Cam/lifter/spring failures?
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 5,656
Likes: 112
From: ocean springs mississippi
Cam/lifter/spring failures?
Been reading alot about h/c/i set ups. Was wondering what is the primary cause(s) of a cam,lifter and/or spring failure? I mean is it an oversight or miscalulation when parts were chosen for the build or improper maintenance?
Melting Slicks
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 2,220
Likes: 16
From: Sugarhill Ga
I broke a valve spring on my H&C LS2. I was running dual springs so that saved the engine. I was counting on changing them every 25k but it was only 15k. I hope it was a bad batch but just in case I changed manufacturers.
Instructor
Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 223
Likes: 14
From: West Chester Ohio
Do we really have to change out valve springs with a mid grade cam?! OEM springs are usually good with OEM cams, even the GM hot cams that are on the Z06's. I put on some good patriot gold dual valve springs, but I am only going to like .620 lift.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 2,220
Likes: 16
From: Sugarhill Ga
Safety Car
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 3,807
Likes: 508
From: Oshawa, Ontario
high lift which requires high spring pressures which requires diligent attention to spring condition. frequent spring replacement required especially if the valves have been floated.if you only run these combinations at the track they usually last quite some time.if only run 1/4 mile at a time adds up to lots of runs in 10,000 miles.cant have it both ways.what do you want to do drag race or dd?if doing both you need to pay the piper.usually poor maintenance is your culprit but anything man made can fail
Last edited by irok; Aug 4, 2013 at 12:12 PM.
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 5,656
Likes: 112
From: ocean springs mississippi
high lift which requires high spring pressures which requires diligent attention to spring condition. frequent spring replacement required especially if the valves have been floated.if you only run these combinations at the track they usually last quite some time.if only run 1/4 mile at a time adds up to lots of runs in 10,000 miles.cant have it both ways.what do you want to do drag race or dd?if doing both you need to pay the piper.usually poor maintenance is your culprit but anything man made can fail
Safety Car
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 3,807
Likes: 508
From: Oshawa, Ontario
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Race Director
Joined: Dec 2006
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From: Fort Worth, Texas
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 5,656
Likes: 112
From: ocean springs mississippi
From what ive gathered (from the road race forum),i need to keep the lift under 600 for high rpm runs. Brian tooley and I have talked a few times and he will be making the cam recomendation, porting the tf220 (as cast) heads and portmatching my fast 102 to match when I decide to pull the trigger. Im just trying to learn as much as I can from others who have done it and were successful/un successful.
Race Director
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 12,386
Likes: 2,907
From: Fort Worth, Texas
From what ive gathered (from the road race forum),i need to keep the lift under 600 for high rpm runs. Brian tooley and I have talked a few times and he will be making the cam recomendation, porting the tf220 (as cast) heads and portmatching my fast 102 to match when I decide to pull the trigger. Im just trying to learn as much as I can from others who have done it and were successful/un successful.
Former Vendor
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 16,897
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From: Lewisville TX
St. Jude Donor '03-'04-'05-'06-'07-'08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13
high lift which requires high spring pressures which requires diligent attention to spring condition. frequent spring replacement required especially if the valves have been floated.if you only run these combinations at the track they usually last quite some time.if only run 1/4 mile at a time adds up to lots of runs in 10,000 miles.cant have it both ways.what do you want to do drag race or dd?if doing both you need to pay the piper.usually poor maintenance is your culprit but anything man made can fail
You have to make sure all of the components are matched to each other and what you are doing with it. Someone stated in one of the posts about road race cars being under 0.600" lift.....I do not agree with that. They may have a different lobe profile on the cam, or have to use a different lifter.
Also, oil is a big part of this. If you expect to crank in a lot more HP, lift, and duration to the engine and expect it to live on crappy 5w30 engine oil.....think again. Just like above, you need to match all of the parts together to run correctly.
Tech Contributor
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 14,950
Likes: 264
From: St. Louis, MO
St. Jude Donor '08
I have 57,000 daily driving miles & about 400 passes on my LG g5x3 setup. The first 40k miles were on 2 sets of Patriot Gold springs and the remainder on Comp 921's. I'm due to replace my springs soon, I like to do it around 20k miles or so.