i heard about a set of valve spring from comp cams i believe that goes onto the vortec heads w/o any machinig need for a cam over .500 lift i was told it was in a car craft mag but on the carcraft web site i find nothing on it does anyone know what valve springs i am trying to find?

I was under the impression that it isn't a coil bind problem but rather an interference problem. The retainer hitting the guide. BillK will know for sure.

I have heard of some retainers and seals that will give some extra clearance over stock ones, but I have heard different stories about how much.

you might do a search. their have been a BUNCH of posts on getting more valve lift w/ vortecs.

Seems like there would be a good market for someone offering a set of springs/retainers/seals to give more clearance for vortecs.

You need .050" offset locks if I remember correctly. Z28 springs will fit stock heads and go .525" lift.

If you use the z-28 springs throw away the inner dampners. The tend to break and damage the stem seals. I was told that they only are worth about 10lbs of pressure. This happened to me and I saw no diminished performance from the springs

Don't throw away the dampners. They are there to suppress harmonic resonance in the springs. I don't know about breakage but they are a essential part of the spring.

Originally posted by Mello Yellow:
If you use the z-28 springs throw away the inner dampners. The tend to break and damage the stem seals. I was told that they only are worth about 10lbs of pressure. This happened to me and I saw no diminished performance from the springs As Pat stated, the purpose of the dampner is not for added spring pressure it is a dampner.
Only time I have seen a breakage problem is with the wrong retainer that cased the dampner to coil bind.

Also, the Z28 spring won't fit on all Vortecs.
Some need the guide boss machined down.
If you change to an early style retainer & Z28 spring or the LT4 spring/retainer kit you should be good to a little over .500

All I can say is that this occured on a set of updated Vortec heads I purchased from one of the Performance Chevy dealers and they stated to me that this is a common occurance with that spring. They recommended to remove the dampner. I elected to go to a better quality spring. I just wanted to let him know what had occured to me with the $1.00 z-28 spring