In the spirit of making this board a bit more technical, I decided to link the thread below to point out a very important idea. And that is "Just because it is deemed Performance does NOT mean it will be reliable." We all know that this type of mentality holds true when you buy something cheap (ie. APC, Arospeed, Ractive, etc, etc). Well, here's an expensive product - Ti Retainers. Which ones are suspect? Below talks about Portflow, but Skunk2 and Crower retainers are also suspect. Actually, Skunk2 and Crower are actually of less quality versus Portflow.
http://www.honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=375441&page=1
So, what's the point of going with Ti Retainers? Here's Michael Delaney on the matter:
So, consider this post as a "Caveat Emptor" (Buyer Beware) when it comes to today's Ti Retainers.
http://www.honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=375441&page=1
So, what's the point of going with Ti Retainers? Here's Michael Delaney on the matter:
3 things to remember when it comes to retainer upgrade:
1. do you need to?...really..and be honest (i.e. high prolonged heat and 300 rpm extra on the redline)...this IS a race-only mod...if you hadn't noticed...
2. valvesprings you use with them for the cam is important: coil binding and valve float will beat the sh*t out of any retainer no matter how good...choose the WRONG valvesprings (inner and outer) and you shoot your big toe off....
3. pay attention to how the retainer is seated on install (flat and flush) and that the valvespring installed height is correct.
According to that thread by Chad over at honda-tech, Portflow Ti retainers are 6AL4V aero space quality grade.
I've heard no issues for Portflows by anyone using them over the past 8 years of moderating on various honda boards.
I would nitride coat them even though Tom Fujita says you don't have to simply because you are running a street engine not a race engine...these were meant to be replaced at a shorter interval not for your 60-100,000 mile street engine. Nitriding them will make them go longer up to 60,000 miles and prevent spring galling. I think I stated these last points before but here they are for the record (search) again. I don't use Ti retainers on my street engine...stock ones...with Toda cams and a 9300 rpm redline. I haven't run the engine hot enough to need them...as I do more lapping events in the future, I may decide to switch but I haven't done so to date. TITANIUM IS A SOFTER ALLOY. Why do you think we don't recommend ti valves, rods, and exhausts around here?....
So, consider this post as a "Caveat Emptor" (Buyer Beware) when it comes to today's Ti Retainers.