http://www.importreview.com/reviews/valvesprings.html

I know all of you guys wanted to know which valvespring kit was good and what cams you can use with each one.

Now you know. Looks like the portflow kit is, in my opinion, the one to get.

Just so you guys know....the out spring on most all of these kits is very similar...just like a type-R outer yellow spring...hard to tell any difference at all in fact...

The difference is in the INNER springs....the Toda Inner spring was able to flex down a long way, while the type-r spring binded very early. Thats one of the differences you need to take into account.

Have fun with the review. THis review is not my normal type of review...

because the information presented is not "my usual opinion" nor is it not an equal test scientifically...

This test is based on results from a spring testing machine..which is very accurate and the results are not effected by my opinion whatsoever.

making this the most accurate test I have ever done.

Thank you.

Jeff

 

Now that is a good objective test with quantifiable and unbiased results.

Bravo, thank you for that one ......

I think it is important to note that each of the spring kits are typically designed for the parts from the same product company, so Portflow being an independent manufacturer SHOULD have the best results, because they probably designed for all conditions.

What outers did you use for the Portflows, or did you just test the inners?

 

Cool info.

Tom at PortFlow did my head, and I'm very happy. I should have dyno numbers on 8/18 as a baseline.

I have PortFlow inners with my B Specs. I believe he told my mechanic to use ITR inners as the outers to avoid coil bind. Does this make sense?

Thanks,

FB

 

No, you can not make the inners become outers.

He probably said/meant use ITR outers with the Portflow inners (what most people do anyways with them).

Oh I forgot, no Crower tested??

 

I would add crower to the list...but apparently nobody I know has them or uses them...

And the Crower set I did see was all broken up....sombody was running Toda Cams with Crower springs and it doesn't work...so don't do it.

If somebody sends me 1 crower spring...complete, the intake side...I will test it and put it up...

Jeff

 

Great Job Jeff and Tom. Thank you to you both.

 

Hey Jeff nice review.

Just wondering - have you had a chance (or will you) to test products on a B20Z (non-VTEC)? Such as different cams, intakes, headers, etc.

 

[QUOTE]No, you can not make the inners become outers.

He probably said/meant use ITR outers with the Portflow inners (what most people do anyways with them).
QUOTE]

Thanks, I didn't think that sounded right. Are the intake and exhaust sides the same? Maybe it was use the ITR Intake outers instead of the ITR Exhaust outers?

FB

 

Jeff, great info. and test, very informative. One thing though. You mention the Portflow springs, do you mean Portflow inners with ITR outer springs, or is that a complete outer-inner Portflow kit that Tom is now selling ?. I bought the Portflow inners to use with my ITR outers on my Jun2 cams. I spoke with Tom and he said that combo will yield 60lbs & 180 lbs pressure (seated/max lift respectively). Tom told me this Portflow/ITR combo is just a tad less stiff than the Juns by about 10 lbs at max lift. The Portflows you are showing seem to be much stiffer than that. Let me know what springs were tested for Portflow, thanks.

J.

 

Why is it that you don't recommend the Web Cam springs? Just curious. Thanks.

 

Sheww...I feel a lot better, now that I am using Port flows with my B's. How high can you rev safely with the B's, Portflow valvetrain, and stock bottom end?

 

Web is fine....just not with Toda's....

Anyone have a Crower spring they can send me? just 1 intake spring...complete..

and I wills end it back.

Jeff

 

Here are the Crower numbers

cheers





[Modified by Michael Delaney, 7:35 PM 8/10/2001]

 

Well, I wouldn't go that far...

Right under the numbers showing portflow springs are "best," this is written:

"If anyone wants a quality head ported by Portflow equipped with great valve train, I encourage you to contact me and I can take your order, and ship it back to you in a short time."

Although I have heard only good things about portflow head work and Tom was great to work with when I ordered my Ti retainers...




[Modified by Black R, 8:02 PM 8/7/2001]

 

Black R,

I thought that was interesting as well...

So how do we go about interpreting these numbers?

Regards,

 

So are the Portflow springs complete inner and outer Portflows , or are they Portflow inners with ITR outers as most people have been using. If they are Portflow inners with ITR outers the numbers seem higher than Tom reported. Any info Jeff ? I don't know about you guys, but I don't really think the "best" spring has to have the highest tension. The reason I am asking about the Portflow springs is because I don't want the highest tension springs on my car, you lose power and they are harder on the cams. I was led to believe that Portflow inners with ITR outers would have 60 lbs and 180 lbs tension, I really don't want anything firmer than that. well any info you can provide would be cool.

thanks.



[Modified by JSIR, 6:49 PM 8/7/2001]

 

Good review. Could you please clarify which Web springs you used. I'm pretty sure they have two applications for the B18C. I'm also curious how the new Skunk2 springs perform.

Now I'm wondering if I didn't go too stiff with the Portflow inner/ITR outer combo for my Skunk2's. Oh well, at least I'll be very reliable to 9k.

 

Why do most people think that a stiffer vale spring is a better set-up? Too stiff a spring and you are only creating unnecessary drag and pressure on the valve train. Shouldn't the springs match the cam requirements? The Portflow springs seem to have less clearance before coil bind when compared to the June, Toda, Web or the Crower/Eibach Race Spring wouldn’t this be more important cosideration.


[Modified by DB1-R81, 8:23 PM 8/7/2001]

 

What I will be running eventually ........ thanks T!

 

Something that I haven't read in this post is anything about fatigue. But, I don't think anyone would be willing to pay for that kind of test on all these springs. Just FYI.

 

Somebody mentioned :

"why is stiffer better"

Well...my answer to that is....

The stiffer the spring the better it will handle high RPM? Is that wrong?

Doesn't some professional racing circuits have psring pressure 4x that of the best Honda springs for a Type-R? 450+ instead of 180...

You want to rev past 9500 RPM? Then you would want stiffer.

Jeff

 

Think of came lift and spring rate of rebound! A stiffer spring may recoil or rebound slower than a spring properly matched to the cam, which could mean your still going to get float at high RPM's. Stiffer does not equate to quicker rate of valve closure. Who uses springs that are 450+?

 

The profile of the cam lobe has as much if not more to do with the spring rate requirements as does the rpm you run the engine at. Also, when trying to understand this, please don't forget about the valve and retainer mass, remember F=ma. Case in point, if you run an engine at 10,000 rpm and the cam has 300 degrees of duration with .100" lift at the valve you won't need a hell of a lot of spring pressure to control the valve. But if your duration is now 200 degrees and it is a bigger valve (more mass) you will need entirely different springs, although the coil bind specs may be the same. Specification of valve springs is a function of many items.


[Modified by SMSP, 10:55 PM 8/8/2001]