I read the comp directions and it says to run .018 and .020 lash on my solid lifter cam and I was just wondering if that was with the engine cold or hot. Also if it's for hot, i've heard of running them .005 or .006 tighter when the engine is cold and you can do it without burning your hands, I believe that was for iron heads as well. Is there any truth to it?

 

Comp usaully says to set it hot, and this is how I did it for along time. Until I hung around some pro stock racers and stock eliminator guys. They all set there lash cold to spec. Why comp says to set it hot is to makesure ppl don't set it to tight I guess. But once I started setting mine cold, I got a more consistent lash and it seems to never need ajustment after that.

also makesure to not run anything less than 15W50 oil with a soild lifter cam. I was running 20W50 Valvoline Race Oil Seems to work good.

 

i'm running 10w30 and my pressure right now is on the higher end at 40psi at idle and 60ish above that, I would think higher viscosity would equal even higher pressures, any reason for the thicker oil? or just to save the lifters/cam ?

 

Hot means anything above 70*F Running an engine for 5-10 minutes is considered hot.

All lash specs are for iron heads. You can tighten them up a bit with aluminum heads but .006" might be cutting it close.

I originally set mine to .028 Int and .030 Ext as per the cam card. After a 1/4 mile run, my engine still wasn't up to 180* and I rechecked my lash. They were all slightly loose. The aluminum heads expanded and added .002 to the lash. If the engine is cold I now set the lash to .026/.028

 

Saves the lifters and Cam. Also Better Oil Control At Higher RPMS.

 

Steve, if this is all new just set the cam to spec-hot- per cam card for the first month or so until everything gets seated and seasoned. Once it levels off from lash settings do a nice good lashing (like to set mine tight tight to wher eI can barely fit the speced feeler gauge under the rocker arm and valve tip) drive it a bit to get it hot, and then the next morning check it cold to see where it contracts to and use that to keep from burning fingers LOL!!

Everybody has their own preferred methods and I like doing mine cold subtracting a few thou to compensate for heat expansion, but everybody's stuff will be diffferent so you'll just have to see what your's does. I know some guys tighten/loosen the lash setting since it effects cam specs a bit, but especially running a solid flat tappet-heed manufactuer specs should you need warranty work done due to cam going bad.

As for oil viscosity, another to each his own mentality. I know some guys are die hard dino oils, other's like me are die hard synthetic fans. Same goes with viscosity, some guys like building loose azz motors for less friction and comensate with molasses in january thick sludge to fill the void and others like me get their junk built tight and like the thinner syn stuff to try and gain a few more hp since the pump is'nt trying to churm sludge. I proved this fact in the S-10 that was always using 20-50 valvoline and he switched over to the mobil 1 full synthetic and picked up .05. Not much mind you, but still says alot about how hard the pump is working trying to push that thick stuff through. Either way, roller cams are the way to go IMO, so long as you keep cam specs in check they last a looong time, and oil wise after logging over 1800 passes down the strip and 5-6K street miles I still had teflon on my bearings like they were out of box new...and even the front main where the crank snapped off only had minor copper showing and that was an ugly deal

 

also for these cams should I switch over to poly locks, since right now I'm running ARP Studs with new nuts that came with the stamped long slot steel rockers that I got. I noticed that some people say you can't run those nuts with ARP Studs, so should I buy a set of poly locks, or did I ruin the studs from the factory style nuts that came with my new rockers, or will those nuts be fine and hold the lash settings either way?

 

15W-50 minimum because of solid lifters - doesn't make any sense.

However, oil that contains the antiwear additives that have been removed from emissions controls-compatible GF-4 oils when running flat tappet lifters is a different story. But, such oils are available in 5W-30 weights, so why accept the additional loss with higher viscosities? I'm running the same AMSOIL 5W-30 diesel oil (also gasoline rated) in both vehicles I have with flat tappets, one solid and one hydraulic. Great stuff, no concerns with emissions equipment contamination with those old-school engines.

I adjusted my solid lifters after the cam break-in in April, and again in July - only a few needed readjusting then. I don't have the wild engine that a lot of you are running, but I was pleased with the lack of need for constant attention.

As for hot vs. cold adjustment, it would make sense to do the specified hot adjustment, let it cool down over night, then check where they're at when cold. That should give you a pretty good idea where to adjust them cold. I wouldn't take my cue from Pro Stock or even Stock Eliminator guys' practices, though - those guys play by a whole different set of rules.

 

Best one I heard talkiong with a stock eliminator, he told a guy most of them only run 2-3 qts of oil total to cut down on hp loss, and his reasoning was because they tore the motors down after each event so frying the bottom end for that few extra .1? was well worth it LOL!!

 

so what's your opinion on the nuts compared to poly locks on arp studs?

 

If your using long slotted stamped factory style rockers (which I might have mis interpreted when you said long slot) using aftermarket poly nuts wont work since you have to use the ball style nut in order for the rocker to pivot on. If your using after market style aluminum rockers, the trunion has a recessed area in the top of the trunion for the poly nuts to seat into since it's essentially locking the trunion in place, and you can use what ever style poly nut/locks you want with it. If your running a girdle (recommended) then you will have to get the taller poly locks to give the girdles something to bolt onto, and you will also have to go back and check/adjust each rocker AFTER you tighten the girdle since the girdle will bring all the arms into alignment and change the lash setting.

If you dont have a girdle yet, dont get the old original U bolt style, get the type where it's a bolt bringing the spring loaded girdle parts together, this allows you to adjust each set of valves seperately and with less headaches.

 

this is true. my brother and i ran just around 2 1/2 quarts in our 68 camaro stocker, we also ran zero weight oil. after around 100 passes we tore it down and the bearings looked good, probably coulda reused them. we picked up 2 tenths by doing this, well worth it as it could mean going another round or going on the trailer.

also for lash we went everywhere, we ran the lash as tight as .008 to .036, it all depended on track conditions.

 

LMAO, you boyz aint right!! BUT I give much credit to how you guys can make them things run under the "wink wink" rules. I've always like the look at other things to make the car faster as opposed to just throwing in a stupid big power plant, and I've stated since day one, give me a working car with 350hp and I will run circles around a guy with a chitty chasis set-up and a 500+hp mill. Proved it many times street racing back in the day

 

you have no idea the extent stoxk racers will go to to get hp outa stock parts.

back to topic though i always set em hot, since its usually at the track in between rounds that i will cehck em.