Cam Guru's

I know some of you guys run street /strip motors and some run solid roller cams and some solid flat tappet cams... My quuestion is with this project being a street /strip build..and by street I mean about 500 miles a year or so... once a month or so at the local 1/8th mile...at what lift would you stop at to prevent major maintenance on the valvetrain... Hence replacing springs every year..having to check all the rollers every other pass etc... you know what I mean... and is the extra HP really worth the cost and maintenance not being a race only motor

Thanks Guys !

Everbody must be real busy ?

I don't know if it's possible to have a maintenance free street roller combo. Given what they are, even in the mildest of configurations, checking springs and rollers yearly is cheap insurance in my opinion. A lot depends on the grind of course, and how hard you turn it, but periodic checking is just part of the deal. And of course, checking the lash on a regular basis is needed as well.

I run a very aggressive Lunati solid flat tappet, with plenty of street miles.

251/260 and .623/.649 lift.

No problems whatsoever with lash or maintenance. I did replace the lifters last time I tore the engine down, but that was only because they didn't look brand new and I didn't want to have to worry about them.

They now have almost two seasons on them with nothing more than a check of the lash once in a while.

BTW, I am using the Comp EDM solid lifters with the oil hole in the lifter face.

Hope this helps,

Greg

Nobody can really answer a question which contains a decision about somebody else's personal preferences.

Well thats Cool greg, I was just trying to get a feal of what some guys are running "MAX" on the street/strip builds.. without getting crazy with maintenance.. Thanks for the info..

Randy , I know its a personel choice ....I'am just trying to get a feal of whats out there and what can be gotten away with..

I went with a flat tappet only because EVERYONE I know personally with a solid roller has had a lifter fail.

I'm not saying that all engines with solid rollers fail, but it gave me a warm fuzzy to stay with the flat tappet setup.

Like Randy said, it's a personal preference.

Greg

I called rmcomprandy and told him what I wanted, and he sent me a cam that did the job. Pretty simple.

Kinda nice calling someone like Randy. He is one smart guy when it comes to them bumpsticks.

If this is going to be for your "super low budget build"... I would think a solid flat tappet would be your best bang for the buck in meeting your budget.

I just put a solid roller in mine. It gets about the same use as you describe. I'll let you know what breaks, wears out, or goes wrong first. But for now - wooooohhhoooooo! Badass.

And it wasn't cheap. Using used parts it still cost a grand.

the1969fordguyinky wrote:I just put a solid roller in mine. It gets about the same use as you describe. I'll let you know what breaks, wears out, or goes wrong first. But for now - wooooohhhoooooo! Badass.

And it wasn't cheap. Using used parts it still cost a grand.

If you dont mind me asking...what are the specs of you roller ?

I don't have it with me but I think its 248/260 duration .668/.680 lift
I bought it from a memeber at the old forum, Cody Ladowski. Good guy, and good to deal with.

I'm not a camshaft guru by NO means,but I would say running a roller on the street, it's hardware life would depend on the spec's on the Cam more than anything,for instance a solid roller w/real steep ramps would be harder on valve train and last half as long as a mild roller. JMO

Well thanks for the input guys, thats what I was looking for was someone who's ran them, or is running one, some what like what I'll be doing.... I was hopeing a high 600 or low .700" roller would live for sometime with very little street miles a year..