I'm making a list for winter mods and have some questions.

My engine combo is listed below, I have an LPE 219 cam, .525 lift w/ 1.5 rockers and .560 lift w/ 1.6 rockers.
Right now I have the stock hyd roller lifters, AFR springs good to .550 lift, and stamped steel 1.5 roller rockers giving my LPE 219 .525 lift. Do you think it is worth my time and money to upgrade the valvetrain w/ some aftermarket hyd roller lifters, 1.6 aluminum roller rockers (will give my LPE 219 cam .560 lift), springs good to .600 lift, and titanium retainers? Will I see any gains or should I just leave my valvetrain alone and get some Hooker Super Comp's instead?

 

You already have headers, aren't the Hooker's basically the same size and all, just a little better.?

 

I have Edelbrock 1 5/8" shorties. David91RS said he gained .4 of a second switching from SLP's (which are supposedly better than Edelbrock's) to the Hooker Super Comp's which are 1 3/4" and have long tubes. The 1 5/8" to 1 3/4" thing doesn't matter to me as much as I think the longer tubes and overall better design of the Super Comp's will help me pick up some valuable tenths in my quest for 11's NA and 10's on N2O.

And if the valvetrain upgrades could give me a tenth, I'd do them.

 

4/10ths huh, well there are a lot of variables that come into play.

Like weather and stuff.

 

Very true. Like I said though, I'm looking for a couple tenths here. I think w/ some tuning, cooler weather, taking off the front sway bar, and getting my glass hood put on, I can get close to the 11's, every tenth is becoming precious. This is why I was wondering which mod to do first or even at all, valvetrain or headers? The SR will probably come off this winter and get ported no matter what.

 

i'd forget the exotic alloys and stick with steel valve train parts, retainers and all. might want to consider manley pro flow or race flow swirl polish valves. only rocker i'd consider is made out of stainless and made by comp, 1318 is the number for SA 1.6. stronger and lighter than aluminum. make sure the springs match your cam and check the installed height and coil bind. check the push rod length too when you dummy up the engine.

 

ede, or anyone else, what about the lifters? They have over 90k miles on them, should they be good or replaced?

 

If you do get lifters, don't buy Crower! They're $200 and are not even made by Crower. They are made by Federal Mogule and are the exact same lifters sold under the Melling name at AutoZone for $10.49 a lifter. And this info came straight from Crower themselves. I was extremely pissed off with them. Their catalog showed the lifters with the vertical locking bar, so I though I was going to be able to ditch the stupid lifter guides and retainer. I get the box in the mail and they were nothing but OEM replacement lifters. I called and bitched, and thats when they told me that they don't even manufacture them. They only market them under the Crower name. Luckily, they allowed me to return them for 100% refund, including the shipping.

 

if the lifters aren't wore, and i bet they're not, don't replace them. most lifters are made by eaton (i think), any way lot of people put the logo on the same part and sell it for a wide range of prices, so buying a lifter made by say comp isn't going to get you a better, stronger or lighter part then one say from auto zone.

 

I cheaped out on my Hydraulic Roller lifters. During the summer, I replaced my heads which had stronger springs (rated to handle .525 lift).

To cut cost, I just reused my 200,000 mile hydraulic roller lifters. After about 1,500 miles of driving, collapsed a lifter and I am now looking at replacing them all.

Yes, you can reuse HR lifters, but it doesn't mean they will handle stronger springs. Change the lifters.