1.6 Rocker Arm Performance Gains over 1.5 Rocker Arms

[Newbomb Turk]

You only gain about .30 lift and you need to measure push rods for sure. Don’t buy prw rockers they are junk I have a set. It breaks the adjuster screws.

That’s weird. I have a set on my junk and they haven’t failed anything.

I’ve got a set on a 395 inch small block and they haven’t failed anything, and I turned it 7k on the dyno for 30 some pulls.

And I was shifting it at 6800 the other night.

I’ve used several sets of them and for the money they are hard to beat.

 

[TT5.9mag]

That’s weird. I have a set on my junk and they haven’t failed anything.

I’ve got a set on a 395 inch small block and they haven’t failed anything, and I turned it 7k on the dyno for 30 some pulls.

And I was shifting it at 6800 the other night.

I’ve used several sets of them and for the money they are hard to beat.

Good geometry matters.

 

[Dew]

That’s weird. I have a set on my junk and they haven’t failed anything.

I’ve got a set on a 395 inch small block and they haven’t failed anything, and I turned it 7k on the dyno for 30 some pulls.

And I was shifting it at 6800 the other night.

I’ve used several sets of them and for the money they are hard to beat.

I had a set on a big block with a solid lifter cam and they didn’t work even with correct push rods they would loosen up and break the adjusters. I called the company on that. They may have changed it between now and then this is like when they first came out so I don’t like them. They wouldn’t stand behind the product and they weren’t cheap when I bought them.

 

[Newbomb Turk]

I had a set on a big block with a solid lifter cam and they didn’t work even with correct push rods they would loosen up and break the adjusters. I called the company on that. They may have changed it between now and then this is like when they first came out so I don’t like them. They wouldn’t stand behind the product and they weren’t cheap when I bought them.

Did you use a geometry correction kit? If not, the geometric was wrong.

That breaks parts.

 

[gregsdart]

Coming to the party a bit late, but wanted to offer my thoughts. You stated you would like to run 12.0 or quicker for sportsman? To guarantee 12.0 on a hot day build your car for 11.7x on a great day! Because when the heat of summer hits, you will still need to run 12.0.
IMHO you need more cam, more stall to match, (4500?) deeper gears and less weight. That is a lot, I know, but you are asking for a good performance boost. E85 and more compression might be the easiest power boost, but doubt those two changes alone would get you what you want. There are several routes to your desired power/et level, and a lot of research will help you get the most out of your budget.

 

[Demonstrator]

Coming to the party a bit late, but wanted to offer my thoughts. You stated you would like to run 12.0 or quicker for sportsman? To guarantee 12.0 on a hot day build your car for 11.7x on a great day! Because when the heat of summer hits, you will still need to run 12.0.
IMHO you need more cam, more stall to match, (4500?) deeper gears and less weight. That is a lot, I know, but you are asking for a good performance boost. E85 and more compression might be the easiest power boost, but doubt those two changes alone would get you what you want. There are several routes to your desired power/et level, and a lot of research will help you get the most out of your budget.

Greg,
Agree with you... This car sat in my garage for over 10 years getting started once or twice a year. Son and grandson twisted my arm to get it out so I put new rubber on her (27" tall drag radials) and it went 12.50 with a 1.70 60 ft. I think we can get it there. Considering adding Cubic inches as well.

 

[Newbomb Turk]

Negligible on a dyno and you'll never feel it in the seat of your pants.

I’ve seen a valve lash change the power by 30 hp. That was earlier this year on a 340 I built several years ago.

It was a Chrysler circle track SFT and the lash was .028/.032 and I was lashing it at .020/.024 and then I installed some 1.6 rockers.

So I decided to err on the side of caution and use the Wallace calculator to find out what the new lash should be. And it came out to .028/.032. Thats where I set them. At the track the car was a pig. So slow I couldn’t believe it.

So the engine came out and went on the dyno. I think it was making 350ish hp. I tuned on it for a bit and then I said F this and went to .022/.024 and it grabbed 30 hp just like that.

It was also numb to tuning changes before I tightened up the lash.

By the end of the day it went 395.

Then I took it apart, put a 3.79 stroke crank in it, got the compression up to a measured 11:1, bowl ported the stock 2.02 iron heads, threw in an Isky SFT cam and now it’s at 505 hp.

 

[Demonstrator]

Then I took it apart, put a 3.79 stroke crank in it, got the compression up to a measured 11:1, bowl ported the stock 2.02 iron heads, threw in an Isky SFT cam and now it’s at 505 hp.

That's what I'm talking about!!