valve springs

[griffin29456]

hi, i'm rebuilding my h22a motor keeping it std. shells,rings, cam belt kit
overhauled head. at the moment i"m assembling the cylinder head, iv'e
replaced the seals (yes i do know the exh are diff to inl) but my question is iv'e measured the free length of the valve springs and they are all 1mm shorter than honda specs. again i realise all the spring are diff inner, outer, exhaust, inlet. do you thing this 1mm will be okay being new ones are hugely
expensive. i will replace them only if i really MUST approx $700 is a lot of money for springs which i could put to much better use on other parts of the engine.
i would appriciate any comments
Kevin

[B18cEG]

1mm short hey, and thats without any tension, im not sure how much difference that would make but im sure one of the guys here can tell u, $700!!!!! r u talking about honda springs? why not look on ebay for something similar to these http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Honda-H22A-Prelude-Supertech-Performance-Valve-Springs_W0QQitemZ370141683640QQcmdZViewItemQQptZAU _Car_Parts_Accessories?hash=item370141683640&_trksid=p3286.m20.l1116 or http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/VALVE-SPRINGS-RETAINERS-HONDA-INTEGRA-PRELUDE-H22-B16_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trkparmsZ66Q3a2Q7c65Q3a2Q7c 39Q3a1Q7c240Q3a1318Q7c301Q3a0Q7c293Q3a1Q7c294Q3a50 QQ_trksidZp3286Q2ec0Q2em14QQhashZitem370167189202Q QitemZ370167189202QQptZRaceQ5fCarQ5fParts works out to about $355 AUD including postage if u got about 2 weeks to wait. just a thought, and im pretty sure some traders on here got some for sale to for wayyy under $700

[WhiteRice]

Might be just me, but $700 seems a lot for mere valvesprings. You should be able to get some aftermarket ones (I know you're staying stock) for much less, even imported - e.g.
http://www.fortyone.co.nz/parts/show/523/Skunk2/Skunk2%20Valve%20Springs.html

Not sure about the length issue. It stands to reason that they may compress over time, esp in a high mileage motor. If they do, you're much more likely to encounter valve float at high rpm.
On the other hand, I've never heard of a valvespring snapping, but if it did, you'll be doing yourself a bottom-end rebuild, for big money indeed.

Quick question along the same lines - I'm in Vic, and I can't find any information on whether valvetrain upgrades are legal, or need engineer's cert. Vicroads guide to modifying doesn't mention it. Any ideas anyone? thanks

[B18cEG]

Quick question along the same lines - I'm in Vic, and I can't find any information on whether valvetrain upgrades are legal, or need engineer's cert. Vicroads guide to modifying doesn't mention it. Any ideas anyone? thanks

I really dont see how that would matter if you changed the valvesprings, lets say for example you changed your water pump to a non genuine, there not gonna say thats illegal, the other thing is that there not going to crack open your rocker cover and look inside, if you took a dead stock b16a for example and changed the valvesprings to better ones its not going to do anything in terms of power or emissions, just make it more reliable at high rpm.

On the other hand you may have been talking about camshafts???? in that case it would all depend on emissions rules of your state, here in wa we dont have emissions testing so i wouldnt know :cool:

[WhiteRice]

'sright. I'd be looking at mild cams, valvesprings, retainers, probably not new valves or port grind.

I see your point, they're not going to pull the top end apart to have a look, but I'd be a lot happier if I was told that the whole thing is fine