SBC ,, Alloy Heads,, 1.5 roller rockers.

Cam card calls for 0.016 gap under rocker arm roller.

i am new to this and only done adjust it once but engine had not been started for 2 weeks and i set it cold.
set it at a tight 0.016 and made sure 0.17 feeler gauge wouldnt go under.

engine feels a bit sluggish.

Now rocker on one side is noisy

should engine be warm before adjustment.
i use E,O,I,C exhaust open intake closed like comp cams says.. .

 

Is this a new cam? Flat tappet?

 

Solid cam.. allready run in run 3 months now needs first adjustment.

 

Engine should be fully HOT while adjusting.

Alternatively, if the engine is fully COLD, you can use the "rule of thumb" method for estimating how much more the aluminum heads expand with temp, than the steel of the PRs. Which is, set them around .003 - .004" tighter than the spec, which when the heads grow due to their thermal expansion, will bring it into the right range, within a .001" or 2.

For best possible results, use a better method than EOIC. EOIC is pretty good, "good enough" for some people/situations, butt not "perfect".

To get PERFECT, watch for the same valve type on the cyl 4 cyls away in the firing order, to be at max lift. I.e., when the one is EXACTLY on the "tip", then the one that's 4 cyls away (180° of cam rotation) is EXACTLY on the "heel". So for example, if you're looking to adjust #1 intake, do it when #6 intake is at full lift. This is eeeeeeezyer than it sounds, because once you find that point for 1 cyl's valve of whichever type, you can turn the engine exactly 90° each time, and just go through the firing order. Then do the other type of valve the same way.

Without knowing what cam you have and how it's installed (ICL), I can't comment on "sluggish", let alone diagnose it.

 

I like ^that^ question. :Bigears:

 

Doesn't really matter whether it's flat or roller... thousandths are thousandths, aluminum is aluminum and steel is steel, metal expands and contracts, ...

Doesn't even matter whether it's new or old. New, set it acoupla .001"s tight, to make up for wear, the more new parts you're using, the more .001"s; old, you don't even hafta do that. NBD either way. Not more than .003" or so of variation in any case.

At a basic level, those details don't matter. "Sluggish" isn't a function of flat vs roller. Aluminum vs steel dimensional changes don't differ flat vs roller. Adjusting a solid cam, flat or roller, is about CONSISTENCY from one cyl to the next, and understanding what the parts are gonna do as their temp changes. Or not... once you can get it CONSISTENT, you don't even hafta know what's changing, all you hafta know is, if the cam card says .020", you set it to .022" EXACTLY THE SAME EVERY TIME, or .016", or whatever, and after a few fumbles, you get dialed in. As long as you're CONSISTENT, you can work through it.

 

with you WRT setting lash. However...

It sure could. If it's a flat tappet and the cam is going flat on him? Ain't no adjustment spec that's going to fix "....feels a bit sluggish. Now rocker on one side is noisy".

Sluggish IS a factor/symptom for a cam w/a wiped lobe. So is noisy valve train. It's certainly a question worth asking, IME.

 

Solid roller or solid flat tappet cam ? I was asking because flat cams are bad about wiping lobes these days

I run a soid roller, the lash hasn't changed in 10yrs

 

​​​​​​​Same with me; both flats and rollers. BTDTGTTS.

"Destroyed" is one thing.

Flat vs roller is QUITE another.

If nothing is DESTROYED, then, ... see post #6 in this thread.

 

I don't think that the OP knows if he's got wrecked parts or not. The "makes noise now" and "sluggish" raised red flags for me, b/c I've BTDTTooooo. TTop had a similar idea too, I think.

He probably knows what type cam he put in. I feel that we should explore that and maybe we can help him?

 

Flat tappet Solid,,
i just set it at 0.14 cold.

Alloy heads,, 1.5 roller rockers.. after warm up it will open up a little.
card says 0.16

i just set it at 0.14,
sounds great, revs fast,,
For those interested its a

comp cams XS282S
2400 to 6800 rpom

car runs 6200 at the strip in top gear.

reason i was asking my engine guy is still on hollidays and i mainly do other body work and dont setup cams,, anyway he rang me and said go 0.14.
prpblem solved..

 

Right on! That was a quick and easy fix! Amazing that 0.002" made such an improvement.

 

I've run that exact cam before.

 

interesting way to do it, never heard of that. Everyone i kniw does EOIC and its easier when using a starter bump trigger switch. Max lift would work if you can turn engine with a breaker bar on crank bolt i guess. I cant. I def cant starter bump the engine to stop on max lift lol

Do them hot. Then on the last valve, set it and let everything cool down to ambient. Check that cold and that is your target cold lash if you ever need to do it cold. Could do one exh and one intake that way to verify cold to hot growth.
I set mine all cold now or slightly warm. It doesn’t grow too much on my engine