Roller cam: Pros and cons

[69roadr]

I had my 383 built by DLI in 2008. I dont know a whole lot about Mopars since this is my 1st. one. I recall DLI asking me what amount of h.p. I was looking to get out of the 383, and they took it from there. Now its got a hyd. roller cam in it. What are the pros and cons of a roller cam? Does it need more maintenance than a conventional cam ie. frequent rocker adjustments.

 

[Someotherguy]

roller lifters/cams are the beez-neez as far as longevity/reliability are concerned, they pretty much last the lifetime of the engine...The only "con" i can think of is initial cost...

 

[Cranky]

x2....and you don't have to worry about breaking them in with ZDDP additives....

 

[Jasoncoronet]

If you have to use the retrofit stuff it can be very expensive. Hydraulic flat tappet cams have also been around for years and with more modern grinds they are more camparable to a roller in power. Flat tappets are virtually maintenance free. With that said parts do break and rollers tend to have more moving parts. I have looked at several different dyno graphs and on a street motor with mild work and the power gains with a roller just did not seam significant. I have had both in my cars and the power feals virtually the seam with a little more pull out of the roller. If your goal is all out power than a roller would be your decision. That really is a tough question if money is not a issue go roller but if it is tight dont beat yourself up over the decision.

 

[Kern Dog]

I have considered switching to a roller cam, but the cost is hard to swallow. Its at least a $1200 step compared to around $250 for another flat tappet cam.
I agree that they are probably the best design for any type of build from mild to wild, its just the C O S T that keeps me away.

 

[Hemi31]

You can also reliably go way more aggressive on the cam. Faster ramps, more lift and duration.

 

[Kern Dog]

Okay...
I just looked at the Hughes Engines website and was surprised to see that their Roller stuff isn't as expensive as I thought.
The hydraulic roller cams are $400. The lifters are also around $400. Add to that the bronze drive gear, valve springs and pushrods and might be able to squeak under $1200.

 

[daredevil]

My solid roller took some getting used to. Sounds like a singer sewing machine. But those that know,know better and steer clear.

 

[Supershafts]

You a much better SEALING motor with a roller, you get less heat from lost friction, you get better valve opening and closing rates, you get more performance than a flat, you don't have to worry about breaking in the cam and losing a good ring seal while your rings are breaking in during that pos flat cams STEADY rpm need to break in procedure....
When you have a roller, you start it, look at the gauges, all pressures are good you can NOW IMMEDIATELY break in the rings the BEST WAY POSSIBLE and that is to get rolling and go up and down from idle to around 4000 rpms, not fast but moderately going up to 4000 and cruise back down to near 1500 and back up and down again and again for the 1st few minutes, this ensures the best ring seal possible...

YOU CAN NEVER do that and get the best seal with a flat cam....

So now do you think saving 600 is better than have a great sealing motor with a cam able to bring all the perf a flat can't....

 

[Meep-Meep]

Agreed that the above ring seating procedure is correct, but there are a lot of engines running around with flat tappet cams and nicely seated rings. Ideal ring sealing will occur but it might just take longer because rings never stop wearing out.

Running a flat tappet cam is not a death sentence for your engine. And I don't do a steady RPM cam run in but vary the RPM from 1500 to about 2000. I believe this varying RPM moves the oil spray around to help the cam during break in.

As far as heat goes, the rings are number one in the friction department and the difference in friction between a flat tappet and roller cam I believe is small, especially at low speeds. A flat tappet cam is sort of a roller bearing if you think about it and no way that can contribute to any significant heating of the engine due to friction.

 

[Supershafts]

The heat i was referring to is the heat from the cam using flats, this is why you need to keep the rpms in that area so the oil is all over it like machining and using the oil to cool the tools and pulling heat from that area.

Just use a roller there is no reason to be playing with flat cams that can not make the same perf that roller can nor offer the other added benefits.

 

[terzmo]

no worry of excessive wear with non high zinc content oil.....My next build will be a roller setup

 

[lxmodguy]

I am getting ready to fire up my 440 roller motor here shortly. It is a crane 232/238 .600 lift 112 ICL @ 50. crane roller lifters, crane 1.6 roller rockers. I am hoping for good things from it. I am going to get it fired up, get the rings seated, and then CNC port the heads and step to a bigger cam. Something in the 250's probably. Since I am going efi eventually I don't want to go too much bigger than that