I hear ya Tim, but the problem is guys are expecting a performance engine to be whisper quiet. They're not, and fwiw, I've never heard a quiet solid tappet lifter. My point is, if guys want a motor that sounds stock, keep it stock. Most of us know that an aggressive lobe will cause more valvetrain noise, hydraulic or not. But, that is the cost of performance many times, and a performance hydraulic roller by nature has a more aggressive lobe profile than a flat tappet, so more valvetrain noise is to be expected. Guys just need to understand that from the beginning.
I built a hydraulic cammed 340 for a customer with a Voodoo flat tappet. He later went to work in the office at a different engine shop. He complained that the valvetrain made a tick sound sporadically. I could never hear it, but he insisted it was there. Guys at the shop he worked at claimed the lifters were junk, so he bought anti pump up lifters. Mind you, I used the same lifters in another engine I built for him with no complaints. The anti pump up lifter wasn't any better, so they talked him into putting solid lifters on the hydraulic cam. As far as I know, they are still in there, and he absolutely hates it. If he wanted quiet, he should have left it stock, or at least near stock. I can't imagine how distressed he would be with a solid and .024"ish lash.
If guys want to run a hydraulic in a performance motor, is should be for ease of maintenance, not for lack of noise. That will get you disappointed pretty easily.
