DanielB

I have to disagree with you on this. No disrespect intended to Ferrea or any other aftermarket part provider, but parts don't operate in a vacuum, they work as part of a system. Honda designed and tested the system (engine, and head/valve assembly in this case) and probably tested over thousands of hours of use. Typically an aftermarket provider takes the OEM design and makes changes that they think will make it better. After that, they do some limited testing but they can't afford to do anywhere near as much as the OEM. In case you don't work in a product development company, testing costs a lot of money - and it's often where corners are cut, especially in the aftermarket world because the development budget is so much smaller.

Not saying you shouldn't play around with non-OEM parts - that's your choice for sure and can be a lot of fun. But it's unlikely that you're going to make your engine more reliable - likely just the opposite will occur as Billman's original post shows.

One last thing: my very limited experience around engines used in race conditions is that they are usually designed to last for a limited time - typically measured in hours - before they need to be rebuilt. The tradeoff is getting the most performance out of the engine vs. longevity. Again, modifying an engine to gain more power is fun, but it's unlikely that you're going to match or improve on its longevity and reliability - unless, of course, you are correcting a design flaw.

Sobe_Death

Bloody hell! Those valve tips look like the lash was never correctly set. I have seen OEM valves that look like that before, but the rocker tips were also severely pitted from repeated impacts due to excessive clearances. They might only be .004" out now, but I'd be willing to bet they were much looser.

How about those retainers? Did they show any galling at the spring interface?

Alloyicon19

Excellent. Good to hear. Thank you Billman250!
So with stock F20C valve train components its simply the proper S2000 valve lash adjustment maintenance intervals are not preformed early (in the first 10-15k miles) and often that has given to the misinformation that the OEM valve guides wear premature.
Nature of the beast that with our high reving F20C/F22C1 engines comes decreased valve adjustment intervals.

Thanks again Billman250 for the pictures and to all who contribute to our S2Ki community

rpg51

I'm going to adjust my ap1 valves for the first time (20K) tomorrow. We shall see.

92gli

I find it hard to believe that people keep ignoring the guy who has torn apart more of these motors than anyone else on the planet when he says the aftermarket valves and ti retainers are junk. That shop on the west coast is really good at selling people this crap. Lol.

windhund116

Isn't Honda reliability one of its biggest selling points? Cars, bikes, lawn mowers, generators? I'd think proper maintenance and using OEM parts is always the way to go with this company's products.

Billman250

Follow this simple rule: Leave your engine 100% oem, and keep your valve clearance maintained.

Enjoy driving, and racing, your car.

See how many miles these engines are truly capable of when they are 100% oem. The guides, and other parts, are only as good as their environment (maintenance)

This is a common occurrence with aftermarket head parts. Making a valve "bendable" also makes a valve wearable


Good drivers who know how to shift wont need bendable parts in the engine. That is some serious skewed logic.

Lets talk about "gains". What are you gaining by removing indestructible oem parts and installing aftermarket valves? Bragging rights?

LeonV

There are so many misconceptions about running aftermarket parts, in that almost everyone thinks they're better. Why? Well XYZ Company told them so.

I've spent enough years working with aftermarket parts to know better, as Billman clearly has as well...

jyeung528

i have aftermarket valve guides. =(

Car Analogy

One problem is people come to the S from other platforms where you have to replace oem parts with aftermarket to get performance or reliability. So they just assume what worked before will work here, will be required here.

Perfect example, strut tower braces...