Hamilton Cams
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- Joined
- Jun 28, 2007
- Messages
- 2,639
Our new 12v springs and retainers will be released hopefully in late November. Every time I give a definite answer on relese date my manufacturer pushes production back for whatever reason. It is sad that even from manufacturers diesel is still not taken as seriously as Top Fuel, Nascar, Fast and furious, etc.
The reason I started looking at these springs is because some of my customers were spending a lot of moey on double and triple springs and machining to make it all work. After numerous requests, we started some research, and here is what we came up with. If you look at all of the mass in the valvetrain from the tappets, the pushrods, the rocker, spring and valve. add that up and divide by the spring pressure. THe mass vs. pressure on a 12v with 60lbs springs is similar to a 24v on the seat. The 24v starts to have float issues at around 3800 rpm and or 50 lbs of boost. I know a lot of guys that run 5k+ and 100psi plus with 60lbs. springs(145lbs on the seat) The only person that really stepped up and designed anything for the 12v valvetrain was Van Haisley. The Titanium retainers and 10 degree locks, definately addressed the mass issue and the fact that the locks no longer pulled through the retainers. But people are starting to reach the limits of what a 60lber can do efficiently. A lot of pullers are starting to go with a 1.940 intake and a 1.800 exhaust combine that with high-ratio rockers, and chromoly pushrods, at 5000 rpm you have a major valvetrain control problem.
First we looked at cam profiles for the 12v. Some of the pullers are running cams in the .350+ neighborhood combine this with a 1.8 ratio rocker and you get around .620" at the valve. This requires a very rigid valvespring to control the valvetrain, especially if a larger valve is used. Next factor in 5500rpm meaning the valve opens and closes 45.83 times per econd. That is the equivalent of opening once 28.44 inches and then closing once 28.44 inches in a second. All the while having to control valve bounce and harmonics. Also while having major boost applied to the valve face that robs the valve of closing force.
Because of high rpm harmonics and high lift cams the first thing we attacked was mass. A beehive spring has obvious benefits on controling harmonics and reducing mass on the end of the spring with the most linear motion. Next we looked at a cost effective retainer that used 10 degree locks. Originally we specified that the spring be designed around the LSX titanium retainers. because the were cheap and were readily available. After talking with my spring designer we decided that if we used a rigid 4140 chromoly we could cut size, weight and, cost considerable over the use of Ti LSX retainers. After the design phase we did a run of retainers. Factory retainers are around 40 grams, Haisley Ti retainers are around 24grams and the new Hamilton 4140 retainers are 11.8 grams. Combine that with another 10 or so gram reduction on the end of the spring that actually moves the most, for an almost 40 gram reduction in mass.
The next area for concern was to actually clear these high lift cams without coil bind. We decided to use a high quality ovate wire that will easily clear a .650" lift cam. With the size wire we used we were able to aquire 180lbs of seat pressure at 1.9". THe installed heighth was changed slightly when we redesigned the retainers and locks.
The next thing we had to tackle was to make them affordable and durable. We decided that to compete with the 60lb market they couldn't be sky high. We decided to come out with two versions.
Version one is a very high quality piece for the guys that run street and competition. It has all of the high quality features that our 24v springs have , and is a major upgrade to the 60 lb spring.
Version two has some added benefits in that it has undergone extra shot peen processes to reduce internal stresses and promote longer life under the harshest of conditions. THis spring is best suited for the guy that has a competition only truck with a super high lift cam and a lot of RPM's, but does not want to go to a triple spring setup. It is more expensive to produce, but it is well worth the extra for the High-end racer. If you are running a high lift cam with high ratio rockers, do yourself a favor and make sure you use an additive that replaces the zddp that big oil has recently taken out of diesel oil. Pressure is th same on both versions. Pressure at 1.9" will beabout 180lbs. at .600" lift pressure will be about 390lbs.
Stay tuned for release date!
Thanks for your interest,
Zach Hamilton
The reason I started looking at these springs is because some of my customers were spending a lot of moey on double and triple springs and machining to make it all work. After numerous requests, we started some research, and here is what we came up with. If you look at all of the mass in the valvetrain from the tappets, the pushrods, the rocker, spring and valve. add that up and divide by the spring pressure. THe mass vs. pressure on a 12v with 60lbs springs is similar to a 24v on the seat. The 24v starts to have float issues at around 3800 rpm and or 50 lbs of boost. I know a lot of guys that run 5k+ and 100psi plus with 60lbs. springs(145lbs on the seat) The only person that really stepped up and designed anything for the 12v valvetrain was Van Haisley. The Titanium retainers and 10 degree locks, definately addressed the mass issue and the fact that the locks no longer pulled through the retainers. But people are starting to reach the limits of what a 60lber can do efficiently. A lot of pullers are starting to go with a 1.940 intake and a 1.800 exhaust combine that with high-ratio rockers, and chromoly pushrods, at 5000 rpm you have a major valvetrain control problem.
First we looked at cam profiles for the 12v. Some of the pullers are running cams in the .350+ neighborhood combine this with a 1.8 ratio rocker and you get around .620" at the valve. This requires a very rigid valvespring to control the valvetrain, especially if a larger valve is used. Next factor in 5500rpm meaning the valve opens and closes 45.83 times per econd. That is the equivalent of opening once 28.44 inches and then closing once 28.44 inches in a second. All the while having to control valve bounce and harmonics. Also while having major boost applied to the valve face that robs the valve of closing force.
Because of high rpm harmonics and high lift cams the first thing we attacked was mass. A beehive spring has obvious benefits on controling harmonics and reducing mass on the end of the spring with the most linear motion. Next we looked at a cost effective retainer that used 10 degree locks. Originally we specified that the spring be designed around the LSX titanium retainers. because the were cheap and were readily available. After talking with my spring designer we decided that if we used a rigid 4140 chromoly we could cut size, weight and, cost considerable over the use of Ti LSX retainers. After the design phase we did a run of retainers. Factory retainers are around 40 grams, Haisley Ti retainers are around 24grams and the new Hamilton 4140 retainers are 11.8 grams. Combine that with another 10 or so gram reduction on the end of the spring that actually moves the most, for an almost 40 gram reduction in mass.
The next area for concern was to actually clear these high lift cams without coil bind. We decided to use a high quality ovate wire that will easily clear a .650" lift cam. With the size wire we used we were able to aquire 180lbs of seat pressure at 1.9". THe installed heighth was changed slightly when we redesigned the retainers and locks.
The next thing we had to tackle was to make them affordable and durable. We decided that to compete with the 60lb market they couldn't be sky high. We decided to come out with two versions.
Version one is a very high quality piece for the guys that run street and competition. It has all of the high quality features that our 24v springs have , and is a major upgrade to the 60 lb spring.
Version two has some added benefits in that it has undergone extra shot peen processes to reduce internal stresses and promote longer life under the harshest of conditions. THis spring is best suited for the guy that has a competition only truck with a super high lift cam and a lot of RPM's, but does not want to go to a triple spring setup. It is more expensive to produce, but it is well worth the extra for the High-end racer. If you are running a high lift cam with high ratio rockers, do yourself a favor and make sure you use an additive that replaces the zddp that big oil has recently taken out of diesel oil. Pressure is th same on both versions. Pressure at 1.9" will beabout 180lbs. at .600" lift pressure will be about 390lbs.
Stay tuned for release date!
Thanks for your interest,
Zach Hamilton
