Even in the modern technological boom, some things are still considered exotic. One of those things is titanium valves. Luckily for us, Erson Cams is trying to make lightweight titanium valves more accessible by offering a variety of ready-to-go styles and sizes of valves made from the ultra-lightweight material.
Starting with a solid piece of aerospace-grade titanium, the valve is forged into its almost-final shape, making for a very strong, durable one-piece valve that comes in significantly lighter than any of the steel-based valve materials and designs. The forging is then precision machined for head shape, stem diameter and straightness, and valve face angle.
On the other side of the valve, a hardened-steel valve stem tip is affixed to the valve to stop galling and increase wear resistance, without the need to use a separate lash cap. For the keeper groove, Erson has chosen to go with a radial-style groove as is found in most high-end racing engines. The rounded design softens the impact on the valve lock groove under harsh, out-of-control valve events, and reduces valve-lock wear by up to 30 percent, according to Erson.
More than just a forged shape, the machine work on titanium valves has to be impeccable. The hardened tips prevent wear while eliminating the need for lash caps.
The entire valve is then coated in a PVD Chromium Nitride — or CrN — coating. CrN reduces wear significantly and prevents galling thanks to the increase in both hardness and lubricity of the valve surface after coating. This is a big advantage with titanium, as alone, it is softer and much more prone to wear than steel.
Erson’s titanium valves are available in sizes and designs for a range of high-performance cylinder heads, as well as several head shapes within each application, from flat-faced to radius-faced head designs. More information on Erson’s titanium valves, along with a full listing of available applications can be found on the company’s website.
