roller vs. non-roller

[WantaGT]

Alright I have finally rested on my combination. It will be my 289 with either a flat tappet cam or hydro roller cam. My combo is as follows

rebuilt 289
edelbrock rpm air gap
holley 600 vac sec.
custom cam either way
CNC ported D0OE heads (www.powerheads.com)
4 into 1 long tube headers
dual exhaust with h-pipe
roller tip rockers
c4 tranny with shift kit
custom convertor
3.55 gears.

In a 67 coupe will the flat tappet propel my pony into the 13's or will I need the roller conversion? Basically what I'm asking is the extra power warrant the extra cost of the hydro roller?

 

[rbohm]

either cam will work fine. if you dont want to spend the money for a roller cam, dont. 13's are fairly easy to do these days, and 300hp should get you there. for a cam i recomend that you get an xe274h cam from comp cams, or an edelbrock performer rpm cam.

 

[WantaGT]

so does my combo sound like a 13-second combo?

 

[D.Hearne]

Might get into the 13's, hard to say. I'd recommend full roller rockers, they don't cost that much more than the roller tipped variety. The biggest gain in rockers is with the roller trunions, they eliminate the metal to metal contact you get with conventional rockers. The roller tips don't provide that much more friction reduction, as even with std rockers, the rocker tip somewhat rolls across the valve tip, the contact point on the rocker is curved to do this.

 

[thehueypilot]

You have to ask yourself.....why did Ford change all their engines to roller cams? Less friction means more HP and better fuel mileage, lower oil temps. with no "break-in" required.

 

[mustang70]

I would go with the roller cam. I like the fact that you don't have to do a break in. Plus, you'll get a little more horsepower over the flat tappet.

 

[WantaGT]

ok, what im asking is on a tight budget does the roller cam justify the cost?

 

[nosaj122081]

In a 67 coupe will the flat tappet propel my pony into the 13's or will I need the roller conversion? Basically what I'm asking is the extra power warrant the extra cost of the hydro roller?

I'd say with your combo the right cam and converter would get you into the 13s, assuming the traction is there...

I'm with D. Hearne, skip the roller tips and go straight to the full roller rocker. The price difference is minimal, I have some Harland Sharps for my C and I don't remember them costing that much.

The power to cost ratio is what turns me off roller cams all the time. I've considered using them on several occasions, but the cost to power ratio is so damn high I quit considering it REAL fast. You'll have just south of 200 in a flat tappet cam and lifter swap (thats with the Extreme Energy cam rbohm mentioned earlier; they're even a little more expensive than others), whereas with a roller setup you'll have 3-4 times that amount. Just not worth it IMO, breaking a cam in is no big deal; done it a few times, and have yet to wipe a cam because of it. Plus, the hydraulic rollers are much heavier than the flat tappets and its general opinion that limits their RPM capabilities, and everything I've seen about solid rollers puts them in the strip only catagory for a variety of reasons. My 393 is getting a solid flat tappet, which is the best bang for the buck IMHO.

 

[D.Hearne]

If you have a roller block , then by all means go roller, if not, then a flat tappet is more cost effective as nosaj122081 said before. Going roller in a non roller block will cost you $400 for either Crane's retro fit lifters for std hyd roller cams or the same thing for a reduced base circle roller + the factory style lifters, and related hardware.