Thinking about getting one from TPiS. Do you like it? Which one did you get? How often do you adjust lifters? How does it idle? What RPM does it idle at, and what RPM do you shift it at? Is it noisy?

 

Ordered it yesterday! Its the 700-701 with 242/242 and .610 lift with 1.6RR. :yesnod:

 

i also have the tpis solid roller 700-701 i checked the lash twice in 3500 miles and it didnt need any adjustment :cheers:

 

Yikes! Let me know how you like it!

 

Comp 248/254 on a 112 lobe sep. Love it. Adjust valves every 4000-5000 miles.Had 700-701 TPIS cam, good cam too.


[Modified by tpi 421 vette, 1:04 AM 10/13/2002]

 

My 219 does just fine:lol:

Sorry, I had to.

:cheers:

 

mine w/ 219 does fine too (11.87/115.5mph) but I think the 219 is choking the MiniRam....

 

Now, now JD! :D

I actually learned something very interesting from Corky yesterday about the solid cams. Hope he doesn't mind me sharing. He explained, and it makes perfectly good sense now that solid cams are actually not as big as they appear. For instance, for a solid cam to be equal to JDs pride and joy :D, the 219. It would have to actually be a 229. This is due to the lash that is set into the valve train. So our 242 cams are really like a 232, ~one size larger than the 219, but keep in mind the 219 is a proven setup for the 350/383 engines. We are running 406, so it stands to reason that we would need a slightly larger cam.

Not to mention there is nothing like the rev you get from solids :D :cheers:

 

i know they have their problems. But they work exceptionally well. If nascars can run redline for a whoel race without breaking, they should last a few years for us unless theres complications. i just spent big $$ on top quality parts.. shaft rr's etc etc for stability.

 

Hey, thanks for the explanation. I was struggling trying to make sense of those solid roller cam specs. Man, I'm really on the fence on this one....

 

ELEVENS: I think you should consider retarding your 219 cam! Beach Bum hear on the CVF has his set (I think) -2 degrees and has pulled 11.55 @ 117.xx with a non-ported S/R, 219, L98 based 383! Hell, you could even try -4 degrees, plus natural chain stretch and your Tq curve should shift up +/- 1000rpms! My buddy Gkull tells me the 219 grind has +4 degrees ground into it?

On another note, GKull has a fairly hot solid roller 383 with almost 20K street miles on it now- no lifter problems yet. Although he said he's going to replace 'em this winter. He's a happy camper with a solid cam engine on the street!

The info about effective timing-vs-grind on solid cams is very interesting! Gkull’s cam is something like 238/242 with LOTS-O-Lift on a 112 LSA, but it idles pretty smoothly for a hot engine. I’ve been wondering about that for a while now, because the 350/383’s that I’ve seen in the past with smaller H-roller cams idled with quite a bit of lope! I’ve seen 383’s with the TPiS ZZ9 cam, and they had more lope/chop at idle.

:crazy:NanoBrain:crazy:

 

UUHHhmmmmmm......... NASCAR engines are required to be FLAT TAPPET cams.......... but they are solids........... (winston cup ) :seeya

 

I tried solid rollers, had problems with lifters failiing and had one broken spring as well. All within about 3500 miles and each time I had to replace the cam at $400 each plus new lifters and gaskets, etc. Cost me about $850 for each failure.

Part of the problem was I had too much springs for the lifters I was using. The Comp rep said the spring pressures I had was about 100# too much for those lifters (Comp Cam EndureX). The Comp tech also said they suggest pulling the lifters every 1,500 miles to check the needle bearings for wear. I leave the solid rollers to race only applications.

I am also making 10 hp more with a 230/238 hydraulic roller than I did with the 240/250 solid. It also shows with 1-2 mph more at the track and almost identical times (-.05). I am also 1 MPH slower than when i ran a 256/264 solid cam and it now drives much better on the street than it did with either solid.

The solid is just not a good choice for a street car IMO. I learned the hard way. I know several others that have had lifter failures as well. None of them are cheap to fix.

There was a post on the LT1 Edit list not too long ago about the solid rollers and it seems that the majority of people do not recommend it on that list, but there are a couple that are running them in street cars but do have failures. As long as you know the risks going in, then that is all you need. You can NOT let a solid roller idle for too long or it will kill lifters also.

 

Hi Denny,

Now that I'm done LOL, you and others here have convinced me. I'm ordering a new hydraulic roller cam. Probably go with the TPIS ZZ409 (226/226). I'll also be sure to order that Kalamzoo T-shirt....!

Thanks everyone for the advice. I wasn't aware of the reliability issue. I don't mind repairs, as long as they are in MY OWN garage. It worries me that it could break on a trip...

 

Elevens

I think the failures you are using to make your decision are associated with mismatched parts. If you have too much spring pressure for instance, even with a hyd. lifter your gonna have premature failure.

I have spoke with many other individuals that are noted for there racing triumph, one guy held the national record for the fastest 396. He had nothing at all bad to say about solid cams. He actually tried to get me to go that way a while back. Corky further influenced my decision. There is no arguing with his success, 11.124@123 with the stock exhaust, chip, 2600 TC and 3.07 gears!

Granted I think hyd are a more friendly choice if you don't want the added maintenance, but don't you think its a good idea to pop the covers off every once in a while to check things anyways? :)

I think the whole key is to understand what you trying to do and match the correct components together to reach the goal.

Corky has posted what he is running. It is nothing, as he says, special. The components are all there to be had. Its just people mismatch the wrong components and then suffer.

I am not trying to sway your opinion, but I think you deserve a little backing from the solid side :)

Good luck! :cheers:

 

Hey ski_dwn_it -
Dang it, why'd ya haveta go and say all those nice things about solid rollers, now? Ya KNOW that's what I really wanted, didn't cha? Just dying to hear those 6600+ revs! My current setup floats valves at 6300-6400. Heck, the MiniRam is just barely gettin' going by then. I almost called TPiS to order a ZZ409, but I lost track of the time, and it got too late.

Heck, with a decent solid roller cam, next summer I might have to change my vanity plate from ELEVENS to TENS! (yea, right...)

Thanks for taking the time to offer what I believe to be some pretty objective, and useful info. Seems I'm back on the fence again....
-Bill


[Modified by ELEVENS, 10:26 PM 10/14/2002]

 

If you went and saw the actual process comparison you;d probably wonder why anyone goes HDR. Why limit the entire engine just because of lifters?? Solid roller can have more aggressive cams, and hold peak hp much better than HDs. A friend of mine had a Solid roller that was very mild. It made 372 rwhp @ 5800 rpm. At redline of 6500, it made 359 rwhp. talk about flat HP curve. His car is smoooooth, quiet.. and goes like crazy!! he hasnt adjusted it in 2 years, just checked them.

My votes for solid rollers. :) :cheers:

 

The only problem from solids I've seen, is over revving the engine(floating valves) , and weak valve springs.With a quality lifter and periodic valve spring inspection and valve adjust, they work quite well.
No doubt, you will make more power with a solid roller.


[Modified by tpi 421 vette, 6:01 AM 10/15/2002]

 

hyd roller lifters are heavier than solid roller lifters, so they actually need stiffer springs than a solid roller (for a given rpm).

any radical cam (hyd or solid) is going to be hard on springs.
call up some places (TPIS, Lingenfelter ect.) and ask them about street use.
I think you'll find that it depends on how you plan to use it (max rpm's ect). the more you push the limit the less life your going to get.

 

I am running the solid roller 700-701 from TPIS. This is a good mild solid roller, which is ground for TPIS by Cam Motion. I have been running it for 2 years now on the same springs and they still are within 10lbs of what they were new(K-Motion K-800). This cam idles better in my 383 than a hot cam in a 350 and makes pretty good power. With stock AFR 190's and Miniram it peaked at 5800 rpm but only lost about 5hp up to 6400. Mine only actually measured .581/.594 lift with 1.6RR though. No trouble with mine.