Juss wondering because I saw a thread that said these things only last 15k miles.

https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=381729

So if you are running these Retainers....please post how many miles you have on them.

Thanks!

 

it makes me feel good that yall are benefitting from my high rpm woes of LAST week! yes, it all worked out and as soon as I can get to a digi cam I will post them in the various stages they are in. I went 20K on mine, you can look at the Ti link if you want to see my setups I went through with them in there. I broke two outer second tiers on a intake secondary on cyl 3 and a intake primary on cyl 2.

49k-62k
GSR cams, ITR LMAs, ITR valvesprings and GSR valves, Ti retainers, stock spring seat locators, GSR head

42k-49k
CTR cams, GSR LMAs, ITR outers, portflow inners, Ti retainers, stock spring seat locators, GSR head

I heard a hiccup at high rpm and felt it, after that I changed my plugs... that seemed to elleviate the problem, however it had already coughed up the Ti metal that removed itself. There were 2 flopping outer intake valvesprings under the rocker arm... prettly lovely considering the motor was uneffected under 7K... after that there was a somewhat loss in power coupled with a spitting sound from the head, under constant high rpm there would be valve bog the exhaust note would drop pitch. at idle the car wouldnt spit and no low or uneven compression, the idle was steady as a metronome. I removed the head cover only to find this condition to be mechanical and I replaced the retainers back to stock on thursday night.

For you guys who have just done it, watch your valve clearances and measure the seats on all the retainers on the spring before you start your car. after that check them as they tend to thin out. remember the wear is circular in this instance where the gap in the roof of the spring will tend to DIG into the face of the retainer. eventually this will continue to dig and fatigue. also keep in mind the operating temperature of the valvespring is fundamentally different than the Ti retainer. the spring tends to MELT the retainer also around where it makes its friction with the surface. as soon as I can get to my digi cam, I will take pics of this. you will have pics of the 2 failed retainers, 4 worn out retainers that were about to fatigue, 6 that were moderately worn on inner and outer seats and 4 that were galled but not badly worn. Sounds funny, but I could also tell they were loose by this rule of thumb. When the engine is at TDC you can push on the face of the adjuster nut on the rocker arms to push in the valve, when it returns it should make a FLAT metal to metal SOLID sound. If it kind of clicks back into place your retainers have WORN OUT and they are too loose. This will effect your valve operation and could burn out a seat as well, keep that in mind... there is a service limit on retainers not just when they break.

I installed the stockers and the car feels "tighter" with them in there, the revs are not that effective going up, coming back down I can sense a bit of difference in valve return accuracy however it is SLIGHT. I plan on running the valve clearances at my next oil change which is 1K away.

any Qs? pm me.

 

Are Skunk2 Valve Springs made differently than ITR Valve Springs? Should my Skunk2 Retainers last longer with my Skunk2 Valve Springs?

Thanks for the great info!

 

I've got about 8-9k miles on mine so far. Running Toda B's and portflow valvetrain. Last time i did an oil change (about 1800 miles ago), i checked out my rocker arms/retainers and everything looked good.

I also read MikeSarr_GSR's review on the skunk2 retainers and i will be keeping an eye on mine on each oil change i do. If i see any abnormal wear/fatigue, i will prepare to change them out as soon as possible.

Is checking my retainers every 3k a good idea? Or should i be following a more strict check up schedule? Thanks for the heads up

 

damn... this is crazy.... i am about to build a ls/vtec and i was planning on revving to 9.5 plus and i want to know what i can use for retainers that arent going to break??? also what company to use? ive seen more horror stories about portflow then any others.
thanks!

 

there are guys that swear by toda valve springs on the stock retainer... even on hotter cams. yea every 3K seems right but how are you checking them... are you taking them OUT and looking? Its not worth the $150 replacement every 15000 in my book to run the retainers. If the interval can be stretched to 30K or more... I'm there

 

Hm...taking out every retainer each oil change seems very tedious. By checking them, I meant looking at the edge of each retainer to make sure it is not wearing down.

 

scary!!!!!

 

would this also apply to type r retainers? no where that i have looked for prices, on skunk2 retainers have i seen a notice saying that "this item is for race purposes only". very, very scary!

 

ITR and GSR retainers are the same part #. Anywhoo, if you dont take them
out how do you check for wear along the ENTIRE spring seat? they wear more
toward the non camphered spring gap where the upper end of the valvespring is.
there is no way to check this unless you remove them. If you do not know how to
do this, or care not to do so... titanium retainers are not for you. trust me. if you run them, replace them religiously every 15K to save a nasty event. they are not
meant to run in your motor long term. a few races for 9-12K operation yes... however, on the street you might see some difference however the gain is negligable for 150 every 15K miles... in my book more accurate valve timing
can come with a higher spring rate on the valve... the retainer is good to lighten true. unless you own the hardware and the knowledge to pressurize the cylinders and replace them with the head still on the car... stay stock. the other option is to buy a nice set of ferrea or portflow retainers for the stock honda valvespring and have them cryotreated and friction coated, then you can extend that interval to say 50K which would be good for the stockers to be changed out... why not? however inspecting them every 15-20K would be the plan of attack as well even with that precaution taken. In my book its still worth it to pull every last bit of lift out of the valve if you have the tools, why not do it...

 

For the sake of resurrection.....


It's safe to assume that on a daily-driver-type vehicle, Ti retainers would probably be better left to someone building a track car or with the means/desire to change 'em out every 15k, is this correct?

Also, I'm fairly sure it will, just reassure me.....the ITR/Portflow valvespring combo, coupled with ITR valves and stock retainers, will be a happy combo for a boosted application, yes? This is assuming type r cams, nothing vicious.


[Modified by SlowRedTeg, 1:23 PM 2/15/2003]