To the OP: Because they work better that way.

How do we know? Spend enough hours with a Spintron and you'll see it too. It's ironic because growing up it was "Keep the spring away from coil bind, 0.060" is as tight as you should ever be." I bet you could find 100 examples of that thinking in magazines and books and catalogs.

The other thing is it is very much rpm-related. So for a street engine that is never going to see over 5000 rpm I'd think it was much less important.

R.