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By Cliff - 3 Years Ago
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Hi guys, I own an small auto auction, I sell repossessed vehicles for banks, credit unions and finance co. I see a lot of broken cars (car breaks customer tells the bank come and get it) I see enough LS engines with dropped valves caused by broken springs (beehive), I don't know why this happens, I talked to my local dealer service advisor he tells me it's a large problem, all I know if they had a large retainer and the spring broke chances are the engine would live, what I see now is piston hits the valve damages the head, piston and cylinder (engine done) , however I see many engines (race and street) with lots of hours on them with no trouble, I bring this up because a lot of people are using them, I my motors I won't, I maybe be loosing a little RPM but parts are a lot of money and work.
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By 55blacktie - 3 Years Ago
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Cliff, I understand how you feel; in your shoes, I might feel the same way. However, isn't it kind of like saying if one make and model of vehicle is a lemon, all makes and models are lemons?
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By Cliff - 3 Years Ago
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No, it's just what I see, I think GM maybe was or is using poor springs, But I see Y Block guys using the same spring in their motors (so called corvette springs), if it caused small problems then it's the luck of the draw, but these things will take out an engine completely, I had a 2012 (I think) SS Camaro idling all of a sudden it started to miss, the damned thing broke the intake valve spring on the 3rd cylinder on the right side and banged up a lot of parts (at IDLE) this one was repairable with a valve and cylinder head repair, that said I had a 2011 SS 6.2 Camaro that I drove for 5 years and put 70,000 miles with no problems, so I don't know, I think for the small gain that I get with a lighter retainer and the beehive springs it's not worth it to me, my Dad ran a Top Fuel dragster for a lot of years
(OCMP Dragster) it would turn 8,000 RPM (in the 60's) never had those kind of springs, I (that's only me) think it's not worth the risk of taking out a race prepped block, expensive piston, and a high dollar cylinder head, if it was a large gain well game on.
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By Joe-JDC - 3 Years Ago
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There is a big difference in GM's LS springs and PAC, PSI, Comp Cams beehive springs. You must realize that the LS is the "end all" engine for the crowd on the other side of the aisle, and those LSs get treated like they will rev to the moon and make 1000 hp simply by adding a blower or keeping your foot to the floorboard. I agree with you that there is a safety concern about having a single spring that has a retainer smaller than the bottom of the spring seat for a dropped valve. Especially the exhaust valves. However, I have now run several sets of beehive springs on several engines without a single problem relating to the spring's integrity. Nearly all of the high end four valve engines use beehive springs with success. Joe-JDC
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