i know they hold more then .600 lift i think its is stated .660 before coil bind i will be upwards in the area of .620 lift i am using a brand new set of beehives with TI retainers. would i be able to run this much lift on these springs w/o any modification to the spring itself or would i have to SHIM the spring to give it a little more seat pressure at .620 lift.

if anyone could give me an idea on this it would be greatly appreciated. how far can i take the beehive 26918-16's before i run into valve clearence, i have heared of people going as high as .625 lift with the beehives but shimming them to insure a little more seat pressure.

if someone could chime in on this..

 

There are plenty different kinds of beehive springs, so make sure you understand what you're reading when others have claimed to run that much lift on a "beehive" spring.

The 918's are good to .600" lift and I wouldn't run them much beyond that. Bret says that the beehives are great because as they compress, the bottom coils stack first and this allows you to run very close to coil bind. I'm not sure how much clearance is absolutely necessary and how much is just suggested. .060" sounds pretty close.

I doubt you'd want to shim them. If anything get longer valves and then shim from there. You want the install height to be perfect, but I am not recommending running the 918's on that cam.

There was also a recent recall on these springs, so you should contact CC to see what they say about it.

Also, a call to PSI might help you out since they make the beehive springs and have a wide selection to choose from. Maybe they can pick some out for you.

 

If you are running a 1.800" installed height, you can run them at up to .630" MAX. This allows .070" to coil bind and will allow some variance in your valve job before getting to my established minimum of .060". Running that close is not a bad thing, but it means that you need to measure each and every installed height to make sure you will be ok. I have run springs at .060" with no ill effects, and would do it again if that was the best way to setup the spring package. You don't need to shim because of the lift number, that is set by the pressure you have at your installed height. With the beehives you can run 130 on the seat and still control the aggressive lobes...if you shim the springs, you are taking away from your max allowable lift.

Post your installed height, and verify your max lift.

 

thanks for the input

max lift will be at .620 on the intake and .615 on the exhaust. will get back with spring height measurements.

so what you are saying is that the springs will support them but they need to be exactly at 1.800 installed height in order to do so.

i think and i say i think i am not sure but the beehives installed on alum heads come out to a 1.750 installed height right? or is that what they are installed at on cast iron heads. either way how would i go about gettiing the spring to the desired installed height of 1.800 if not there already.

 

That's when you use the +.050" locks and retainers.

 

"Installed height" is an arbitrarily chosen height that is included in the spring specifications for purposes of illustration. You choose your installed height and set it there to get the desired seat pressure. This may, or may not be at the "installed height" listed in the specs. Obviously, you then still need to be able to open the valve fully w/o coil bind. If the spring can't do this, you have chosen the wrong spring. At times, to get the desired seat pressure, achieving the required installed height needs "+" retainers, or even longer valves.

Rich

 

yeah sorry for the confusion as i had installed a set of beehives on my buddys cast iron headed impy SS

yeah i am running NSA rockers with the 10degree locks but they arent .050 + i know this for sure, those locks need to be used when running a SA rocker.

either way so the installed height of the beehives on alum heads with 4705-16 spring seats should be what?1.800 right...

 

1.8 is what Comp recommends. You can almost always go less than this, but I wouldn't go more as you will decrease the operating pressures. I'd really look into getting another beehive spring that will accept the hardware you have now and give you more clearance for that lift along with more spring pressure to control that cam.

 

Some of you obviously aren't getting the concept of installed height. The right installed height is the one that gives the desired seat pressure. It may, or may not be the height listed in the spring specs. The limitations are the free height of the spring and coil bind.

As I posted before, if you can't get the correct combination of seat pressure, open pressure, and freedom from coil bind out of a particular spring, you need to change some parts - get a different spring, "+" retainers, longer valves, something.

Rich

 

I agree with ^

When I said less, I meant shorter installed height.
More = taller.

I would feel much safer with a shorter install height to get my desired pressures than a taller install height to allow clearance for more lift. That's all I was saying, but you are most definitely correct, sir.

 

what spring is larger then the 26918 beehive w/o machining the heads...i think seat pressure will be fine its clearence which i am worried about.

is there a beehive which holds more then .600 lift i heard something about the 26920's but will i need to modify the heads to make them work.

if the spring to a 1.800 installed height will it let me get to the desired .620 max lift on my cam, this is the ? i have.with the 26918 beehives.

 

Contact PSI, they have several. Bret knows more about them as well.

 

In Comp's catalog, #26918 is shown with 1.100" coil bind height. If you install it at 1.800", the spring could accomodate 0.620" lift easily.

Rich

 

I heard a rumor recently that comp was releasing some new higher lift 918's in a month or so that are rated to .650 lift. Has anyone else heard of this?


Edit: Did a search and may have found the origin here. Post #15.

http:/http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/...&page=1&pp=20/

 

There is a whole bunch of beehives out there, just have to know where to look. The higher lift versions are usually just done with more treatments to the spring wire to add to spring durability. The only issue with that is the price. I have a set of these in the shop that I want to run on my motor (if I ever get to it) but the $300 a set for the springs ain't cheap! I have at least seven different beehive springs in the shop and I know there is at least 5 more. The 26918 (and PAC 1218 which I use) are the most useable. Depends on how you set them up and how close you want to run them to coil bind but right around .600 lift is about the limit (.615" or so)

Bret