I currently have the stock stamped steel rockers on my engine. I have a couple of questions.

1. What is the benefit of switching from 1.5 to 1.6 rockers ? is it worth the trouble, money, what else will I have to do to make them work.

2. I heard that the aluminum RR dont last as long and that they wear out, that the steel ones are better even though they weigh more. Is this true?

3. Based on the mods listed in my signature, what would you recomend as far as rockers? leave it, upgrade, ..... ?

 

Roller rockers are great

They're machined with higher precision than stamped rockers. They have a roller tip which minimizes friction and valve stem wear, they have a roller folcrum which minimizes friction at the stem, and you can get them in 1.6's which offers greater lift.

1.6's can run into pushrod clearance issues, and you need to make sure your springs can handle the little extra lift.

Some steel rockers actually have less rotating mass than aluminum rockers, with additional strength, such as comp chromoly rockers.

Aluminum is nice, but not durable enough for a street driven car you want to see tons of miles on... however they usually are cheaper.

(unless cnc'd or some chit)

For the price you wont really *feel* them as you would a new cam etc, but on a new buildup it makes sense to install roller rockers.

 

ok, so based on me wanting to beable to drive the car a fair amount your saying go with steel not aluminum cause they last longer.

my next question then is, I was told that I should switch from the pressed in rocker studs to the tapped and threaded kind because of the lift of my cam. How does this relate to the roller rockers, do they mount the same way? should I go with the tapped studs? pretty much I need advice on what to do here, I want everything in the motor to be strong enough to be used as a daily driver in the summer, and race on the weekends.

the motor is an 87 L98 bored over to 355, ported/polished heads, I have comp cams "high energy cam" it has a higher lift than most but nothing completely radical. (dont have the specs with me)

So what do you guys think ???

 

Studded heads are always recommended, especially with some lift. They'll stiffin up your drive train and they can't pop out the way a pressed in stud can.

I recommend them period.


Dont get me wrong, aluminums will work, you just have the added security with steal.

 

With any replacement cam, the springs should also be considered. And as long as you're into the cam, you really should remove the stock "pull-out" rocker studs and install screwed studs. You can do it yourself for less than $30 total for tools and studs.

This might help:

Rocker Stud Replacement.pdf

Check the Adobe Acrobat link below if you don't already have it installed on your PC. You'll need it to access the file.

 

hey Vader how about one of those how to's for repacing valve guide seals. Mine sat for about a year and dried and cracked, thus the blue puff at start-up. I know its fairly easy, but i have never done it . I love pictures..