wadzii

oem is not nearly as strong as TI and they are not machined to properly locate dual springs, stock stuff is a single spring.

Bugsy

The rocker wipes the stem just slightly off center. This causes the valve and spring assembly to rotate a very tiny bit so as to not develop wear patterns in the valve. Usual design calls for hard shim under the spring to prevent it from galling into the head over time and to adjust for wear / seat pressure / and coil binding.

wadzii

on a v8 with flat tappet cams and lifters the lifter is made at a slight angle so it spins. Honda's dont do that.. they dont use pushrods.

Bugsy

You sir, are mistaken, but entitled to your opinion.
It really doesn't matter whether it is shim over / under bucket, rocker, forked rocker, etc...
The push is always slightly off exact center to give it a nudge. You'll need a high speed camera to "see" it.
I've built engines for decades. I'm entitled to what I've seen and learned, as are you.
I also recall that the spring itself as it contracts and expands often imparts spin even with roller tip that have very little wiping action.
I've been wrong before, but there are not many configurations out there that don't spin.
OP, good luck with the repair.

92gli

You can't make a blanket statement that "oem is not as strong as ti" without backing it up with metal composition and fatigue testing info. There are many different formulas of steel and ti. Some of which would be good for this application and some that arent. Lets face facts - not that many aftermarket companies have really done the homework they should. Clearly the ti used for the OP's retainers was prone to chipping. Specifying a greater thickness at the outer perimeter might have gone a long way, but it looks like they just copied the taper of the oem piece.

HondaS

am i going to run into any problem going to a lesser spring force. i mean my valves are used to being pushed up with 2 springs into the valve seat. and if i go back to stock springs am i going to run into problems with the valves seating?

wadzii

if the springs spun you'd see obvious signs of it on the spring seats.. I have 100 spring seats from all sorts of motors with no signs of anything spinning. I have tons of valves here with no signs of the valves spinning in the retainer.

HondaS.. going back to stock stuff wont hurt anything.

Billman250

Ti may be stronger on paper, but the facts shown over the years don't lie.

AP2 retainers will easily last more miles than the engine is capable of. They have proven the ultimate in reliability.

Unless you plan on spinning over 9k (which is pointless) use oem parts and your problems will be over.

No engine I build gets anything but oem for one simple reason, the car will never return with problems. Ever.

Bugsy

Here's a nice vid of a engine cutaway at rpm.
FF to about 4min.
You'll see valve spin.
It's a good thing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuWiZ5nVKzA

HondaS

Just an update its been 15k miles since i swapped everything out for oem and its been running great. It passed smog with flying colors and the tech assumed i changed the cat out because thats what he was sure was wrong with my car when it failed.

It blows my mind at how easily this could have become catastrophic. If I would have let the shop do diagnostic, change out my cat and pass smog I would have never found this problem.