Are titanium valve locks worth it?

I'm ordering new springs, retainers and locks for my early Hemi in the Drag Week hot rod. Looking for 8000 rpm capability. Comp recommends their tool steel retainer over Ti for this application due to durability and they are only a couple grams heavier.

But how about the locks? Steel locks weigh 8.5 grams vs. Ti locks at 4.5 grams for set.

Other than cost, is there any drawback to Ti?

Will 4 grams per valve make a difference?

Thanks,
Joel

hi joel , what brand + material + size valves are you running ? ronnie

2.205" TI intake valve 102g
1.800" SS exhaust valve 111g

exhaust pushrod 146g
intake pushrod 138 g
lifter pair with bar 294 g

Missle aluminum rocker arms 1.5 ratio I&E

I'm going to run the Comp dual cone springs 7245-16. Here is what comp cams tech said about the spring:

Johnathan Martin: They will seem very light for what you are used to. They are rated at 150 lbs @ 2.000" and 630 lbs @ 1.200". The spring rate is 600 lbs/in and coil bind is 1.115".
2020-06-12 14:47
Hemi Joel: You are right that seems light. Is there some characteristic in their design that allows them to perform better than what the pressures would indicate?
2020-06-12 14:49
Johnathan Martin: The conical design allows for this. How it works with this low of pressure is beyond my comprehension. But I have seen the data where they were tested on our most aggressive solid roller lobes up to 9000 rpm and they did not flinch at all.

Not what you’re asking but.......

If you look at the test Andy did on his 470 where he used those springs, he discovered the advertised spring loads were off a fair amount from the published specs.

They worked fine for him....... but the seat loads were much more “normal” for a roller than 150 on the seat.

My opinion is that you dont need them.. you can look at them when you get done on DW.. but there
are plenty of guys that are running them.. when I was gonna run DW I set up my engine with TI locks
and am still running them on the street
EDIT
If you dont float your valves you dont have any worries

If you have the dual conical springs on hand then test them. Be sure to test them with both the retainer and the cup that you are going to use. I think they require a stepped cup as well as a stepped retainer but it has been some time since I looked at them. Once you use the correct parts the spring rate will be much higher. I was on an email thread with several engineers at Comp including the head guy and they all eventually agreed that they had flubbed the spec in the catalog. Evidently they didn't test the springs with the correct cups and retainers or something. I think my numbers were closer to 200 on the seat. I'm pretty sure I listed all the info in the 470 dry sump thread.

I would do everything possible to reduce weight. I wonder if the spring recommendation takes in to account the exhaust rocker’s size and polar moment with the roller and adjuster so far from the fulcrum. Im not saying it won’t work... I honestly don’t know. That being said, if you are using the same spring on the exhaust as you are on the intake, you are either over-springing the intake, or under-springing the exhaust.
If this sounds wrong, let me know your opinions. I don’t have any real life experience with the early hemi, but this is the line of thinking with the one I’m putting together.

Trendz, this is completely unscientific, but the exhaust has less lift so it should balance out somewhat on the springs.

Andy, I just found and read your article, thanks. I'll defensively check installed pressures.

One disadvantage of the Ti locks is they are non magnetic.

I wouldn't use Ti locks unless I was forced to. I'd try it with the best steel parts available before I used Ti.

Joel,
Since I don't think you are planning on super high RPMs and you are already using the steel retainers (which I think are great), I would go with the steel locks.

While I have never had a Ti retainer fail I have had them start to gain installed height as the valve sunk into the retainer. The last engine I had that had Ti retainers did not have many runs on it when I went to the Comp steel retainers so perhaps the newer Ti stuff is better.