Retainers and Locks

And since I’ve got some experts here on the subject, I’ve found some who have posted years back about people who claim to have used two or three groove locks on four groove stems to gain installed height. I know it wouldn’t work with the two groove locks I have unless the bottom of the lock where filed until the lower lock bead was removed. It appears that the lock groove distances are somewhat standardized. But I just can’t imagine that having an open groove in the valve below spring pressure without even the small amount of contact that the lock bead places on the top of the groove (and more importantly the Collet effect below the groove on the large diameter of the valve stem!) could be a good thing.