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If you had to pick one part of an engine that most people do not understand, you would probably say the camshaft. Most car owners have been confused for years by the numbers involved in camshaft design. Even when the numbers are understood, they can still be hard to understand for many. However, the valve springs are something that many people do not even think about.
What Are Valve Springs?
The valve springs are one part of your engine that needs more than a quick look. Sadly, that does not happen very often, and the wrong spring is frequently asked to do a job it wasn’t made for.
What do you need to know about Valve springs?
Valve springs are like the conductor of your engine because they ensure everything runs smoothly during combustion. Choosing the right valve springs for your application is important if you do not want your valvetrain to go off track and cause a catastrophic engine failure. Not only do you need the right valve springs, but you also need to ensure they are put in correctly.
When choosing valve springs, one of the most important things to pay attention to is the spring pressure. You want the pressure of the spring at the seat and the maximum lift to be right for your application. You do not want to deal with valve springs that aren’t strong enough for your engine. You should always talk to the person who built your engine and the company that makes the springs you want to buy to ensure they will work.
Valve Spring Selection
It can be hard to choose the right springs. The choice of spring is often based on how the camshaft is set up, the class rules, the budget, and how much room there is in the cylinder head when machining is not allowed. Most of the time, the first step is to talk with the cam designer about the required forces. They will think about how fast the cam lobe moves, how quickly the engine can go, and how heavy the valvetrain is. The forces needed to control the valvetrain are based on a few calculations and a lot of history and experience.
Height of the Valve Spring
The first thing you should always do is measure your installed height. This is important because the height at which a valve spring is installed can drastically change its rated coil bind clearance and opened/closed pressures. This can cause the valve spring or camshaft to break, so choosing the right spring for the installed height that your cylinder heads can handle is important.
Camshaft Type
The type of camshaft is the next thing to think about. In short, the pressure rating of your valve springs must be right for the type of camshaft you are using. You will almost certainly damage the engine if you do not run the engine at the right pressure for the cam-type.
Diameter of the Spring
Lastly, take note of how big the spring is. There are holes in cylinder heads that can only fit valve springs of a certain size without having to be machined. Some manufacturers offer a wide range of valve springs, valve spring locators, and shim kits to make it easier to put in valve springs without using a machine.
Overall, car fans can run more aggressive valve spring profiles with their already-used parts. Some people have also noticed that their springs last longer. This is because all these dynamic gains make the spring more stable, which makes it last longer. Since the dynamic loads are also lessened, the other parts of the valvetrain will last longer.
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