Broken valve springs...check it out!

[slimtastic]

so i had recently decided to make the jump from my stock headed 212-212 cam setup to a comp roller 218-212 with GN1's and 1.65 rockers. i made 402 at the tires with 93 octane and no alky on the old setup, but when i pulled the stock heads i found 4 broken valvesprings (comp 980's i think, could be wrong).

the outer springs themselfs were intact but the dampners on the inside were shattered in a few places and had taken out the valve seals.

now im confident this is the reason why my knock sensor would go nuts at anything over 1800 rpm, but the real question is how much power was i leaving on the table honestly???

 

[pacecarta]

thats not a spring... its a dampner
either way i wouldnt run with them broken up inside the spring

 

[Reggie West]

I would suggest going to LS1 springs. It reduces weight and spring pressures. The motor will rev like nobody's business with the cam you have.

 

[bison]

You need more spring than those comp 980's. Id be looking a lot harder at the valvetrain and everything else if you had comp 980's with a roller cam

 

[slimtastic]

You need more spring than those comp 980's. Id be looking a lot harder at the valvetrain and everything else if you had comp 980's with a roller cam

no the old setup was a comp flat tappet 212/212 with the comp 980s on stock heads

the new setup is gonna be a 218-212 roller with gn1 heads on behive springs....i just wanna know how much power could have been left on the table with busted comp 980s....and what could have caused them to break?

 

[bison]

no the old setup was a comp flat tappet 212/212 with the comp 980s on stock heads

the new setup is gonna be a 218-212 roller with gn1 heads on behive springs....i just wanna know how much power could have been left on the table with busted comp 980s....and what could have caused them to break?

That would depend on how high the engine pulled. I went 124mph with a 212-212 flat cam 10 years ago. The springs I used were 110lbs on the seat. It pulled to 5500 easily. Comp 980 springs would limit the engine speed to around 5200 if you were lucky to have it pull that far

 

[jasjamz]

That would depend on how high the engine pulled. I went 124mph with a 212-212 flat cam 10 years ago. The springs I used were 110lbs on the seat. It pulled to 5500 easily. Comp 980 springs would limit the engine speed to around 5200 if you were lucky to have it pull that far

Are you saying that about the 980's with a flat tappet or the roller. Did the cam go flat?

 

[bison]

Are you saying that about the 980's with a flat tappet or the roller. Did the cam go flat?

The 980's wont get it done with more than the stock cam if you plan on running any boost/rpm. The common cams like the comp grinds most run for the Buicks have ramps that are too fast for a boosted application and need more pressure. The LT1 springs worked every time. Comp 980's are a stock replacement spring. If youre running more than a stock cam and boost then they are not the correct spring for the application. Ive used them on stock cams shimmed to about 1.68" and had zero problems up to 5300/23psi. I dont use flat cams anymore and wont install them either.

 

[jasjamz]

The 980's wont get it done with more than the stock cam if you plan on running any boost/rpm. The common cams like the comp grinds most run for the Buicks have ramps that are too fast for a boosted application and need more pressure. The LT1 springs worked every time. Comp 980's are a stock replacement spring. If youre running more than a stock cam and boost then they are not the correct spring for the application. Ive used them on stock cams shimmed to about 1.68" and had zero problems up to 5300/23psi. I dont use flat cams anymore and wont install them either.

Cool! I ran into this situation recently and see exactly what you are talking about! Thanks!