I am planning heads and a cam that should peak around 6500 rpm on a 350 lt1 a4. I am wondering if I should change to the white spring to help protect my engine as I don't want to spin a bearing.

From what I have read on the spring it allows oil pressure to build w/ rpm (I guess the stocker doesn't). Some say it hurts hp and if you don't need it don't do it. I am planning on keepind the stock pump and running full synthetic oil. Engine has ~68k

 

IMHO, anytime you put in a pump, the white spring should be in it.

 

At a BIG event over the weekend the oil pump topic came up and one guy said that the springs get weak with age, use, heat cycles. I have never tested one but that makes a whole lot of sense and I think I will begin keeping a few springs onhand just to have them should an oil pump with any mile on it be exposed in my presence.

Last september I spun a bearing in an over 100K stock shortblock with this heads and cam package. When I put another stock shortblock in I decided to put in a "white" spring. I don't have that kind of milage on this engine yet but sofar so good and in the last week I put about 1200 miles on it and ran 12s in over 100 degree heat 500 miles from home. Sofar so good.

A while back someone posted a pretty detailed explaination of how the oiling system works.
The oil pump will move the same volume of oil per revolution no matter how fast or what the pressure. These springs just control when it bypasses that oil back into the pan rather than sending it up through the motor. I will keep using the white spring because I figure why let oil bypass back to the pan without lubricating anything. Long as the pump is moving it, let it lube something.

 

there is that one pump from GM Performance Parts 12555884. It is a standard volume / high pressure pump. Sometimes I have noticed that with this pump it lists it is for an "LT-1"(older) instead of the "LT1" (ours). Summit says it will work for our cars. I was able to get my hands on a broken one(it was dropped so it broke off a piece), but It is very similar to my old melling HV pump that I need to replace. Dimensions are the same except the opening is a for a 5/8 pick up tube instead of a 3/4. Gears are the same size as well. The only other difference is the bottom plate. I dont know if it changes the way it works, but I will take some pictures of it tomorrow and post them, and maybe someone can explain why they are designed how they are. (maybe to help aid in the high pressure...only thing I can think)

 

I have the white spring in my std. volume Melling select pump. Idle is ~30 and High RPMs are 60+.

I have no worries about the oil pressure from watching the factory gage.
I agree with shoe, always use the white spring.