Roller lifters
Race Director
Joined: Sep 1999
Posts: 11,360
Likes: 382
From: Plano TX
You'll get all kinds of opinions on this one... really a personal choice. Are new rims worth it? The old ones are perfectly functional... is a paint job worth it?
Roller cams give you more power under the curve within a certain streetability requirement. It's up to you if this extra power is worth the money or not. I went with a hydraulic roller and like it. The entry cost is high, but if I ever want a different cam I can re-use my lifters which makes the cost lower.
Roller cams give you more power under the curve within a certain streetability requirement. It's up to you if this extra power is worth the money or not. I went with a hydraulic roller and like it. The entry cost is high, but if I ever want a different cam I can re-use my lifters which makes the cost lower.
Race Director
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 11,872
Likes: 12
From: Waterloo ontario Canada
Originally Posted by hensen1954
Are roller lifters worth the money on "a street car - named desirable " ??
The Force is still young with this one.........
The Force is still young with this one.........
I feel a flat tappet cam is still the best for the buck.
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 17,676
Likes: 201
From: Who says "Nothing is impossible" ? I've been doing nothing for years.
Solid flat tappet is by far the best bang for your buck but you can't beat the solid roller in my opinion. You can get great street manners ( pretty wild idle though ) and make big power at the same time 
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 2,804
Likes: 1
From: OKC Oklahoma
This is an eye opener. I've been holding off on putting my Pro Topline aluminum heads on my engine because I've wanted to go with a roller cam and I was waiting until I have the money to do it. I've thought about the solid lifter, but always heard about it not being streetable because you have to adjust the rockers all the time. Why would the roller not be worth it? Also, would I be happy with a solid?
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Race Director
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 12,142
Likes: 54
From: Taylor Michigan
Originally Posted by MEGLADON
Roller EVERYTHING is the best on the street 
for any street motor
for any street motor
Race Director
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 11,322
Likes: 1
From: Living in the Hartland
Originally Posted by Ironcross
Roller nothing is better, L88`s, LS7`s with gobs of HP have nothing roller. These are aftermarket racing parts with limited reliability for engines with high maintance requiring constant attention. Factory roller parts are for hydraulic cams with limited RPM capacity and built for durability. If your satisfied pulling valve covers and intakes over fancy paint jobs, checking these parts, GO FOR IT. Besides the difference in HP is minimal. Spend your money on a good solid lifter cam and a set of heads, you`ll be further ahead and gain considerable HP with very good results.
Race Director
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 11,872
Likes: 12
From: Waterloo ontario Canada
There has been lots of roller lifter failures on the forum, sure cam lobes on flat tappet also get wiped but for reliability flat tappets have been used for decades with reliability.
New cars do use roller lifters, but they are hydraulic and don't see high spring pressures.
Solids do not need constant maintenance like many believe. I set mine in the spring and back them off in the winter. No adjustments inbetween.
New cars do use roller lifters, but they are hydraulic and don't see high spring pressures.
Solids do not need constant maintenance like many believe. I set mine in the spring and back them off in the winter. No adjustments inbetween.
Melting Slicks
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 2,508
Likes: 0
From: Wisconsin
Well, the question is, why do we have to set valve lash more than once? If Honda can put a solid cam in their Valkyrie engine and have to check it every 10k miles, only to find that it is unchanged, why can't they stay in spec for our Chevys? What's going wrong? Where is the flaw in the design? Valve lash should never really change, obviously temperature has an effect, but with the engine warm it should always be within the spec.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 7,562
Likes: 9
From: B'Ville NY
Cruise-In III Veteran
St. Jude Donor '05
Originally Posted by patsnitrovette
SO these c5's that cartek and vette doctors are building must be real slow and dont turn any rpms at all. 
oh thats right they pull out the hydraulic rollers and put standard cams back in.
oh thats right they pull out the hydraulic rollers and put standard cams back in.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 7,562
Likes: 9
From: B'Ville NY
Cruise-In III Veteran
St. Jude Donor '05
yeah a friend locally went down and said it was a blast. He has a 99 C5 that he had the Vette Drs install their biggest cam, headers & Stage II heads. His car rips (12's with a stick and street tires)and sounds great while still getting close to 30mpg on the highway.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 2,435
Likes: 0
From: largo florida
the factory roller hydraulic lifters are much heavier then the the old style hydraulic lifters. They have trouble turning high r's without some very stiff springs becuase of this weight. The springs need replacing every 15k miles or so with some of the high lift extreme ramp cams. Most aftermarket cams that the ls1 guys are running are the xe-r ramps, which has even steeper ramps then the xe cams we are having problems rounding lobes on. There are definately trade offs with both systems. Same thing with flat tappet and the need for constant relashings. Norval, you say you set your lash and dont touch it until winter after the car is in storage, how many miles is that?
Drifting
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 1,883
Likes: 124
From: Lubbock TX
Norvalwilhelm, if you went from a solid flat to a solid roller and lost power, something is bad wrong. My guess is that your previous combo was optimized for that cam and the roller has thrown something out of whack. Both Isky and Crower make solid rollers with a high pressure pin oiling system to keep pressurized oil to the needle bearings. Most cam companies also make tight-lash street roller cams that don't require extreme spring pressures. Use a high quality set of roller rocker arms with good poly locks and after initial break-in and a couple of quick lash checks, you're good to go for 25 - 30K before you even need to pull a valve cover again. There was a magazine article done a few years back titled "The Lash Word" that did a good comparison. I install flat tappet cams in lawn mowers, rollers (either hydraulic or solid) in everything else. There's no good reason not to take advantage of available technology, IMHO.