Comp Cams Beehive Springs?

[TWISTEDLTX]

OK i have a custom comp cams 248/270 .610/.610 on a 106 lsa 108 intake center line, Cam power range from 3500rpm - 7000rpm, built for NOS. i bought off a guy online. I have a NOS 355 carbed lt1 with afr 195cc lt4 heads, 10.5 to 1 compression. the springs i have on the heads now wont hold the lift so i bought a set of Comp Cams beehive 26986-16 springs (650 lift). As soon as i get them my buddy tells me the horror storys about them. I messed up part is that i lost the invoice and cant return them. I did some research and found people that like them and some dont. I really dont feel like spending another $300 on springs when i have these laying around.
What do u guys think, should i run the beehives?

Thanks, JOn

[TA the destroyer]

ive only heard of a couple storys of them breaking, but enough to get peoples attention. i run beehives springs and love them, never had a problem with them. alot of poeple run pariot gold springs, havnt heard anything bad about those yet.

your compression seems a bit low for such a large cam.........

[Dangalla]

what your friend is referring to is an issue that comp had when they switched from pac to another supplier, and it was only for a short time about 3 years ago. your springs should be fine

i have had good luck with mine, but i have been told they are very hard to set up properly, so make sure you have the right tool and check your installed heights carefully

[1963SS]

I used the Beehives on a XFI grind comp cam and they were terrible. The cam ate the spring pressure right up and after 3000 miles I think my ballpoint pen spring could have made more seat pressure. Comp recommended these and they were a complete joke. The engine got noiser and noiser each month and finally I overrevved a bit and the beehives gave up the ghost. 2 LS7 lifters fell apart, valves floated engine wasn't hurt though. LLoyd Elliot recommends the Patriot Gold springs for this lobe profile and I now rev to 6500 with no noise or problems. This may just be my experience and opinion but I think they suck. Good luck with yur choice.

[TWISTEDLTX]

ive only heard of a couple storys of them breaking, but enough to get peoples attention. i run beehives springs and love them, never had a problem with them. alot of poeple run pariot gold springs, havnt heard anything bad about those yet.

your compression seems a bit low for such a large cam.........

Its alil over 10.5 to 1 almost 11.1. The guy i bought it from had just about the same setup i have. I switched to carb cause it went into a g-body. My f-body went up in flames

[TWISTEDLTX]

I used the Beehives on a XFI grind comp cam and they were terrible. The cam ate the spring pressure right up and after 3000 miles I think my ballpoint pen spring could have made more seat pressure. Comp recommended these and they were a complete joke. The engine got noiser and noiser each month and finally I overrevved a bit and the beehives gave up the ghost. 2 LS7 lifters fell apart, valves floated engine wasn't hurt though. LLoyd Elliot recommends the Patriot Gold springs for this lobe profile and I now rev to 6500 with no noise or problems. This may just be my experience and opinion but I think they suck. Good luck with yur choice.

I have an XFI cam 584/579 in it now but the car is carbed now and the cam i bought was made for a carbed lt1. thats the thing everyone has had some issues and some havent. im just trying to use what i have. thanks for ur opinion

[1963SS]

I used these Beehives first, they were the earlier ones and they were terrible from the start with the XFI lobes.
headpics001-1..jpg

Then I upgraded to the latest, greatest Beehives and they are the ones that worked OK at first but soon died. These were the ones that appeared to be peened or shot blasted.
headpics017..jpg

Here's the new engine, LT4 with a solid roller/ 12:1/ and it's been running at the top end of the Optispark's limits in my Impala. I don't expect it to float a valve. This one should be making about 550 crank horsepower and I'm going to put it in a 95 Corvette ragtop that I just bought in December. Waiting on headers and a torque converter. The old 420 RWHP hydraulic engine is going back in the Impala. The LT4 engine has the LT4/LE3 heads (215 cc) and doesn't have the torque of the old hydraulic engine. I've not had it on a dyno but I know the torque isn't as good as the old LE2 engine. It will have more than enough torque for a 3300# Vette but the 4400# Impala wants more.
engine004..jpg

No more Opti, what a shame.
engine005..jpg

Again, I've been there and done what you are going to attempt. The Beehives worked well for a while and maybe the folks that didn't have trouble with them were not running the dog snot out of them on a regular basis. I revved to 6500+ with that engine, maybe they didn't. If your going to expect to see 7000 RPM definately get a dyno tune and keep an eye on them. I threw them in the trashcan and wouldn't even sell them on E-bay. I couldn't screw someone like that. Good luck with your build and be ready to wear the biggest grin you've ever had.

[Dangalla]

there are a TON of people running these springs with absolutely no issues at all, none

i am very sorry to hear that you had these issues, but its not very common at all

[1963SS]

[QUOTEthere are a TON of people running these springs with absolutely no issues at all, none

i am very sorry to hear that you had these issues, but its not very common at all ][/QUOTE]

I guess not then but when talking to the fine folk at AI or Lloyd Elliot (Both know more than me) they say that these springs will not work for very long at high aggressive ramp rates. The OP stated that he had a XFI gring and maybe the "ton of people" that have no problems are not running that grind. A mild ramp is much easier on the springs and is probably why no problems exist in some applications. I KNOW for a fact that neither set of these springs worked for ME on MY XFI cam lobes and after all that was what the OP was asking about.

[Dangalla]

I guess not then but when talking to the fine folk at AI or Lloyd Elliot (Both know more than me) they say that these springs will not work for very long at high aggressive ramp rates. |

just so you know these are standard on both ai and le heads

my cam has just as much lift and less duration, and so does every other le2 set up out there.

i really dont care, but feel free to show us any other examples of the failure you speak of, if you can find any - and i am not talking about the broken spring issue from years ago