I would like to do something simple for now since winter is kicking up. I want to get an LT1 or LT4 cam in the spring. But for now, would installing 1.6 roller rockers have any benefit? Also wil they fit under the stock centerbolt valve covers?

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'92 Astro, GM crate 350, Holley Pro-Jection Intake, MSD 6AL, 3.42's, 2.5" exhaust, Flowmaster 40 2 chamber, B&M 2nd stage shift kit, 255 60 R15 tires on AR-727's, TBI Bored out to 48mm and Polished , Custom EPROM in progress

 

I'm not too sure how much they help, but I can say that you can get ones that fit under stock valve covers. I've got Crane's Gold Race 1.6 ratio roller rockers on my car. They make special self-aligning versions that are narrow enough to fit under the stock valve covers. Their biggest drawback is that they're a bit pricey (~$300). You can probably find a stamped steel set that will fit under the valve covers for a lot less money if you look around enough. Check Jeg's.

-Mark W.
'88 SC Camaro w/ 305 TBI

 

Unless your heads like more valve lift, they usually won't do much. Intake and exhaust as well as the cam you got have to be rolled into the decision, but mainly lies in what the heads want for lift. Sometimes they help, sometimes they hurt, sometimes they don't do a thing. IMO, if you are gonna do more later, don't do them. 1.6 rockers beat up the valve guides pretty good, too, long-term. Especially if you have a big cam so I recc full roller/rockers with 1.6 ratio at all cost. 1.5, OEM/stamped rockers are fine. Use the ZZ4 set, like 55 bucks with groved ***** and nuts. Good enough for sure.

 

Summit says that the extra lift given by 1.6 rockers do help, and the steel comp cams set is made to fit under stock centerbolts. Who knows, maybe they were just trying to sell a product, which they did. Mine are on order for x-mas to replace my stock ones. Even if the ratio doesn't do much for me, The roller tips have been said to free up a few hp's. I'm just to lazy to put in a better cam. Also, an old musclecar trick if you feel like making a slight change to your aftermarket cam is to install 1.6 rockers on the exhaust valves ONLY, and leave the 1.5's on the intake. For that to be effective you need to know the specs of your camshaft. -Randy

 

That old 1.6 on the exhaust trick was for single-pattern cams cams, ie, same intake and exhaust duration and lift. Adding 1.6's to the exhaust helps the exhaust flow better match the intake flow. Dual-pattern cams took care of that trick for us.

either more lift on exhaust or more duration or both... In general, the intake side of most street/strip cylinder heads flows better than the exhaust side, hence the development of the dual-pattern camshaft.

 

i used 1.6 rockers on my car for a while. they made a good gain in the length of the power band. i don't know if they made a big difference in the peak power because i did a couple other mods at the same tim, but the car didn't start falling off until around 5000, it would fall on it's face just past 4000 stock.

later
tim

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1.6 rockers on BOTH intake and exhaust can help, but still, oddities abound.