Power gains from roller cam?

[turbows6]

I'm looking for anyone who has switched from a flat tappet to a roller cam and how much more power and rpm capability they gained. Car runs great now, but starts running out of steam around 5,200.

I have a 212/212 comp flat tappet. Considering 218/212 comp roller

Combo in sig. I'm probably going to get a CAS v4 because I think the stock intercooler is too restrictive on a heads/cam/big turbo setup.

[Amelio]

I currently have my engine apart after it ate the lobes a few months ago. I am going with a roller set up as soon as I have the cash. I have chated a bit with other members and there has been some discussions on this topic.

From what I have gathered gains can be as much as 50-60hp more provided you have supporting mods such as good flowing heads, valves, exhaust, etc...

I would expect to gain a minimun of 20hp going to a roller mainly from less fricyion and plus a better and faster ramp on the cam grind will lead to a faster spool.

I can not yet speak from exsperience but you will get a gain it's just a matter of how much. I am not going to a roller for more power, my car made plenty with a flat tappet and I was very happy with it. I have been through 3 flat tappet cams and frankly I am done!!! no more I am going to wait until next year if I have to just to have a roller and not have to worry about wippig another cam.

Good luck

[Just a Six??]

I am running my first roller setup this year & have 100 miles on it. I have had numerous other flat tappet engines I I do hit the track 3-4 times a year minimum. With only 100 miles & no track time I can say this only from seat of the pants feel & nothing else.

Fisrt off, the motor seems "tighter" if that makes any sense? I was worried about sewing machine noise & I'm surprised how quiet it actually sounds? very quiet compared to last year & that motor was very quiet! Had an Erson 214-214 with NOS GM lifters This is similar cam wise & very quiet!

I also notice much better oil pressure response. Any RPM & it goes to 60 lbs instantly (almost) & doesn't climb with RPM like the other one did.
Cold is 75 & hot at 165* is about 30-35 lbs. Hasn't been real hot yet? Could drop a bit?

Overall it just seems very responsive. Maybe my imagination but my friend who helps me a lot with working on it seems to think so as well. He keeps saying that it just sounds tighter or stronger sounding?

Track times are coming soon but very happy so far.
Make sure you measure & re measure your pushrods for length, preload, geometry etc. I believe its important for a quiet engine. Get custom pushrods & not a kit thats just close. Maybe it will matter & maybe not, but makes me feel better & I'm very happy with the motor so far.

I guess the true test at the track will tell the real story!

[turbows6]

I just think it would be nice to be able to run stiffer valve springs and have more rpm's. I'm guessing that 25#'s at over 5k rpm's is part of the reason these engines seem to start laying down at high rpm even with ported heads and bigger cams. I'd say the valvetrain isn't too stable with a flat tappet valve spring.

[SloGN]

well i don't know the real gains over a flatt tappet VS a roller. My car has a 200/200 lunati flat tappet cam with a big set of ported heads and a ported intake with a set of ebay headers and a 3 inch downpipe with a gt 61-52e turbo. my ecm set-up is a fast system. ok



My buddy Mike B has a te62 turbo with a nice set ported heads with a i think a 206/206 roller cam with a gasket matched intake/plenum with the stock ecm with a trans plus( he burns his own chips)

well to make a long story short we have been racing each other on pump gas to see who is the fastest. well @ 15-16 psi of boost he runs low 7.90's with a low 1.80's 60 ft.

I can ran in the low 7.90's @ 15-16 psi of boost with the same low 1.80's 60 fts.

On the highway @ a 60 roll the cars are dead even. so does the roller cam make more power or not? his cam is a tad bigger than mine but i also have 1.65 roller rockers VS his stock rockers.

i'll let you guys ponder on that a bit.


in my opinion i think the gains are not that measureable by any means.


also go here too Power Gains From Switching to Roller Cam

[wickedtt]

Originally Posted by Just a Six??

I am running my first roller setup this year & have 100 miles on it. I have had numerous other flat tappet engines I I do hit the track 3-4 times a year minimum. With only 100 miles & no track time I can say this only from seat of the pants feel & nothing else.

Fisrt off, the motor seems "tighter" if that makes any sense? I was worried about sewing machine noise & I'm surprised how quiet it actually sounds? very quiet compared to last year & that motor was very quiet! Had an Erson 214-214 with NOS GM lifters This is similar cam wise & very quiet!

I also notice much better oil pressure response. Any RPM & it goes to 60 lbs instantly (almost) & doesn't climb with RPM like the other one did.
Cold is 75 & hot at 165* is about 30-35 lbs. Hasn't been real hot yet? Could drop a bit?

Overall it just seems very responsive. Maybe my imagination but my friend who helps me a lot with working on it seems to think so as well. He keeps saying that it just sounds tighter or stronger sounding?

Track times are coming soon but very happy so far.
Make sure you measure & re measure your pushrods for length, preload, geometry etc. I believe its important for a quiet engine. Get custom pushrods & not a kit thats just close. Maybe it will matter & maybe not, but makes me feel better & I'm very happy with the motor so far.

I guess the true test at the track will tell the real story!

Which roller are you using?

[bsdlinux]

The extra performance is in your brain... you know you no longer have to waste brain power worrying about the damn cam going flat

[Eticket]

Your problem isn't your cam. It should pull great to 5500+.. that's where I was shifting my stock block engine with home ported heads.

What ET/MPH are you running now? For reference, my car with PT52 and FMIC was running low 11's @ 121mph consistently with about 22-23psi of boost.

If it is running out of steam as you say.. and you have a stock intercooler.. it is getting heat soaked and there's where your power loss is.

Because of the cam lobe profile, a roller cam "should" always make more power than a flat tappet, but whether it's enough to make a difference in a typical combo is a toss up. Guys have gone 9's with a 218 flat tappet - aka Jason Cramer.

Yes.. a roller cam solves the "going flat" problem.

[Just a Six??]

Originally Posted by wickedtt

Which roller are you using?

210-215 roller from Full Throttle

My Erson 214-214 flat tappet pulled pretty good! Really liked those cams! Still have 1 new one stashed away with NOS GM lifters for the other motor to do some side by side testing one day!

[wickedtt]

I don't know but is that a comp. made cam full throttle is selling? I never heard of that grind?

[87Regal3.8SFI]

Originally Posted by Eticket

Yes.. a roller cam solves the "going flat" problem.

The trade off is if the needle bearings in the rollers ever decide to exit.

[bsdlinux]

Originally Posted by 87Regal3.8SFI

The trade off is if the needle bearings in the rollers ever decide to exit.

Yeah that happens all the time

[87Regal3.8SFI]

Originally Posted by bsdlinux

Yeah that happens all the time

Never said it happened all the time but it has been known to happen. Then again flat tappet cams don't go flat all the time either.

[Blown&Injected]

Originally Posted by 87Regal3.8SFI

The trade off is if the needle bearings in the rollers ever decide to exit.

or the link bar fails BUT Lets not have any of this type of talk!