well when you upgrade your cams and it says you need to upgrade your valve springs, how important is it to upgrade your retainers at the same time ? is it ok to just upgrade the valve springs alone for a while ?

 

id like to know too.

 

Putting in lighter retainers will improve your throttle response almost as much as a light flywheel. I upgraded my springs and retainers this year and my car practically revs like a motorcycle. As far as importance, you can upgrade your springs without retainers, but it's generally a good idea to just wait until you can do them both. Just my .02.

 

I would say change the retainers too. I say this simply because I have cracked a stock retainer. Dropping a valve and ruining your head, and potenially block is much more expensive than just putting a stronger set of retainers in.

 

its amazing how much they can charge u for springs and some retainers

 

its not that important...

ti retainers wear out fast and youll be tearing down the head later down the road to put some in..

I would not buy ti ret. unless i had a race motor...

You do not really need them. Also some compaines machine their's different and it is hard and sometimes impossible to be within honda spec...

 

I say change them while youre in there, saves time and money, and loss of sleep.

 

I would upgrade both

 

I have searched and read for the last 2 hours all the info on this topic i can find. I realize that the Ti is much stronger and allows for higher revs without worries. I see alot of people TALKING about failure/20k wear, but only a few real world experiences and even fewer pics of it happening.

Does the locking spring/retainer combo allow for long lasting Ti like omnipower and rocket say? And are all Ti retainers forged, or just some?

I need to order some within the next month and it is SO HARD to decide which brand. I know I will get some new retainers, and Im leaning towards the Omnis... but I need some facts... some real knowledge... not what people figure is right from some stuff that they read that someone else figured was right.

The most solid info I found was from what Omniman Dave and the few guys from Rocket have added to a few threads I found searching, but it isnt enough.

PEOPLE WITH EXPERIENCE/FACTS/KNOWLEDGE, PLEASE COMMENT:

Do tight fitting, forged Ti retainers offer long lasting relaiablr performance in say the 8.5-9.5k range on medium lift (stage 2, etc) cams, or do I need to possibly replace them after 30k? Have the downsides to Ti retainers been remedied yet?

If I can get someone who KNOWS to tell me that they will go for at least 50k miles (assuming correctly installed/maintained) then I will feel much better.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JDMDB2 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Putting in lighter retainers will improve your throttle response almost as much as a light flywheel. I upgraded my springs and retainers this year and my car practically revs like a motorcycle. </TD></TR></TABLE>



There are threads that indicate a nitride coating on Ti retainers reduces the wear issues. The key to Ti retainers is that they are a race part and should be inspected for thinning at both the spring and keeper seats when you adjust your valve clearances.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JH4DC4-2GSR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">its not that important...

ti retainers wear out fast and youll be tearing down the head later down the road to put some in..

I would not buy ti ret. unless i had a race motor...

You do not really need them. Also some compaines machine their's different and it is hard and sometimes impossible to be within honda spec...</TD></TR></TABLE>

Please dont comment on something you know nothing about, or have no first hand experience with.
Titanium retainers do not wear out fast, I have one motor that has had portflow springs and ti retainers for over 70k, Using redline 10w30 and visiting 10k rpm's regularly, no problems and no wear.
To the original poster Upgrade you springs and retainers at the same time, also purchase new keepers from the dealer. Its cheap insurance. The Omni power and 2nd gen rocket motorsports springs and retainers would be a good reliable upgrade

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Dogginator &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">...should be inspected for thinning at both the spring and keeper seats when you adjust your valve clearances.</TD></TR></TABLE>

To see the keeper seat your going to have to pull the retainer right? I have done a few valvespring installs and know that you cant see that... only the thickness of the spring seats. right?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 2G0S0R1 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

To see the keeper seat your going to have to pull the retainer right? I have done a few valvespring installs and know that you cant see that... only the thickness of the spring seats. right?</TD></TR></TABLE>

For the keeper seat, I just look to make sure that the valve stem isn't sinking into the retainer. If you want to look at the keepers directly, you could back out the valve lash screws.