Beehive valvesprings on all roller 408 smallblock

Valve float can occur for a lot of reasons. But a big one is the spring harmonic. Bad harmonics can also break rockers, gall shafts, bend pushrods, and cause general mischief in addition to tearing up lifters and cam lobes. As I understand it, any spring has a certain rpm where the coils develop a harmonic and that vibration keeps the entire length of wire from functioning as a unit. That point is dependant on the cam lobe, spring wire diameter, overall spring diameter, and material. Because it's a harmonic with a certain frequency, it develops at even rpm intervals... Think like a driveshaft vibration that comes in at 40 and goes away, then comes back at 80, the goes away... Same deal. By adding the dampener, the frequency is delayed. Which is why a mild single spring can rev higher than a std spring. However, it doesnt remove the tendency for the harmonic to develop, it simply delays it. Eventually, it does come in and that is usually where the valve action gets uncontrolled and valve float occurs. This is why the inner spring (or springs) are wound differently. Each spring will have it's own rpm point. Put two or three together and you really delay the onset of it. The beehive design doesnt maintain a single outside diameter. So you bascially have different frequencies on the same spring, that tend to cancel each other out. So it's not a question of dampening, but rather offsetting the harmonics. So you really don't get to the point where the harmonic develops. Plus, you have less material in the retainer and lock, and smaller packaging.