I've been reading a lot for last couple of days about solid roller cams
and more important about solid roller lifters and their premature wear
or failures when using them on street engines.
I know about pressurized oiling systems and even newer style lifters,
like Isky e-z roll, that don't have needle bearings.
What I'd like to know and hear from you is what is your opinion on
using solid roller on street.
Some manufacturers even name their series of camshafts as "street
rollers", so how big cams would fall into that category?
CompCams solid rollers on the street are ****. Ruined 2 engines because of them. Nothing but Crower for me now. Running over 600 lbs open pressure and no problems for 6 yrs on same lifter now.
idle time is the hardest thing on a mechanical roller cam...i would consider forced oiling lifters a must...there are mulitiple types of cores the cams are ground on...its one of those things where you get what you paid for...some cheap street rollers are not even ground on billet steel cores, definatly avoid those...there are also different grades of steel used on the billets so talk directly to the cam manufacture and they can help you pick the right cam...something else to consider is that mechanical roller cams use significatly more spring pressure than most hydraulics, so be ready to spend some serious jack on a high quality valve springs that will last any amount of time
I've used a street roller for years without any problems and no signs of wear when i tore it down this winter.....and my cam is cast iron. I use a high quality lifter (overkill) with pressurized oilers and use a profile that doesn't need big spring pressures (neighborhood of 180/500).
I have run a solid street roller for years and only had a problem once . I broke a rocker arm stud , lucky me I use a rev kit just for that reason, to keep the lifter in the bore. Also I don't have to have as much spring pressure at the valve. My lift is .550 , seat pressure is160 and open pressure is 500.
Corvette Store
Solid roller for street
