ok, so i'm putting together a new engine for the road runner. everyone is saying go roller. but i drive my car, a LOT, and it has only seen the track a few times. i'm looking for that balance of power vs. drivability, and want to err on the side of drivability. the basic combo i'm putting together could generate a lot more horsepower with a more radical cam, but then i would give up the drivability. it's a stock road runner body, so close to 4k lbs, and it's a stick.

so here's the thing. going with a roller gets more performance, and of course no issues of wiping cam lobes because of the lack of zinc and the proper additives in modern oil. yes, there are plenty of good choices of oil out there, but it happens, a lot, these days.

but wiping a lobe on a flat tappet and having a roller lifter come apart are two completely different things. most of the time, a bad lobe just means rebuilding the engine, new rings and bearings. a roller disintegrating can do a hell of a lot more damage.

i should add that i know most rollers fail because of the insane spring pressures to match the aggressive grinds, but the setup i'll be using is a hydraulic roller grind with solid roller lifters. so the grind isn't that aggressive, uses fairly standard springs, and yet is stout enough to give more than a flat tappet will.

so for a street engine that sees a pretty reasonable amount of miles, a few long trips a year, and my foot to the floor at every opportunity, what do you recommend? should i go roller or just stick with a flat tappet?

My vote is for the flat tappet.

I'd run a solid flat tappet, but run beehive springs, LW EDM tool steel lifters and hollow stem valves to keep spring pressures low while still getting fair rpm limit. Combined with proper high zinc synthetic oil, should be OK. Depending what you're doing for heads, may determine what's justified for your plan.

My B1 motor is using Isky redzone lifters, premium valve springs and an endurance cam profile, I hope that solves the roller lifter needle bearing problem but it's an expensive solution for a rather marginal performance dividend. S/F....Ken M

i just orderderd the camshaft that was in the hemi book written by rich needbal.....its a hot street roller and i am using the new comp elites solid lifters.....but if u can use isky ez red zone in your block no needle bearings in those...dont think they would fit my world block?anyways the one in the book is cut on a 114 lobe seperation for efi..which i am using

If you don't mind checking everything, lifters, spring pressures, bronze gear every 3500 miles then go for the solid roller as long as it isn't crazy aggressive. I ran an xe286 solid roller in my 408 that was daily driven. I checked everything at 5k miles and everything was still excellent. Wiping a cam lobe can do a lot of damage. Cylinder walls scuffed bearings and crank wipe out. I had to do a complete rebuild on an engine that wiped out a cam.

I should add that I had 13.5in. Vacuum at idle with the solid roller and the powerband. Was much wider than with a flat tappet.

Mick--
Do yourself a favor.

call Hughes Engines

They are Mopar only. Mopar designed cams. Great dudes.



Yes -i have a Hughes flat tappet. Yes--Im more than happy with my non- roller

Roller. If you're not a cheap azz and use good parts, you won't have any problems.

I wouldn't use a flat tappet in anything unless I absolutely had to.

Every new car being manufactured has a roller cam and there not coming apart at 10K miles. Why would you use a solid lifter on a street car?

I find my comp cams 580/588 solid roller very street friendly, even more so than an old school 509. Pulls decent vacuum, has a good idle and jumps to 6k much much faster than old schol cams. Not sure if it's the same w/ all roller cams but it seems to have a wide power band range and pulls like crazy from 3k up. Granted I don't have a ton of miles on it (maybe 200-300) and 6 runs but i don't see a reason to adjust anything anytime soon.

Your " criteria" is a perfect one for a hydraulic roller cam. I would run hydraulic roller lifters.

I would NOT be afraid of running a solid cam. Break it in properly, make sure lifter bores are of acceptable size for lifter rotation, and there is nothing to worry about. Contrary to all the internet hype, most solid cams failures are done within the first 5 mintues, regardless of what they " think" has happened.

Solid cam is fine, especially if you have a stock block, with lifter bores that are probably more than a thousandths over size anyhow, plenty of oil splashing around in there. Stay with a non aggressive lobe, and they live fine on the street.

BTW, although SOME roller lifter failures are definately from over springed or aggressive lobes, most of the street lifters that fail are from over revving, too aggressive of lobe or the lifters bouncing or lofting off the cam. Maybe even too LITTLE spring pressure and un-forseen driving habits.. Many times its simply a bad choice of parts for the application that kills them. By nature, roller lifters are pretty darn good.

Why not go hydraulic? You have the cam picked out and unless you're spinning it way up it should work great.

I agree with 493 Dart on Hughes cams, call them. I have one of their flat solids in my 408 and it's quicker than some of the similar built roller cammed engines here. I followed the cam break in instructions and have had no issues for two years. I have one of their flat hydraulics in the 340 I ran for five years without a single issue. I use good oil and additive.

I'll be running a solid roller on the street... its
not a real big roller and I plan to keep the revs down
to 7000 rpm(this is a 416ci) so with the rev a bit
lower than I usually like I went with some lighter
springs but I believe will be fine... they are 240
at seat and 640 open on a .640 lift cam

I run a solid flat tappet speced by Dwayne Porter. One of the reasons I did not go roller is because I put alot of miles on my 63 and to run a roller correctly it will need alot of spring pressure as required. Rollers need the high spring pressure for a few reasons but one reason is they dont want any lifter floating (bouncing) as they can cause a roller lifter to get damaged and if the roller lifter goes it is usually major eng problems. Many new cars run rollers sure but they are not set up to be raced at 6000 rpm as they can get away with a bit less spring pressure then the roller racing cams. So I was recomended to replace my roller lifters every 3000 miles if I drive my car alot of street miles just for insurance that a roller lifter cant lose a roller pin or break any other way.
I do know alot of guys do run rollers on the street but since I drive mine alot I did not want to worry about breaking a lifter so I went with this solid flat tappet that is: 264 and 270 @ .050 with .630 and .628 lift with my 1.6 rockers. It is on a 110 LSA and I installed it at 106 ICL. I myself love it as it has a nice tuff rump rump to the idle but is smooth enough to drive it all the time. Just the way I like it. My 63 goes 3700 lbs and ran 11.04 on the only good pass I have on it. But I know it should go well into the 10's as it was breaking up that run from being to lean.
Thats just something to thing about and good luck which ever you choose. Ron

The aggressive flat tappet cams require some spring pressure as do rollers, They make roller cams with street lobes & spring pressures in mind, Hyd rollers on the street work good, If you guys like Hughes they have some kick ass hyd rollers too, Mankind took a huge step forward when we invented the wheel

my combo will definitely handle the roller, beehive springs and ~6k on the revs. a rev limiter will keep it from going too far and so bouncing lifters off of the lobe.

it's funny but as usual, there are solid arguments both ways here.

as far as the cam choice, i'll be sticking with tim at FHO, as all the parts are from him. it is more or less one of his engines, i'm just gathering all the other pieces and assembling it myself, so i'm going to stick with his recommendation either way.

i have emphasized to him many times that what i'm after is drivability and lack of maintenance. i don't want to have to tear it apart in 3500 miles to check the lifters, i want to drive it.

with the package he runs, this hydraulic grind with solid lifters, he has assured me that as long as the valve lash is kept right, this will fit the bill: best performance for the buck, still being street-able, and maintenance free. (more or less, adjusting the valves periodically, but i don't mind that at all).

the one thing that really gets me is that there seems to be a higher than desired failure rate among lifters these days. don't know if that is the case or just perceived, but even tim is looking around at different lifters.

anyway, i'm still undecided. thanks for all the input, i'll post which way i go in the end.

street or race i will never run anything but a roller weather it is a solid or a hyd.Just look at modern cars running hyd rollers and going tons of miles.
My GMC has 161000 miles and it is still on the factory rollers.