They are similar in design...all the LSx duals are. The big difference is the wire used for them, the aging process, and then some differences in the "secret" specs. I don't know many of the "secret" specs, and am no valve spring engineer by any means, but can say that alot more goes into making on than just coiling the wire. They can change the way they react to certain resonance frequencies and all with minute changes, which has massive effects on spring life and durability.

I am definitely partial to dual springs after having seen what the failure of a beehive can do! But, PAC's until very recently have had a virtually untarnished record as far as breakages go. I still wouldn't hesitate to run their 1518 if their people told me the issues have been corrected with prior batches.

 

care to go more in depth about whats in the bold? I know of two pac spring breakages off of this site, but dont think they were what id call very recent.. One was a 1218, and the other a 1518 i think that pac took care of themselves.

 

There's quite a few threads on LS1tech...but the short story is PAC has been sending replacement 1518's out for a few "bad" batches of those springs from earlier this year or late last year. More were breaking in the Hemi engines, but there were handfuls broken in the LSx's as well.

 

Just went and looked, yes looks like its only pertaining to the 1518s and was just a few. Good to see they caught it and are taking care of it like what should happen..

 

No worries Kevin, it's all good

Yea, my dad was telling me about how the different processes affect the way a spring reacts. I wonder if Patriot's "secret recipe" has anything to do with why I've seen a few of their Golds flatten out cam lobes...

I was really bummed to hear about the 1518 failures of late (I saw the threads on Tech also), as I'm a big PAC advocate, and as you mentioned they've had a near perfect track record until recently.

My pop isn't a fan of beehive springs in general, but absolutely loves titanium retainers, and told me that he uses them on all of his race engines...can't remember what manufacturer he uses. He doesn't build too many GENIII engines that I'm aware of though, so the old school Chevy/Ford/Mopars that he's building may be a different story. I told him how the beehive is actually factory equipment on the GENIII's (which he already knew), and that I know of a ton of guys running beehives with great results and he just shook his head up and down lol.

 

You'd be surprised how many are at funky installed heights due to improper retainer machining too! If people actually checked this stuff and the general public was more educated about the issues there, they'd sell ALOT fewer spring kits! Also, check free height on their springs after a handful of thousands of miles, and you'd be amazed how much they sag and loose height/pressure over time! That was one of the reasons we got away from offering their stuff back in the day and started PRC to offer a better product and have the quality control in house!

 

Excellent info Matt, and I totally agree. Most folks just buy springs and slap them in, then never worry about them again unless they have a problem. From what my dad tells me, Patriot needs to spend less on marketing and more on product quality. It's really a shame, as I know that there are a lot of guys running their springs because of their pretty description and packaging.

 

Just placed my order for the .650 PRC spring kit. Which ones will i actually be recieving Matt? I know this post is a little out dated so i wanted to check with you.

 

I recently picked up a set of the PRC EHT .675 valve springs.
I had PP Golds fail as well...HOWEVER, they came on a set of used PP heads I bought and installed 62K miles ago!

I resemble that comment!

 

you mean to say you got over 62k on a set of springs?