Perhaps the biggest enemy of all to making more power, is weight. In most cases weight slows things down, and makes other components work harder, resulting in a loss of efficiency. We often think about lightweight rotating assemblies, and driveline components. Another area where an engine can gain some more performance is through a weight reduction in the valvetrain. We recently talked with Ferrea’s Zeke Urrutia about the company’s latest valve technology offerings for LS engines.

Ferrea has offered its 6000 and Competition Plus series of valves for some time now. The 6000 series is aimed at the street performance crowd. These valves are good for naturally aspirated and mild power adders applications running a mild nitrous setup or 15-20 psi of boost. 6000 series valves also feature a CNC finish on the face of the valve and a swirl polish on the up side. 6000 series exhaust valves are constructed from a material similar to Inconel as well.

The latest development has been a new addition to the Competition Plus series. That is Ferrea’s new Competition Plus Hollow Stem valves. The Competiton plus series is already loaded with a variety of features making it popular on numerous LS engine builds. These valves are for high horsepower applications. The valves are manufactured from Ferrea’s proprietary Super Alloy material. The valve face is micro-polished, while the up side is swirl polished. The Super Alloy material can withstand temperatures of up to 2,400 degrees Farenheit. “These valves are intended for applications running high boost, multiple stages of nitrous, big turbos, that’s where we typically see the need for this type of material,” says Urrutia.

The Hollow Stem valves take the Competition Plus series one step further. These valves have had the stems gun drilled, opening up the inside of the stem area and reducing the weight of the valve by as much as 20 percent. Why would an enthusiast want a lighter valve in an engine? “The main benefit is weight. Due to the weight reduction there is an uptick in available engine RPM as well. The valve springs don’t have to work as hard. That’s not to say that the spring pressure should be backed off, but with less weight, the spring can act faster, and a lot of stress is alleviated from the spring. If a LS engine build were able to spin to around 8,000 rpm with our standard Competition Plus series valves, then that same engine should be able to spin an additional 300-400 more rpm. The increase in available rpm will in many cases result in an increase in available horsepower,” says Urrutia.

While an increase in rpm, and lighter valvetrain are good, Urrutia cautions that the hollow stem valves are not ideal for every application. “These are not well suited for high boost applications, in those instances engine builders will probably want to stay with a solid stem valve.” However, if naturally aspirated is or even a mild power adders is in your engine build plans, this could be the ticket to making a few more precious horsepower.

Urrutia advises that before ordering valvetrain components, its a good idea to contact Ferrea directly and discuss the engine build plans. This will allow Ferrea to make the best possible valve recommendation to the customer or engine builder for the specific application.

Ferrea offers the 6000 series, Competition Plus, and Competiton Plus Hollow Valve stem, series valves in variety of sizes for LS engines. This includes offering the competition plus series in 0.100 over OEM lengths. For more information on the right valves for your next engine build, contact Ferrea.