Stock 340 springs vs comp 901-16

nm9stheham said

Yes it will. But if you do not have a spring tester, then free length is all you have to check for spring weakening. Hey, I ain't gonna force you to believe anything.... but it is a parameter that has its uses.

The spring ends distort take up some extra compression distance when you first start to compress the spring; that makes the spring rate deviate from linear when you get close to free length. So taking the spring rate and the difference between free length and installed height won't compute out like when the spring is working in its linear range.

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I have a spring tester. When I didn’t, my machine shop or Jim at Racer Brown would let me check them on theirs. You better be in the spring’s linear rate between closed and open, or you are using the wrong spring. You better be in the ball park with recommended springs if your cam manufacturer does not give you the specs. There is no reason to check free length. Closed spring height should not be close to free length. High Performance valve springs are ground flat on the ends and are made of very high strength alloy steel. If you are building a High Performance engine, you better be checking everything, or trust someone is doing it for you. A lot of us can tell all kinds of horror stories of things we have found.