraid to do the heads and cam job because of this spring situation, Just choose your parts carefully, and you will be fine. The extra power is Well worth the slight risks.
