Solid roller, is it worth it?

PRHeads · Apr 20, 2020

IQ52 said:
Yes I used solid lifters on a XE285HL.

Jim..... did you test both hyd and solid lifters on it?
I’m wondering at what rpm you found the hyd lifters gave up.

20 or so years ago when we were messing with this on my friends Stocker, solid lifters extended the usable rpm by almost 1000rpm.
We couldn’t run them in the car, but we at least figured out where the real problem was.

BSB67 · Apr 20, 2020

PRHeads said:
Jim..... did you test both hyd and solid lifters on it?
I’m wondering at what rpm you found the hyd lifters gave up.

20 or so years ago when we were messing with this on my friends Stocker, solid lifters extended the usable rpm by almost 1000rpm.
We couldn’t run them in the car, but we at least figured out where the real problem was.

And some might not appreciate the value of extending the RPM range, especially for a guy like me that has no converter to speak of. Without making one additional horsepower at peak, taking 300 or 400 off my shift rpm will cost me bunch in et and mph at the track.

Budnicks · Apr 20, 2020

IQ52 said:
Yes I used solid lifters on a XE285HL.

@IQ52
how long did it last ?
or was it just for dyno purposes in testing, curiosity ?
what did it do ?
was it a big or really any difference ?
did you do something different with the lash ?

I was always under the impression the
solid flat tappet ramp speeds angles
were much steeper/sharper at the peak
& dropped off way faster too
(to help close the valve faster & not bleed off cylinder pressers)
seems a Hydraulic camshaft as the base, with solid flat tappets
wouldn't be Ideal for optimum power

seems like a Solid Flat tappet cam would be the opposite
of the hydr. flat tappet lifters, a really really sharp opening & drop off,
working, cycling or slamming the lifter plunger much more
be prone to wear/breakage (???) because of the ramps/speeds/angles etc.

I was always thought &/or I was told the solid flat tappet cams
have a different/higher or deeper level of heat treating
than the "typical" Hydraulic flat tappet camshafts had...

may be different today

Inquiring minds want to know...

I can take it :poke:

maybe you could shed some light on the subject

IQ52 · Apr 22, 2020

PRHeads said:
Jim..... did you test both hyd and solid lifters on it?
I’m wondering at what rpm you found the hyd lifters gave up.

20 or so years ago when we were messing with this on my friends Stocker, solid lifters extended the usable rpm by almost 1000rpm.
We couldn’t run them in the car, but we at least figured out where the real problem was.

Sorry for the delay, been in the mountains.

A brief rundown on the switch to solid lifters on the hydraulic flat tappet cam...................

Using a 440 and 346 iron heads, with the hydraulic lifters and .020" preload we got a stumble @ 5,300 rpm. At .000" preload it would go to 5,700 rpm. Switched to the solid lifters and .005" hot lash and it pulled good to 6,100 where we shut it down.

So.......We installed our ported Indy EZ heads, set .002" cold lash and fired it up.........at 180 degrees water temperature we pulled the trigger and got 595 HP @ 6,500 rpm with the solid lifters on the XE285HL.

IQ52 · Apr 22, 2020

Budnicks said:
@IQ52
how long did it last ?
or was it just for dyno purposes in testing, curiosity ?
what did it do ?
was it a big or really any difference ?
did you do something different with the lash ?

I was always under the impression the
solid flat tappet ramp speeds angles
were much steeper/sharper at the peak
& dropped off way faster too
(to help close the valve faster & not bleed off cylinder pressers)
seems a Hydraulic camshaft as the base, with solid flat tappets
wouldn't be Ideal for optimum power

seems like a Solid Flat tappet cam would be the opposite
of the hydr. flat tappet lifters, a really really sharp opening & drop off,
working, cycling or slamming the lifter plunger much more
be prone to wear/breakage (???) because of the ramps/speeds/angles etc.

I was always thought &/or I was told the solid flat tappet cams
have a different/higher or deeper level of heat treating
than the "typical" Hydraulic flat tappet camshafts had...

may be different today

Inquiring minds want to know...

I can take it

maybe you could shed some light on the subject

Compared to many others I don't know from squat on cam materials and designs, I just know what we made work out of necessity. The tests with the XE285HL was on the dyno only. However we have been using solid lifters on hydraulic cams since maybe the 1960's and for sure in the 1970's.

PRHeads · Apr 22, 2020

Using a 440 and 346 iron heads, with the hydraulic lifters and .020" preload we got a stumble @ 5,300 rpm. At .000" preload it would go to 5,700 rpm. Switched to the solid lifters and .005" hot lash and it pulled good to 6,100 where we shut it down.

Mid-5000’s is also where I usually see the hyd lifter problems start to show themselves.

Many modern lobe designs have exceeded the lifters capacity to not collapse on the opening side more than an acceptable amount....... and then once a little lofting starts to occur...... it’s game over.
More spring load delays the point at which lofting occurs, but increases the amount of lifter collapse on the opening side...... it’s usually a wash in terms of peak rpm.
However with the higher spring loads, the engine seems to nose over even worse once the point of unhappiness starts.

Solid roller, is it worth it?

PRHeads

Well-Known Member

BSB67

Well-Known Member

Budnicks

Jackstand racer #1 & proud of it, Sir Posts A Lot

IQ52

Well-Known Member

IQ52

Well-Known Member

PRHeads

Well-Known Member

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