Would you run a solid roller on the street?
Safety Car
Joined: Sep 2001
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From: Glenbeulah Wi
None actually. The power you get out of a motor is a function of the heads, cam, intake, CID, etc. Solid lifters only allow you to get more aggressive with the rest of your combo.......the cam in particular. There's really no reason to run solids on the street unless you're really pushing the envelope or want to be cool in your car discussions with other gearheads 
Oh, one other thing..... a motor that makes effective use out of the gains derived by solid lifters is most probably not going to be smog compliant.
Oh, one other thing..... a motor that makes effective use out of the gains derived by solid lifters is most probably not going to be smog compliant.
That is why you need to decide what your goal is, a SBC running at 7500 RPM is still a streetable engine (in case someone asks) it is just not as smooth as a stock engine at idle.
My goals may be different than yours but the fact remains that a solid roller can make more power then a hyd roller and it is not related to cool gearhead discussions.
Race Director
Joined: Sep 2001
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From: NEwhere Ohio
as for the brag factor:
it will only apply if you are talking to someone >35 years old.
The punk kids, with turbochargers, and NOS have no idea what a solid roller is.
Id like to do a forced induction solid roller. That'll get the streetbikes attention.
it will only apply if you are talking to someone >35 years old.
The punk kids, with turbochargers, and NOS have no idea what a solid roller is.
Id like to do a forced induction solid roller. That'll get the streetbikes attention.
Race Director
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I would not run one on the street.
Not because of the noise, but the other compromises required of an aggressive solid roller cam.
Everyone has there own idea of what a street car is, and solid roller cams exceed my limit.
Not because of the noise, but the other compromises required of an aggressive solid roller cam.
Everyone has there own idea of what a street car is, and solid roller cams exceed my limit.
Race Director
Joined: Sep 2001
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From: NEwhere Ohio
Are you talking about bad idle/ part throttle quality due to a high duration cam that you would run w solid roller?
I imagine the exhaust smell, at idle, would be terrible.
Exhaust smell is the most underrated drawback to running a big cam.
It can get downright nasty to the point it deposits a smell on your clothes and people can tell you have been driving your car. Not cool
Le Mans Master
Joined: Dec 2002
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From: Seattle Area WA
The only reason my Vette doesn't have one is that I don't trust the bottom end to spin to where I thought it would be a benefit (also started life as a short block for a ported TPI setup...) Of course now that I have the motor and tear it apart every couple of months for some reason or another...probably should've just gone solid anyway but the next motor will address that.
Team Owner
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From: Hartford WI
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Advanced
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From: Lawrence- Rock Chalk, Jayhawk. KS
My next build will absolutely be a solid roller set-up. With todays valve train components and tight lash cams, a solid is completely user friendly (IMHO).
Last edited by chad89; Dec 23, 2010 at 03:43 PM.
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From: Boston, Dallas, Detroit, SoCal, back to Boston MA
Drifting
Joined: Mar 2009
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From: East Wenatchee (2hours from n e where) WA
Right off the top of my head I have caught 2 top end problems before they cost a motor while running the valves. Also I consider the lighter more stable lifters a significant advantage.
Thread Starter
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From: altered state
St. Jude Donor '05
Le Mans Master
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From: Australia
Team Owner
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From: Hartford WI
I have never owned a carbed car nor will I ever own one so I haven't studied the system that much. AFAIK, at any rpm, there is an optimum timing number based on many factors. If you advance the timing like that, can you make minute adjustments at some points of the curve or at all points of the curve?
Race Director
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Not sure how you would go about hearing pinging since I am not sure if the human ear is sensitive as the KS. Sure, if the pinging is horrible, you can hear it but if it isn't too much, you probably cannot hear it. Either way, you might be depriving yourself of timing at some other point on the curve by adjusting the timing manually. I thought the timing curve wasn't linear? If it isn't, I am not sure how you can advance or retard the timing without making wholesale changes.
I have never owned a carbed car nor will I ever own one so I haven't studied the system that much. AFAIK, at any rpm, there is an optimum timing number based on many factors. If you advance the timing like that, can you make minute adjustments at some points of the curve or at all points of the curve?
I have never owned a carbed car nor will I ever own one so I haven't studied the system that much. AFAIK, at any rpm, there is an optimum timing number based on many factors. If you advance the timing like that, can you make minute adjustments at some points of the curve or at all points of the curve?
Le Mans Master
Joined: Aug 2000
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From: Australia
Point I am making is plenty of Hi Hp carb engines run without a KS without blowing up.Tuning to audible ping on a dyno or on the street was means of choice for most to get max SA
Obviously with a ECM controlled dist you have infinite SA adjustments to suit all conditions
With a carb dist you can set start point ( initial advance) and end point ( total SA )
SA is controlled by changing the weights and springs to get desired ramp up and is linear
Last edited by rodj; Dec 23, 2010 at 09:42 PM.
Drifting
Joined: Mar 2009
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From: East Wenatchee (2hours from n e where) WA
Base and mechanical advance; 3 or 4 pulls up a steep hill, various loads including WOT, across the rpm band. To set Vac stroke; after setting base, use a vac gauge and a streach of highway. Or a drag strip or dyno.
Last edited by Crepitus; Dec 24, 2010 at 02:31 PM.
Race Director
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From: moraga ca
On a strip with open exhausts it's impossible to hear detonation. Have to read plugs and compare timeslips. A wideband helps a lot too.