Benefits of a roller cam

[yarbeau]

Currently have my 87 GN motor completely torn apart. old cam has a few wrecked lobs on it. so I need a new one.

Wondering in everyones eyes if a roller cam is really worth the extra money.
I know the HP gains arent very evident but durability seems to be the biggest benefit.

My mechanic is pricing out different options for me. Just need advice if its worth it in the long run or if the money is better off somewhere else.

Car has basic mods, bored .30 over, alkycontrol, te60, 55# injectors, etc..

 

[jasjamz]

Small hyd ductile roller. 206/206...206/210.

 

[Nick Micale]

...............Wondering in everyones says if a roller cam is really worth the extra money.

I know the HP gains arent very evident but durability seems to be the biggest benefit...............

The problem with your post is not enough information is given for an intelligent answer?

How is this engine/car going to be used? Street, strip, or both, occasional driver, garage queen or daily driver are all different considerations.

Probably worth the money if you a wanting much more HP which requires more RPM.

For street use only, a roller is not necessarily more durable, especially if you use roller rockers, adjustable pushrods, or custom pushrods.

Roller rockers have their issues as well as flat tappet lifters since the small roller bearings are subject to failure and the links can come loose and kill the cam

For years I have posted that out of the hundreds of flat tappet cams we have sold and installed, only 3 had problems, and all the owners used synthetic oil.

When a flat tappet cam kit is installed, run in, and maintained properly it will be fine as there are some engines with over 200K miles still running.

 

[yarbeau]

This car isn't going to be a cranked up track car. Just a weekend cruiser with some power.

I'm beginning to feel a roller cam isn't worth the money.

 

[bison]

Performance wise related to your goals there is little power there with a roller. Durability would be enough of a reason to run a roller to me though.

 

[JP112_89]

I've basically just come to the conclusion on the Buicks, that the roller is cheaper than a new engine if the cam was to wipe.


Joe

 

[Amelio]

that

I've basically just come to the conclusion on the Buicks, that the roller is cheaper than a new engine if the cam was to wipe.


Joe

that was my thinking.....unfortunately I went through 3 flat tappet faiulers before I went roller. All properly installed and broke in....grant it the first failuer I was using a full synthetic oil which may have contributed. The second two were not. It took a lil longer with the engine being apart to save up for the roller kit but in my opinion it was worth every penny!!!!!!!!!!

 

[larrym]

How much does the faster ramp on a roller cam help with performance?

 

[getdowngranny]

Currently have my 87 GN motor completely torn apart. old cam has a few wrecked lobs on it. so I need a new one.

Wondering in everyones eyes if a roller cam is really worth the extra money.
I know the HP gains arent very evident but durability seems to be the biggest benefit.

My mechanic is pricing out different options for me. Just need advice if its worth it in the long run or if the money is better off somewhere else.

Car has basic mods, bored .30 over, alkycontrol, te60, 55# injectors, etc..

People will argue both sides of the coin till their faces turn blue. In my case I decided to go roller for peace of mind. I did not want to worry about additives anymore, or if i was going to wipe a lobe. On my current rebuild, the only power upgrade was the cam. Going from a stock cam to a roller 206/215 cam kit i notice that the motor revs up a whole lot faster than before, but that could be attributed to new valve springs. I would say to spend the extra $ on the roller setup and sleep well at night.

 

[bison]

There is a definite advantage simply because you can spring them hard and not have to worry about lobe wear. There is a window of operation where either will work well.

 

[Amelio]

I went from a 223/223 502/502 cam changed nothing else other than the roller cam with new springs obviously......I went with the 210/215 roller I did not really see any difference in spool time but did feel a difference in mid range and top end power.

Unfortunately the flat tappet cam never made it to the track so I have no good numbers for comparing.....I had it strapped to a dyno thats it. The roller cam combo has been to the track but never a dyno so my opinion is really based off my sense of feel which in my car is pretty good.....my butt dyno is dialed right in!

My main reason for going roller was not to gain hp but was strictly a decision based lobe wiping issues......This is a problem I no longer have and have not worried about it one time even when the car sits for 3-4weeks between running.

 

[Amelio]

I just went looked up my hp and tq (roller cam combo) estimate inputing my cars e.t, mph and weight.......it was with in 3 hp and tq of(my flat tappet combo) what the old combo did on an MD dyno at the exact same boost level.

So from that there was no performance gain with the roller......at that boost level........now the question becomes would it be the same at higher levels?

 

[we4Mateo]

I have over 20k miles on my flat tappet cam with synthetic oil and zddp. Just went 11.6x's at least 5 times this past Sunday plus three other runs and I'll probably do another 8 to 10 passes this Sunday as well as the 30 passes I did last year. No problems, car makes great power, quiet valvetrain, and the additives that flat tappet cams require are good for other parts of the motor too. I'd use at least a 1/2 bottle of zddp even with a roller build if I was putting on miles and passes like I do now. Some just say I'm cheap, but my setup is proven reliable. Easy to setup too with the rest of my valvetrain being stock. I don't spin more than 5k rpms; unless I'm in the water box but that's usually an accident. It has seen 6k many a burnouts though

 

[yarbeau]

very interesting information here fellas, greatly appreciated.

 

[bogies87]

Again I am speaking from my experience, I do not have dyno numbers or track numbers. I can say the next motor I build (this winter) will be a roller. Just a small 206 ductile. My reasoning is longevity. I have run after market flat tappets numerous times and the results were not good for me. The cams were fitted with new lifters, every time and always had a noisy valve train. I had one that only lasted 50 miles before wiping a lobe. Granted this was before ZDDP.
It's worth the extra to me just for piece of mind.

 

[HelloBozos]

After 3 differant SP hydrolic Cam's whiping lobe's,Went roller an never looked back! 8^)
Disadvantage,some are loud,(click ,click,click at idel),an breaks the oil down faster (best to use oil cooler opption an heavier weight oil)

Enjoy!

 

[we4Mateo]

...Granted this was before ZDDP...

That's the ticket right there...

 

[bogies87]

That's the ticket right there...

That's what I have read, just a little gun shy now.

 

[DavzGN]

....an breaks the oil down faster (best to use oil cooler opption an heavier weight oil)

Enjoy!

Never heard that before. Why do you say that?

David

 

[HelloBozos]

Never heard that before. Why do you say that?

David

More soild contact between roller lifter's an the Cam,Heats the oil up more on extended trips,Add the turbo heated oil...,It's just good investment,I run 20/50 moblie one racing in mine,quite's the "clicks" an never break's down.