Big Block Billy

It is to everybody's understanding that beehive valve springs are the latest and greatest thing in valve spring technology.
But I also found out that they were actually on the Wright Brothers airplane in 1903 !
Why after 100 years did they suddenly emerge as a "revolutionary design" it just seems to show that that even big business and big thinkers can actually not have things right. Just like taking a test, the first answer to pop up in your head is the right answer. With all the work I do and with all the information available , more knowledge than ever, have people been more stupid and misled...
This is only just one area where" Higher educated people" have failed us. BBB

HARDCORE A/O

Yeah, I know what you mean. The best part is, I read somewhere that GM spent like 20 million! in R&D to develop this "new" spring technology for their GENIII engines and Comp followed suit. They seem to work though...

It's kinda like the "new" step-bottom technology which was introduced in the 90's. That's only been around from like when the sea-plane was invented!

Seems like the marine industry is always like several decades behind the aircraft industry.
So, I guess if we really want to be cutting edge, we need to look at the aircraft industry today. Now, If I could only find a way to shoehorn one of those new Aurora pulse-wave engines in my A/0, I figure she could do at least like Mach 1!!!

Iggy

It probably has more to do with manufacturing costs and profit margin than anything else. The "new" beehive springs may have been around for a long time but maybe a new manufacturing process has made the design profitable to make. A lot of good designs have come off the drawing boards over the years but most have proved to be too expensive to produce in large quantities.

SB

iTrader: (1)

Well, you could say that convential valve springs themselves have been around for more than a hundred years, but that does not mean that they are the same we are using now.

Most of the latest technologies that make valvesprings better are from manufacturing processes of the metal itself, then manufacturing of the spring, and also from highly advanced testing methods.

Beehives have their place, but like many things, they are not 'the one to have' for all applications.

See Peterson American Corp (term PAC or Pacaloy® may be familiar to you racers )
http://www.racingsprings.com/beehivesprings.htm

corporate page : http://www.pspring.com/default.asp