Thanks for all the replies. Id like to go for some roller tips if I could but full rollers are out for now. Other than bigger (roller) cam and heads, what else per dollar upgrade do you have in mind?

nicholas

 

Under very few conditions would I prefer roller anything except the timing chain. An all out racing engine that is constantly maintained for broken parts would be the only way I would use them. As others have stated, L88`s, ZL1`s, and LS7`s producing well over 500 raw HP were never equiped with them and those are all solid lifter high reving engines. You dont need them. Besides who likes to work over fenders that many times have really nice paint jobs. :D In most instances a waste of money. ;)

 

I pesonally have had and seen instances where pushrods go through a stock stamped rocker arm but have never had a roller rocker fail on me( yet, anyway). I don't know if this is just me or coincidence or what. BTW, the rocker arm that failed on me was in a bone stock '78 Chevy pickup with a 350 and the part failed while going down the interstate at normal speed/rpm. I was never hard on the truck and it did have about 90,000 miles on it, in it's defense. I will add that the pushrod was not clogged. I replaced the rocker and then bent pushrod with new parts, and the truck still runs to this day to the best of my knowledge. BUT.......I have seen this happen on drag cars from time to time where the rpm's reach into the high 6000's. I do agree that the stamped factory rockers are great parts, but I think a good high quality roller rocker is better if you can afford it.


[Modified by PRESSURERAT, 6:52 PM 10/26/2003]

 

What the f' are you talking about? His post says nothing about ratio differences, it states the hp went up when switching to 1.6 ratios arms, I am assuming that was from 1.5 roller rockers. My post is in reference to the actual ratio of OEM stamp steel arms varying in a range of 1.47 to 1.53 for ones that have a stated value of 1.5.

You are an arz, is your name George by chance? :rolleyes:

 

Guys, I'm not in this Peeing contest. :boxing :chill:

But I will clairify the statement I made about the 385 Fastburn going from 385hp to 410hp. It was done by changing from the factory standard stamped steel 1.5 ratio rockers to the 1.6 Ratio Crane Gold Roller Rockers. Then by adding the LT-1 Hot cam it took the HP to 430hp and is the ZZ430.

:seeya Jim

 

JIM: That's what I understood from your post. It was clear to me.
Others seem to be doing the "sidestep" (ever see the movie "Best Little Whhorehouse in Texas"...best scene is when the guy does the "Sidestep":lol: ). Still wondering why someone would change from one stock stamped steel rocker to another!?!?!? :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused:
but I guess it takes all kinds :)

Oh well...I got my umbrella out, so no pee on me :D

Dep



[Modified by Dep, 8:17 AM 10/27/2003]

 

Where do I state to switch to from OEM stamp steel rockers to aftermarket ones? I just state to switch out the stamp steel OEM ones because they do vary in actual ratio, what a person chooses to replace them with is up to them. But why couldn't a person use a better aftermarket stamp steel rocker if not to gain some inprovement over the orig OEM stuff? Why switch tires, they are all rubber right? Why switch shifter, you'll still have the same gears? Why switch ... the list goes on and on. You obviuosly have some tech knowledge but lack any social skills, :troll somewhere else, only person amused by you is you. Unless you have some real input on my posts rather than just some unfunny, uniformed snide comment, I ask you not reply to them and save us all the few seconds it takes to read them, life is too short to waste on such :bs .

 

I wouldn't bother with just roller tips. They won't buy you much of anything. Their only advantage is that they don't put as much of a side load on the valve stem so they won't wear your guides out as quickly. The fulcrum is a big source of friction on these early motors. If you're going to go with rollers you need roller FULCRUMS as well as tips. As for whether they are worthwhile on a street motor, there may be some HP to be had in other places by going to better breathing cam, heads, headers etc. but if you already have that it doesn't hurt to pick up some of that HP that's getting lost in friction. A roller cam and lifters also helps reduce friction significantly, not to mention the benefits they offer with respect to valve opening and closing rates that you can't get with a flat lifter.

The OEM's are going with roller rockers in many of the new pushrod applications. They wouldn't spend the money if they weren't getting something for it.

 

lemans' and GENE hit on my point. i'm going to make the switch but i dont' expect to feel that simple a change shove me back in the seat. i'm doing it because i'm tired of seeing blue smoke every time i start the car up. the stamped steel factory rockers are notorious for wearing the valve guides. i'll probably just go with the comp cams roller tips but i expect those valve guides to last me at least 100k miles before i start seeing blue smoke!

 

New Vettes have, since '87 or so.

 

Dep, Dep, Dep,

Maybe you should be hanging around the Ford websites too!. The new Chevy engines do have both roller rockers and cams.

Chuck :lol:

 

And the LT4's had em:


The early LT-4 engines had 2 roller rocker arm recalls. They were due to "improper loading" on a pin that retains the roller section and it could back out under high RPM. In the second recall the first replacement rockers part #12551311 were also recalled. The second and final rockers part #12557779 were used check with your dealer if your car falls within these numbers. The 1.6 aluminum roller rockers were manufactured by Crane for GM. For the aftermarket these rockers are advertised as the Crane Gold units.

 

There is no announcement on the Chevy website, because roller rockers are old news. However, if you go to the Chevy parts counter and try to buy a stock Chevy cam kit for any Vette after 1987, you will get roller rockers and roller lifters.

 

retort? :lurk:

 

I went with Comp Cams steel full roller rockers. The steel ones are actually lighter than the aluminum ones and have the longest life expectancy. They are also more accurate with less flexing than the stamped ones. As said earlier, the power is gained not by the roller tip but with the roller bearing trunion that allows the rocker to pivot up and down easily. there is a lot of friction created against the ball when a stamped unit is forced to pivot under high spring load as the pushrod moves it up and down.

Still, it is absolutely amazing that the stamped ones work so well, even in the L88. It wasn't the stamped rockers they used that broke in the early L88 LeMans motors after 12 hours of racing, but the early generation rod bolts.

The biggest hassle with the full roller rockers is getting them lined up squarely over the valve stem. There is a little bit more fudge room with the stamped ones. The push rod guides for the BB's are not right from the box. I went through 3 sets. They were each different. I spent a day and a half heating, bending, quenching, fitting, heating, bending, quenching, fitting,... before I got all of them lined up properly. Chlem Z. suggested cutting them in two, mounting them up and then tack welding the guides back together, removing them for a full weld. Well, my hacksaw and my Sawzall hardly scratched the hard surface of the guides. I went back to heating, bending, quenching, fitting,...

The other problem with my full roller rockers is that they look much too nice to cover up with the valve covers. What a pity!

Chuck

 

:lolg: , thanks I needed that. :thumbs:

 

Roller rockers as well. Who said anything about pushrods?

Once again, ask at your local Chevy parts counter.

 

Noone said that post '87 Chevy engines do not use pushrods. They do - however the rocker arms used in post '87 Corvette engines have roller tips and roller pivots.

If you do not believe me, call up your Chevy parts counter and ask for information, not parts or warranty work.

 

Hmm...wonder what Fevre and Kevin are talking about? Can't be any post I made :D

Deletin' Dep HA!


[Modified by Dep, 11:37 AM 10/27/2003]

 

I run the Chevy High Performance 1.5 roller rocker and I really like them. My new engine compare to my L-48 rev a lot quicker. But I guess the roller cam has a lot to do with it.

IMO, for hp gain, just the roller rocker are not worth it unless you are trying to squeeze the last 2 or 3 hp out of it. And afterall, the 2 or 3 hp all adds up to the end. :D

Stephan


[Modified by American Boy, 10:52 PM 10/27/2003]