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Thread: hp gains from flat tappit lifters/ cam to roler lifters/cam

  1. #1
    YeLLowBoaT
    The title pretty much says it all.
    If you had to simlar cams/lifters 1 flat tapet and 1 roller what kind of gains could you expect form going to roler lifters and cam over flat tapit? this is assuming that you keep every thing hyd lifters. bottum line is it worth about $300- 400( depending on model) to upgrade to roller lifters? I have never used a roller cam b4 so I have little exp in what to expect. This will be going in the motor in my sig.

  2. #2
    Mighty Thor
    It is probably impossible to compare the two because you would not get any advantage if you used the same cam profile for the two camshafts. The lifters do not make any difference in terms of the valve timing or lift. That is entirely determined by the Camshaft. The difference is that roller lifters allow more radical cam profiles without experiencing severe wear or friction that would otherwise make a particular profile unuseable. To try to compare the most mild flat tappet with the most radical roller would not really tell you much except that there is a wide range of power variables.

  3. #3
    obnoxious001
    Take a look at the lobe profiles on the two types of cams. If you think about it, you can see the ramps are much steeper on the roller, so that if you have a flat tappet and a roller with the same duration, the roller will have the valve full open for a longer period of time during that given duration, so that the same spec roller should be able to flow more than the equal spec flat tappet cam.
    The power gains will depend on how well the camshaft specs are matched to the other components you run in a given engine, but the roller should give you some gains, if you can rationalize the additional expense, and shortened life of components due to higher spring pressures.

  4. #4
    Floored
    what shortened life? I can give you a ride in a sbc nova,same cam, rollers and springs for 24 yrs now and still turns 8500. street car driven to work and back for years with 5.13's in rear. getting ready for a backhalf to play harder with finally a new engine. for a sbc.bbc the price dif isn't that huge anymore and even with less than ideal heads the increased time at full valve opening without the increase in total duration make a more driveable and powerful engine. it still comes down to the combination of parts and not just one part.

  5. #5
    Moneypitt
    High reving engines require stout springs, stout springs require roller lifters. Stout springs w/ flat tappets= extreme lifter load and expensive super hard camshafts, ie: Superstock circle boats..............MP

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