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Valve Springs and Spring Kits
Pontiac V8 Valve Springs and Spring Kits
Start With The Head — Valve Springs and Spring Kits for Pontiac V8s
Valve springs are the part that decides whether a Pontiac V8 valvetrain survives the cam you just bought. The spring has to close the valve without floating at your rpm ceiling, and it has to do that at the installed height your particular cylinder head actually gives you, without reaching coil bind at full lift.
Butler splits springs three ways: Stock Cast Iron Heads, Edelbrock, Ram Air IV and Super Duty heads, and custom install heights and pressures for everything past that. Brands include Comp Cams, Crower, Edelbrock, PAC, Howards and Butler's own DHP springs, plus complete Butler spring kits with retainers, locks, seals and shims.
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More About Valve Springs and Spring Kits
1. Which Of The Three Groups Are You In
The spring is chosen by the cylinder head first and the camshaft second, which is why this category is split the way it is.
| Stock cast iron heads | Pontiac cast iron castings generally work around a 1.600" installed height, and the spring pocket limits how much spring will physically fit. Butler's cast iron group covers flat tappet and hydraulic roller springs from Comp Cams, Crower and Howards, plus complete Butler spring kits. |
| Edelbrock, Ram Air IV and Super Duty heads | these run a taller installed height, commonly around 1.800", so the cast iron springs do not transfer. Butler's group here covers Comp Cams duals and beehives, Edelbrock Sure Seat springs, PAC beehives and Butler DHP duals. |
| Custom install heights and pressures | the deep end. Comp Cams Pacaloy and H-11 duals and PAC race springs live here, at installed heights from roughly 1.700" to 2.000" and seat loads far beyond anything a street rebuild needs. |
2. The Three Numbers That Matter
Every spring in this category is described by the same three figures, and they are the figures to compare.
| Seat pressure at installed height | what holds the valve shut. Listed as a load at a height, such as 155 lbs at 1.600". |
| Open pressure at open height | what controls the valvetrain at full lift, listed the same way. |
| Coil bind | the height at which the spring stacks solid. Butler publishes both the advertised coil bind and, on some springs, the actual measured coil bind with a specific retainer, because the two are not always the same number. |
3. Spring Alone Or Complete Kit
A spring change is never just springs, and that is what the Butler spring kits are for.
| What is in a Butler spring kit | valve springs, Comp retainers, Comp locks, Viton valve stem seals with the install tool, and an assortment of shims. |
| What you still have to check | installed height measured on your own head, retainer-to-seal clearance at full lift, and whether the spring pocket needs cutting for the spring you chose. |
| Checking springs | light checking springs let you cycle the valvetrain by hand to verify geometry and clearances before the real springs go in. |
Pick the group that matches your cylinder head, then bring us the cam card. Seat pressure, open pressure and coil bind all have to work with the lobe you are running, and matching those is the whole job.
Valve Springs- Custom Install Heights and Pressures Stock Cast Iron Heads
Not sure what your Pontiac needs?
Call our tech team at 866-762-7527. Tell us your engine, heads, car, and power goal, and we will put the parts together as one combination that works.