What Performance Flat Tappet Hydraulic Lifters are out There?

[fasttback]

I have a new mild hydraulic cam but need to purchase lifters. The specs on the cam are:

Lift at valve: 0.480 I E (1.6 ratio)

Duration: 224 at 0.050

LC: 111

I’m interested in purchasing some performance or anti-pump lifters for this cam. From what I gathered these are some choices:

Rhodes
Comp Cams
Crane

I heard the Rhodes can sound like solid lifters (tap, tap, tap…). Don’t know anything about the others besides manufacture literature. Are there any pros and cons for these type lifters? Should I just consider standard hydraulic lifters with this cam profile?

 

[fasttback]

Does anyone have opinions about standard hydraulic vs antipump lifters?

 

[rbohm]

rhoads lifters are noisier than other hydraulic lifters, and some people like that, others dont. crane does have a set of lifters that work like the rhoads lifters, but are not as noisy. the drawback is that the crane lifters dont have the same rpm range the rhoads lifters do. personally with the cam i would just get a set of lifters from crane or comp cams and be done with it. the rhoads lifters are for cams that are larger than the one you selected.

 

[Max Power]

I had a set of Rhoads back in the 80s with a Comp 280h cam, and it improved the idle greatly. I have heard negative things about durability, though. I actually liked the sound, and so did peiple at stoplights. Adjusting them is a little bit of a challenge. I don't know that I would recommend them.

I was on the phone with an Edelbrock exec about a year ago, and he said their mfg. for their performance lifters was getting out of the performance lifter biz, and that was why a number of cam packages were on BO. I believe Eaton was making them, and they were the only ones making them. Obviously they found a way to resolve it. Not sure how though...

 

[180 Out]

Do not use the Rhoads lifters, or the Crane High Energy, with that cam!!! The only reason to use these "fast bleed" lifters is to provide vacuum at idle, so that you can operate power brakes with a high overlap cam. Yours is not a high overlap cam.

These fast bleed lifter make your engine sound like a sewing machine. The source of the sound is equally distasteful. It's the sound of your valves hitting the seats when the lifter collapses about halfway through the opening cycle. That's the design -- it shortens the duration and lift at low rpm. The effect goes away at higher rpm because the lifter can't collapse fast enough.

Most cam manufacturers use the same lifters, made by a New Zealand outfit called Pro Topline, and using the former HyLift/Johnson factories. The exceptions are cheap Chinese knockoffs, which I understand you would want to avoid, and Comp Cams label lifters, which they claim anyway to be superior.

My advice is to order 16 generic lifters from Summit. These are the same lifters as any cam grinder would have included in a cam/lifter/spring kit.

Also, if you're running your original 39-40 year old valve springs, you ought to get some new ones. A broken valve spring can ruin your whole day. Although you already own your new cam, others ought to consider buying the cam kit with springs included.