Editor’s Note: Here is the second of what we hope will be many vendor profiles, highlighting the brands and people that make our company the go-to partner for sales and distribution of high performance auto racing parts and merchandise. Today we’re pleased to feature Performance Springs Inc. (PSI), out of New Hudson, Michigan, a company that is every bit as passionate about introducing the latest technology to the auto racing community as we are. To say PSI changed the NASCAR racing scene is an understatement.
It didn’t take long for PSI to become an industry leader in valve spring applications after its founding back in 1996. NASCAR rules had already placed a ceiling on the horsepower of race engines, which meant engineers had to look to other areas of the engine for additional speed. This concerted search for more power came at a time when the quality of auto racing valve springs was in question. These cast curlicue devices were a serious limiting factor when it came to engine RPMs.
PSI joined in that search for improved power, becoming part of an industry-wide competition that would drive racecar engineers for the next half-dozen years. But what PSI’s engineers knew for sure was that most engine failures at the time were the result of broken valve springs. It was the one major weakness when it came to the design of race engines.
Realizing that the single valve spring has one of the most strenuous jobs in the engine compartment, PSI’s engineers began tinkering around with ways to increase the strength and fatigue resistance of its springs. That led to the development of not only stronger valve springs, but also more compact springs. The fact is that today most of PSI’s valve springs are half the diameter of the ones produced back in the late 1980s.
And they’re stronger after decades of improvement — the result of engineers targeting the task of reducing the number and size of microscopic flaws in the metals used to produce these springs. To achieve these outcomes, PSI’s employees took each spring through a nearly 50-step treatment process. The result was to present to race teams the ability to achieve unprecedented power in their machines without violating NASCAR’s very strict rules on engine development.
Today, PSI uses state-of-the-art CNC equipment to ensure that its valve springs are held to the tightest tolerances in the industry. All of its springs are 100 percent load tested in house with strict quality control procedures at each stage of production.
Here at CV Products, we partner with PSI in the marketing and sales of more than 80 PSI valve springs. Among our offerings:
PSI’s 1000 Series: This valve spring series launched PSI as a leader in the performance market. With the advent of time and technology, the 1000 Series springs have become the workhorse for the racecar driver or team on a budget, offering excellent strength and dynamic stability.
PSI 1200 Series Valve Spring
1200 Series: Building on the success of the 1000 Series, the 1200 Series employs advanced heat-treating operations that increase the strength of the base materials. This in turn improves the fatigue limit of the wire and offers better resistance to load loss, pushing the valve train set-up to the next level.
1500 Series: What makes this series special is PSI’s nitriding process, which increases the strength at the surface of the wire while causing a slight softening of the core material. This trade-off in hardness increases endurance for the circle track and road circuit teams who are limited by the onset of fatigue at the wire surface.
In addition, PSI uses Max Life Series Preparation (ML), which is a surface enhancement process that increases spring endurance. Available on any of PSI’s springs, this preparation benefits those who want improved endurance with their current engine setup.
The valve spring company also offers its RML Series that offers the latest advancements in valve spring material technology to create the ultimate high-strength material used in drag racing. The RML series valve springs have been tested by many of the top drag race teams and has been shown to provide the ultimate load retention capability available.
Below is a link to PSI products that are available on our CV products website: http://www.cvproducts.com/Products.aspx?Search=psi&CATID=10000252
