first question, do you have to remove the head to switch to hd valve springs. wheres the best place to get them? i ride a lot of woods trails, i would like a set of cams to give me more low, mid, and throttle reponse rather than top end. what would be the best cams.

 

Yes, you do have to remove the head.

TVI, Ron Wood, Pami, I think Kibble White too. Web Cam may offer them as well.

 

why does the head have to come off?

 

well i just had the head off and told myself i didnt want to do cams. but now im thinking about it. i know ive changed valvesprings in cars befor by blowing pressure in to the cylinder. so i cant see why anything here would be different. what would be the best cams

 

Hightower's a1/a2 cams are very snappy on the bottom and have good midrange. My Web 110's start pulling pretty hard after 6,000 rpms. I want some Web 109's!!!![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

 

ok ive been shopping cams and i think ive limited it down to woods9 or web 109. any oppinions? the webs are way cheaper than the woods. 240 compared to 400 for the woods. i will be changing the vale springs but i will not pull the head. i am confident that i can do it that way. in the description for the web cams say they require shim underbucket valve springs required. do you have to run thoes or can you run just the dual springs? also can these cams be used with 11.5:1 piston without interference?

 

Saint,

Yes, you can run the 11.5:1 with no problem on either cam. Ron Wood does not have shim under bucket and they feel thier dual rates are fine and dandy. Web, on the other hand, have both dual rate and shim under bucket (depending on the cam you choose). I would say, to cover your butt, get at least the minumum spring the cam manufacturer recommends. Then, if there are problems (which are very rare) then you can always go back to the manufacturer. Personally, I've run both the dual rates and the shim underbucket. My opinion is that if you are thinking about running with a high performance spring, you should automattically get the shim underbucket, even with the Ron Wood cams. The main point being is that shim underbucket will work better, AND will be safer if you float the valves. I have shattered the dual rate springs and the shim underbucket springs and the dual rate cost me about $1800-$2000 in collateral damage. There was no collateral damage when the shim underbucket springs shattered.

I will also add that I think performance springs should be replaced every 1-2 riding seasons. After that, they will eventually fatigue and fail - if you don't want a lot of collateral damage, and you don't replace your valve springs that often, then not running the shim under bucket is asking for it.

Marky

 

whats involved in running the shim under bucket? anything special have to be done?

 

They are a little tougher to put in. Most people complain about the coating on the buckets that have to be buffed off in order for them to fit.

 

Good post IronRod!

Change the valve springs every 1-2 seasons is a great idea.

I have shim under bucket and had 3 of my valve springs go on me. Less than a year of use. Must have been a bad batch but, none of the springs came out of the head so the damage was minimal. She just wouldn't start!

Shim under is a top notch way to go!