I should say first, that I may not have the experience with Valve Spring Compressors, or at least haven't used as many brands as many of you probably have. I've also never rebuilt an automobile engine. I have rebuilt a couple of single cylinder, 4-stroke, four-wheeler engines. Scale is different, but it's close enough.I can only compare the quality of the cheap E*ay set, that everyone seems to be familiar with, and the quality of this set and use the price of each for context. Hopefully, those of you with experience with many brands will be able to extrapolate my comparison for your own decisions.So, these are about 2-1/2 -- 3 times more expensive than the cheaper pair I referenced above.I could tell immediately that this set was more than 3 times better than the cheap set. At least for me. If I'm going to put the time into rebuilding an engine (or want to make sure my engine keeps running after a valve replacement), I don't want any forces, in the wrong direction. I'm a mechanical engineer and so have a pretty good understanding of unintended forces and the importance of the engine manufacturer's very narrow tolerances inside the engine. I only say that so that context is provided for my explanation as to why I do believe these are 3 times better than the cheap ones I mentioned.A "C" clamp style must stay as close to that shape, and not "open" during spring compression. The more it "opens", the higher the transverse force on your valves. I know enough to know that isn't a good thing. I don't know enough to know the point at which that turns damaging. Again though, if I'm going to spend the time rebuilding the engine, I'd rather not go with "probably ok". The "C" on the cheaper pair deflected noticeably more than these did. For someone like me, that's enough to make me wish I'd have just bought these a long time ago.On the cheap set, the final compression of the spring is done by threading the spring adapter down. I always hated that. It felt like a "willy-nilly" thing to be doing to a precision area. This one clamps the spring with lever-action. No rotation on the spring adapter, while it subtly changes its position on the keeper, just straight down compressed. I look back on me using the other type and am a little embarrassed.This is a more minor thing, but it's a pretty major topic so I think it's warranted. The other set always felt a little "loose" and "grindy". I can't explain that very well, but neither inspired a lot of confidence while I was, at the time, learning and doing "valve stuff". I can't say that it ever inspired a lot of confidence. This set feels "quality".In summary, these are at least 3 times the set that the cheap, $26-$29 set, is. If you've used the set I'm referring to and there's a hypothetical set for less than the cost of these compressors and that hypothetical set is 4x better than the very cheap set I keep referencing, then you should buy the hypothetical set.If you find a hypothetical set that is priced similarly to these but you think that the hypothetical set only 2x the quality of the cheap reference set, buy these.After that, I imagine we're getting into professional use tools. That's an area where I would just be guessing so I won't.Maybe naive, but I am impressed with this tool.

 

Solid works good

This kit is actually very comprehensive, and it is good quality. It's easy to get cheap or not very well made tool sets right now, and I would recommend spending a few extra bucks and getting this instead. It walks the line between affordable and good quality very well, and that is rare.