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I have a fairly aggressive Lunati hydraulic flat tappet cam in my 454 NOM in my 68 convert. I am going to change to a roller cam and need to decide whether to go with a hydraulic lifter or solid lifter version. I have used solid lifter cams in a couple other cars and do not mind having to periodically re-set the valve lash. For those who have a solid lifter roller cam, approximately how often do you need to adjust the valve lash? For those who have used both a hydraulic and solid lifter cam in the same motor, how much additional hp did you get using the solid lifter cam?
2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (performance mods)
2019 C3 of Year Winner (performance mods)
2016 C3 of Year Finalist
You’ll like this...Retro roller hydraulic cam with polylocks. Solid roller lifters with 1.6 roller rockers. I adjusted as Comp Cams recommended as trying .006 and warming it up. With the aluminum heads they say to expect the gap to open .012 to .016. It rattled a little so I tried .004 Same results so then instead of trying to mess with .002 I zero lashed them so the pushrod touches but turns easily. Been running them for 5000 miles without having to relash. My cam is hydraulic so the ramps arent as steep so it isnt as much of a beating on the solid rollers. Its .520/.540 so with the 1.6 rollers its .555/.575. She runs great with the Sniper EFI and an old TM-1 Tarantula intake port matched to my heads. I opened them up and blended them quite a bit. Over 500 hp out of a little 327. Its not much of a surprise thats its possible now a days with the LS motors being the same size (5.3 L) and able to put out that much with a cam swap as well
13.0 sec at 108 mph. Need a helmet now and get a better launch. That was with a 3.55 rear end instead of my 3.70. If I can keep the 3.70 from spinnning in the first 2 gears I should be better too
Solid rollers tend to have some durability issues if doing a lot of street miles from what I've read, they tend to beat up the rollers themselves due to the lash. That was my reason for sticking with hydraulic roller, as I drive my car a lot. I too have had solid flat tappet motors and don't mind (even quite enjoy) the process of checking / setting the clearances when required, but the street durability of solid roller lifters put me off the idea when I last researched it.
2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (performance mods)
2019 C3 of Year Winner (performance mods)
2016 C3 of Year Finalist
You’ll like this...Retro roller hydraulic cam with polylocks. Solid roller lifters with 1.6 roller rockers. I adjusted as Comp Cams recommended as trying .006 and warming it up. With the aluminum heads they say to expect the gap to open .012 to .016. It rattled a little so I tried .004 Same results so then instead of trying to mess with .002 I zero lashed them so the pushrod touches but turns easily. Been running them for 5000 miles without having to relash. My cam is hydraulic so the ramps arent as steep so it isnt as much of a beating on the solid rollers. Its .520/.540 so with the 1.6 rollers its .555/.575. She runs great with the Sniper EFI and an old TM-1 Tarantula intake port matched to my heads. I opened them up and blended them quite a bit. Over 500 hp out of a little 327. Its not much of a surprise thats its possible now a days with the LS motors being the same size (5.3 L) and able to put out that much with a cam swap as well
13.0 sec at 108 mph. Need a helmet now and get a better launch. That was with a 3.55 rear end instead of my 3.70. If I can keep the 3.70 from spinnning in the first 2 gears I should be better too
Last edited by Rescue Rogers; Oct 26, 2020 at 11:38 AM.
The faster you can lift the valve the higher the hp potential. So a solid roller lobe profile can potentially make more power. You can buy an off the shelf h-roller cam and install solid rollers on it. You might actually loose power because of the SR lash.
H-roller has rpm limited by max spring pressure. Valve control is actually the red line on any motor. BBC has bigger heavy valves even with beehive springs and 150 pound closed pressure lower 6000 plus rpms was about the limit.
My crane pro solid roller lifters in my 434 sbc are still fine and on the 3rd rebuild after about 20,000 miles. The comp cams steel roller rockers were loose so I bought new ones . I also have a 7500 rpm rev limiter
Rescue Roger's I'm curious what led you to decide to run the solid rollers on a hydraulic roller cam and what you feel to be the benefits? I'm running Crane hydraulic roller lifters to well over 7000rpm with 0.596" of lift without any problems, I've seen a few people talk about doing what you've done but I'm not sure why it would be worth the possibility of reduced reliability (at least that is my perception) while not getting the performance benefit of the more aggressive solid roller lobe?
Gkull, that's great data. Still, I think you pull down and check your engines more than I am inclined to. I'd prefer not to have to pull my engine down for inspection or repair at all for at least 30,000 miles. I normally put about 15,000 street and track miles on the car each year.
2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (performance mods)
2019 C3 of Year Winner (performance mods)
2016 C3 of Year Finalist
Thats the reason I did do it. More power from a solid roller lifter as you dont get any bleed off at high rpm. And the ramps arent as abrupt off the seat on a hydraulic cam so it should be more reliable in the long run. I have run a bunch of solid lifter flat tappets without any issues but I wanted to run a roller cam for the longevity and lack of specific oil needs. I got the idea from the Engine Masters show and a series of write ups in the Hotrod magazine and subsequently online. I didnt want to have to worry about the solid roller blowing up.
I have a 15LB flywheel and the motor spins up to 7000 RPM so fast the tach cant keep up. I think its great. Seat of the pants dyno loves it too, rear tires not so much.
I'm running a solid roller in a small block. It pulls 18" of vacuum for the headlights, power brakes, and without a radical idle. At the track on the bottle she'll pull the front tires. With a solid roller you'll get more power with drivability than with other cam types.
After 5 yrs I cant find any wear at all lots of idle time
(fairly healthy solid roller). Didnt go nuts on seat timing, not worth it.
Vacuum is the same as my last HFT with 30 deg less duration if that says anything.
Never had to relash..love these things.
Buying the good stuff hurts up front but its only once..and worth the piece of mind.
Id recommend getting a billet core, not cast. Dont be afraid of hot lash of say .020 or more it dont hurt a thing.
Even a high lift HR cam should have the springs checked/replaced every 15k they become maintenance items.neither will go 100k like flat tappets would so..Few hundred isnt a big deal in the grand scheme of things.
Dont know the # of power difference but its substantial. A SFT of same specs would be undrivable.
From: At my Bar drinking and wrenching in Lafayette Colorado
I've been running a solid roller in my 500hp 407 small block for over 3 years with no issues. I have checked the lash once a year, but it has never changed and never needed readjustment. Love it.
Running a solid roller in my bb 502 69. Love it! Agree with the statement that life Is too short to not run a solid roller lol! Get good lifters, a billet core, a street profile (mild ramps), and run a solid roller. I am running the Morels with bushings. Feeling good about it. Just need to keep clean oil in it with the bushing lifters. Revs to the moon.
Bill
Last edited by 69ttop502; Oct 27, 2020 at 07:32 AM.
One of the things that convinced me to go solid roller was to get the solid lifter rattle that the old SHP Chevies made.
Another was it would rev a little higher without fear of lifter pump up.
And the third was a maintenace item. I call it my "early warning system". On a solid just check the lash once in a while. Like once a year? It really should not change if you have good ploylocks on it. My LT1 did over 10,000 miles on one lash job and it never changed at all! And if the lash does change.... keep track of the cylinder... and check it again much sooner this time...If it changed a second time it is time to pull the lifters and check stuff out. You can't do that with a Hyd system. You won't know if you have a problem with a roller on a hydraulic until it blows, and that's too expensive for me. I prefer the "early warning system". Waay cheaper in the long run. You could do it on a solid flat tappet lifter motor also to spot a lobe starting to go "flat"
I have a fairly aggressive Lunati hydraulic flat tappet cam in my 454 NOM in my 68 convert. I am going to change to a roller cam and need to decide whether to go with a hydraulic lifter or solid lifter version. I have used solid lifter cams in a couple other cars and do not mind having to periodically re-set the valve lash. For those who have a solid lifter roller cam, approximately how often do you need to adjust the valve lash? For those who have used both a hydraulic and solid lifter cam in the same motor, how much additional hp did you get using the solid lifter cam?
I have had good luck with these
6500 rpm plus on the straights
1/4 mile paved oval with banked turns.
35 races with absolutely no issues running Schaeffers synthetic.
I run these in every BB build that has a hydraulic roller cam.
They are also the quietest roller lifter I have tried, and I have experimented with quite a few brands.
Used to see this running around the san fernando valley, he (Dick Guldstrand) ran a solid roller in it. Smog legal, car made real good power,lots of miles on it. Always thought that was kinda cool
The 69 with a 434 SBC I went with a solid roller cam Crower lifters and the cam came from Cam motion. As Metal head stated I was also worried about the lash smashing on a street engine, but the cam from Cam motion has a valve lash of .005" so no more worries. Hard to hear that it's a solid roller so there are draw backs. Getting close to the 15,000 miles on it with only one lash adjustment. T
I have both solid and hydraulic roller engines both work well. This blown stroked SBC has solid roller in it. Going on 20+ years of high RPM lake runs the lash has never needed adjustment. Buy good lifters
From: At my Bar drinking and wrenching in Lafayette Colorado
Originally Posted by leigh1322
One of the things that convinced me to go solid roller was to get the solid lifter rattle that the old SHP Chevies made.
The new "tight-lash" solid roller cam designs actually don't make any noise like the old solid lifter designs did. My solid roller is almost as quiet as a hydraulic with lash at .015/.018. This tight-lash setup contributes to the long life of the modern solid rollers, since the "impact" the valvetrain sees when it "takes up the slop" is virtually eliminated.
Lars
The new "tight-lash" solid roller cam designs actually don't make any noise like the old solid lifter designs did. My solid roller is almost as quiet as a hydraulic with lash at .015/.018. This tight-lash setup contributes to the long life of the modern solid rollers, since the "impact" the valvetrain sees when it "takes up the slop" is virtually eliminated.
Lars
The tight lash profiles were patterned after Hyd. Roller patterns.....they just shifted the curve back or forth depending on what they wanted.
Solid lifters on hydraulic roller camshafts were a huge thing in the 5.0l Mustang community for a while because you could get a Ford Motorsport "X" of "F" hyd roller cam for peanuts. It added rpm but the heads suck on those engines too so not sure how well.
Lars, was that the recommended lash?. I asked if they could make my last cam .012/.014. I ve tried tighter settings, but I don't know if that's good or harmful
You can tell that it has something under the valve covers racing around
roller cam question
