Valve springs, 5.3 ?

[crazy longhorn]

Can you guys educate me on a valve spring upgrade, for my 5.3? She is running the stock cam (for now), but may be subject for change later. The truck is a street toy, no racing...just "spirited" street fun! Longhorn

[tinydb84]

I want to see pics of this truck! (the signature on the bottom sounds amazing)

Depends on the cam you are going with. If it is mild you can do the LS6 springs cheap. Look into Brian Tooley behives next or comp 918's.

If you are going radical look at a set of dual springs. The only issue is that you will have to test the seat pressure much more frequently with the more aggressive cam/spring set up

[crazy longhorn]

I am looking @ mild on the cam, no more than .525 lift (GMPP Ls hot cam, or a little tamer, the HO 5.3 cam). They both look in that .525 range lift, but quite a diff in duration. My guess is that the HO cam would be the ticket, for a smaller engine/stock head combo (tork/mileage). I see Jegs carries the GMPP "blue" springs for around $70....was that the Ls 6 spring you were talking about? As far as the truck, she is still an old primered rod.....there were pics on Web shots, but I think they have been deleted? Punch in Illinios Longhorn, & you will find a U tube walk around on the truck . Its dark, but you get a little idea what has been done, & a little sound clip @ idle. Thanks, Longhorn

[tinydb84]

Yep those are the springs. Look on the ls1tech forums and there are a number of people cam'ing the 5.3's with dyno results.

I'll look for your truck too

[bohmankid]

If going mild on the cam, wouldn't an LS6 cam and spring package suffice? How cheap are they?
If wanting more power later, I believe it'll handle boost great.

[tinydb84]

Originally Posted by bohmankid

If going mild on the cam, wouldn't an LS6 cam and spring package suffice? How cheap are they?
If wanting more power later, I believe it'll handle boost great.

I have a ls6 cam for my 5.3 because it was cheap (180 delivered/ebay) and I am using springs off my brothers 243 heads he isnt oging to use.

There is a guy on the C10 board that used that cam and home ported the heads and made 325 to the rear through a 4l80

[Rufton]

Higher the spring rate equals higher valve train wear.
I would install correct springs for current cam and upgrade springs when upgrade cam.
Sorry for stating obvious.

[BR3W CITY]

DOn't run the comp 918's, they've had a number of bad batches that got brittle and break, even when broke in properly.

As its been said you can pick up a takeout cam and springs
here is the GM listing for some of the cams and springs you can easily find cheap
#12560950 LS6,G3; 207/217 525/525 116 use valve spring 12556513 (LS6)
#12480110 LS1,G3; 226/236 525/525 110 use valve spring 12556513 (LS6)
#12480033 Hotcam; 219/228 525/525 112 use valve spring 12565117
#12565308 LS6 (02-04); 204/218 550/550 117.5 use valve spring 12556513 (LS6)
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I would caution against running a beehive or dual spring because you won't need the extra closing force, and you may end up with excess wear and possibly stuck valves.

[clinebarger]

Stock '01 LS6 cams work pretty good on 5.3L's

Duration at .050"
Intake 204 Degrees
Exhaust 211 Degrees

Lift .525/.525
Intake Centerline 118 Degrees
Exhaust Centerline 114 Degrees
LSA 116 Degrees

GMPP Blue or Yellow springs will work with this & the HOT Cam.

[softballnrd27]

The Asa cam has a very noticeable idle, I loved the way it sounded but never got any seat time with it. If I had it to do over I would go hot cam or possibly even get one custom ground for my application.
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[66C06]

Originally Posted by Rufton

Higher the spring rate equals higher valve train wear.
I would install correct springs for current cam and upgrade springs when upgrade cam.
Sorry for stating obvious.

not true..

OP: Ls6 springs are good for the majority of mild cams as long as lift doesn't exceed .600 If it does you may have and issue with the springs binding and possibly breaking. Don't worry, higher rate springs will only cause problems if not mated with the correct cam or not installed correctly with the correct length pushrods. Check out texas speed's webpage. They have a cam package called the torquer v.2 and it comes with springs for the cam and hardened pushrods. My experience with this cam is that it makes great lowend-to mid range torque and doesn't sacrifice drive ability or top end power. My zo6 has 246/256 cam @ .650 lift 112lsa. I went with a .675 lift spring due to the fact that the cam is so aggressive and the spring is rated for .650 lift and my cam is a .650 lift cam. Never hurts to have a little more spring. I can run it hard to red line and do 200+ with no issues.

[crazy longhorn]

Many thanks to all It looks like the truck springs are around 76 #lbs on the seat, & 220 open @ .470 on the lift. I wouldn't think that the yellow or blue spring would hurt too much on the stock cam? They list @ #90 lb seat....around 265 open @ .525-.550 on the lift? Maybe just give the edge on a couple hundred more revs? Any thoughts on the stock retainers/keepers, as well as the pushrods(57-5800 rpm line)? Longhorn

[66C06]

Originally Posted by crazy longhorn

Many thanks to all It looks like the truck springs are around 76 #lbs on the seat, & 220 open @ .470 on the lift. I wouldn't think that the yellow or blue spring would hurt too much on the stock cam? They list @ #90 lb seat....around 265 open @ .525-.550 on the lift? Maybe just give the edge on a couple hundred more revs? Any thoughts on the stock retainers/keepers, as well as the pushrods(57-5800 rpm line)? Longhorn

ls6 springs should be fine for the stock cam. I would replace the retainers and what not with factory stuff if not going extreme...If you can find a set of aftermarket pushrods, retainers, etc for a reasonable price go for it.

[Jon01]

I wouldn't run LS6/2/3 springs on anything but an OEM stock (LS6/ASA) cam. They may be rated for the lift some smaller aftermarket units run but they do not handle the aggressive ramp rates well.
Stock retainers are fine with LS6/2/3 springs.

All of my stuff gets good valve springs. BTR duals, Ti retainers, moly pushrods.
I turn them to 7200+ regularly, lightweight valvetrain is a must.

[Rufton]

Originally Posted by 66C06

not true..

I'm gonna have to agree to disagree on that one.
If take spring rates to higher limit. Say 100,000 lbs/in. The valve train will wear faster than spring at 100 lbs/in. Can extrapolate argument to real world spring rates. In the real world I've seen stiff springs wear valve stems/guides/PR etc. faster than OEM.

[BR3W CITY]

Google "flattened cam lobes"
Valve train wear can get ugly.
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[Jon01]

LS motors have roller cams. Camshaft wear is a non-issue unless you have a lifter come apart.

That being said, I've fought it with old FT motors in my GN and the motor in the Charger. Valve springs were the culprit on the GN, Charger was a poor hardening job on the core from Comp.

[crazy longhorn]

Once again, many thanks to all Longhorn