Best Bronze Valve Guide Materials?

Can anyone give me a run-down on various guide materials and their particular benefits/downsides? I've seen Manganese-bronze, Silicon-bronze, aluminum-bronze and phosphor-bronze, but I wouldn't know which is best for any given situation!

Do some work better with different valve stem alloys (like stainless, chrome, ceramic or TiN? If so, which is compatable with which? How will the cold clearance differ with each material and how do you go about deciding what it should be in the first place?

Thanks for any info you can provide.

 

[MaxRaceSoftware]

Manganese-bronze, Silicon-bronze, aluminum-bronze and phosphor-bronze, but I wouldn't know which is best for any given situation!
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Phosphor-Bronze alloy guides work the best in my experience
can be fitted extremely tight if you like, never gall,
excellent waer characteristics

Manganese (2nd )

and don't use Silicon-Bronze-Aluminum guides !

Larry Meaux (maxracesoftware@yahoo.com)
Meaux Racing Heads - MaxRace Software
ET_Analyst for DragRacers

http://www.maxracesoftware.com

Support Israel - Genesis 12:3

 

[ZoRG]

What grade of phosphor bronze is best to use?

 

[ZoRG]

And when you say tight clearance, how tight?

 

[MaxRaceSoftware]

What grade of phosphor bronze is best to use?
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good question

i just use KLine's Phosphor/Bronze alloy
and sometimes use solid guides from Brodix
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And when you say tight clearance, how tight?

Scary tight seriously, what made me start using Phosphor/Bronze alloy guides was all the problems with silicone/bronze/aluminum alloy guides ...Larry Tores who makes shaft mounted rockers (T & D) sent a Buick V6 to us to run Buick V6 in Comp Emiminator in 1980's ...when i disassembled the Dart/Buick alum V6 heads they had Phosphor/Bronze alloy guides ...i had to take a plastic hammer and knock all the valves out of the guides ..thats how tight they were...and thats after Tores Dyno tested engine and ran engine in his Opel.

This was 9000+ RPM engine ..after seeing how tight guides
could be fitted with this alloy type...i installed Phosphor/Bronze alloy guides from that day

when you fit guides that tight, your valve job has to be dead on center...give valves a little extra clearance if you think you can't get perfectly centered seat angles without runout.

i fit Phosphor guides with .001 on Intakes and .0015 on Exhaust..i haven't tried to fit them as tight as the heads Larry Tores did .




Larry Meaux (maxracesoftware@yahoo.com)
Meaux Racing Heads - MaxRace Software
ET_Analyst for DragRacers
Support Israel - Genesis 12:3