I have to do my valve seals so i was thinking about a small upgrade. I found a cheap set of 1.6 roller tips on summit for $95, and they have a full roller rocker fo $159. I know there are better rockers, but im on a tight budget, is it worth the extra 60 bucks for the full rollers? Will I need to buy anything other than the rockers and valve seals when i do this?

http://store.summitracing.com/partde...C&autoview=sku
http://store.summitracing.com/partde...2&autoview=sku

 

here is what i found out - most cams, like the zz4, will intake at .474 and exhaust at .510 with the zz4 springs toping out at .530.
this means that any add on cam will only require 1.6 on the intake as the exhaust is usually more than enough with the cam.
do the math on yours and if it looks like running 1.6 in the exhaust is a waste of time let me know and i will split a set of full roller 1.6's with you and go in with you on the full roller 1.5's for the exhaust.
yes full rollers will run better and that means more power.
you are probably running 081 heads and they will top around 470 or so - so check to see if you have the room for the longer 1.6 roller and if you need them for the exhaust.
i cant tell what you have but its probably have the 195 hp with a 9:3 compression but if you do and will have the heads off then you might as well have the studs drilled and put in screw in studs. to take care of the longer 1.6's rollers you will need to cut down the valve guides to prevent the 1.6's hitting them.
and think about a nice cam - maybe a zz4 roller to give you that extra lift. its a direct fit and will increase hp and you can do it for less than 100.00.

 

If your cam is still stock, buy the 1.6 full rollers, swap them on when you do the seals but make SURE you buy an upgrade set of valve springs. Yours are probably worn to death. Your car will run just fine with the generic ".550" lift or "Z28" springs. Other than those 2 things you should be good to go. I've done the valve seals twice on my car, the first time I didn't know enough about valve springs or camshafts to realize what I was doing, the second time I had things pretty well figured out so I upgraded to 1.6 full rollers and Elgin ".550" lift springs I picked up on eBay for 20 bucks.

 

what was the lift after you put in the 1.6 full roller rockers?
did you pin the studs or add screw in studs?
how did your heads handle not having the guides cut down?
what heads were you running?
did you do a cam change and if so what did you put in?
i know a lot of questions but i am doing the mods and want to know if the info i got about pulling a stud out with the higher cam and the 1.6 roller?
do your heads heads max out before or after .500?
will he need .550 z28 or will the zz4 .530 work on his heads?
just looking for information.
thanks.

 

Dude, relax! You are over thinking this WAY to much. I put the 1.6's and valve springs on the stock camshaft. The studs will be just fine the way they are. Assuming his car is an 89 and has the larger stock cam he will have .443 lift with the 1.6's. There is no need to do ANYTHING else here besides swap the springs and rockers when you do the valve seals. Also you need to keep in mind that you need NARROW BODY and SELF ALIGNING rocker arms, they're a specific type and cost a bit more. I bought mine off eBay and they have held up great.

 

Alright let me answer those questions in a logical order:

what heads were you running? Stock 350 TPI center bolts just like he has

how did your heads handle not having the guides cut down? The lift wasn't high enough to need this. You won't have problems till around .480, even then you can get by with installing Chrysler 2.2 valve seals and then you can clear quite a bit more with no machine work, do a search you'll find what you need on that matter.

did you pin the studs or add screw in studs? No you won't need this until you get really aggressive on the cam (over .500) or go to really heavy springs.

what was the lift after you put in the 1.6 full roller rockers? A bit over .440, take the stock lift, divide it by 1.5 then multiply it by 1.6 to find out what lift a rocker change will give


did you do a cam change and if so what did you put in? No, but I have an LT1 cam and a Lingenfelter cam, both would have required me to do something about the valve guides. (note it's not the guides that get hit, it's the seals)

do your heads heads max out before or after .500? Before, they're stock, .480 would be the limit before the seals start getting mashed.

will he need .550 z28 or will the zz4 .530 work on his heads? Either one will work with a stock cam/1.6 combo. They're probably honestly the same spring. The ZZ4 spring may be a bit better considering it's built for a more aggressive roller camshaft.

 

sorry i did not realize you did not do a cam change in that. why would you need z28 springs if you were not going to a larger lift cam, or was it just available and it did not hurt to do it.
i am installing a zz4 so i am already at .474/.510 with a stock 1.5 so i see why you did not have to change anything. you must have been running stock 081 heads then. thanks for the info - just picking your brain to make sure i did not get wrong info.
thanks again - let me know if i can do anthing for the info - except money. lol

and you can get better prices than summit on e-bay - 1.6 ss roller 80.00 new last time i looked.

 

since rockers on one of the last things i have to buy i was researching it and thought you might like to read this one https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/tech...r-rockers.html has a very good workup on rockers. hope it helps.

 

If I were running a ZZ4 camshaft and looking at going with 1.6's I would swap over to the LS6 style springs and the Comp retainers for standard chevy. This swap allows you to get more lift without cutting down the guides. I take it you're running a ZZ4 engine?

 

I have an L98, the LT4 Hot cam is on backorder, so i ordered a comp cams ground to almost the same specs, (slightly more lift). ill be using LT4 springs, but i cant find anyone or any threads that say any info if 1.6 rockers are too much for this cam and the L98.

 

you should double check my figures but i think that the lt4 hot cam has the following specs - .525/.525 intake and exhaust - duration 218/228 112 lsa.
that means with stock rockers of 1.6 will push the valves to .525 on both exhaust and intake. the cam is spec for 1.6. see here http://www.cis.udel.edu/~davis/z28/buildup/cam/

so if you heads are only rated for .480 max lift you are way above that and need to pin the studs, or get screw in, get better springs, and shave the rocker guides so the rockers dont hit them.

 

If you're still on stock heads then there is no reason to step up to 1.6's with the LT4 hot cam. On a 1.5 rocker your lift will be .490, this is in the danger zone of stock valve seals.

If you're going to be this far into the motor I recommend pulling the heads, getting them checked, valves cleaned up, etc. and having the valve guides shaved down and screw in studs installed. This will ensure your heads are fresh and allow you to run your cam without worry and to upgrade to 1.6 roller rockers if you decide to do so.

The other option is to run the standard 1.5 rockers and install the shorter Chrysler valve seals, or go to the LS1 beehive style springs and the comp retainers.

 

i agree - because i already said it.