Harland Sharp roller rockers...worth it?

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Captainkirk

Captainkirk

Old School Mopar Warrior
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OK, so I was looking at these online the other day. Just had a whim, sorta....

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/csp-s70015k

Until I looked at the price. $689.00? Really?!
Now, if these were forged steel pieces or something, I could understand. But I never had any issues with a street motor and standard stamped steel rockers. And to trade that for billet aluminum...doesn't get me a good feeling. Other than being lighter (reduced valve train inertia), what, exactly, are you getting on a street motor for your seven hundred lettuce leaves...really?
Anyone have any horror stories to share as to why a street motor would need these, or is this just more 'fluff'?
 
Captainkirk said:
OK, so I was looking at these online the other day. Just had a whim, sorta....

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/csp-s70015k

Until I looked at the price. $689.00? Really?!
Now, if these were forged steel pieces or something, I could understand. But I never had any issues with a street motor and standard stamped steel rockers. And to trade that for billet aluminum...doesn't get me a good feeling. Other than being lighter (reduced valve train inertia), what, exactly, are you getting on a street motor for your seven hundred lettuce leaves...really?
Anyone have any horror stories to share as to why a street motor would need these, or is this just more 'fluff'?
Click to expand...

What is your combination, what kind of lift on the cam?. LA roller rocker assemblies with shafts, aren't cheap. I like the Hughes rockers myself. For a basic street/strip rocker,the 273 adjustables are hard to beat. Others will chime in, I'm sure.
 
People speak well of them. Over stock valve train, you get roller rockers which reduce friction, and you can change the ratio for .030 more lift. On a stock engine, per say a 360 magnum, you can gain the roller plus, if you buy the 1.7 ratio, gain .030 lift without touching the stock cam. People say you can feel the difference by the seat of your pants.....
 
Define "street motor"....For example, my car is a street car with a "street motor" that I built...but I'm sure my definition of "street motor" is very different from the next guy, and the next guy, etc.

They are nice rockers, but for the money I would got with the Comp Pro Mag's. They are 100 bucks cheaper, stronger, and will clear larger springs without the need for clearencing.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/cca-1622-16/overview/make/chrysler
 
Abodybomber said:
What is your combination, what kind of lift on the cam?.
Click to expand...
Intended cam specs should be as follows (or as close to it as I can come)
Hydraulic tappets
Lift: .450/.475
Duration: 298/308
compression between 10.5-11:1
1.88/1.60 "J" heads
Eddy Torker w/Holley 650DP (to start with, this combo may change)

Not a high lift cam by any stretch of the imagination.
 
I've learned you get what you pay for brother! I got a set of the cheaper pro form 1.5's form my old 340 once installed i noticed it was a bit chopper @ idle . Didn't think much of it until i also noticed a loss of throddle reaponce & a hit to the low end torque as well. Well long story short turns out (after using a solid lifter & dial indecator) the rockers where all over the board for the raito. anywhere from 1.3 to 1.49! Not the 1.5 they were listed as! Lesson learned! Bought a set of comp pro magum rockers & wow! That car never ran that good even whith the stock rockers!
 
Cap, I find that the more powerful the build the more return I get from the rocker. On a stockish build, there is a power gain but I do find it hard to justify the expense.

Comp cams had an inexpensive set of rockers. It has been a long while since I have needed a new set. I only paid $300 for the roller tipped rockers. Perhaps Hughes engines .com will have something for you. I just picked up a 1.6 set from them.
 
and there is this set from mancini, made similar to the hughes rockers (aluminium body riding directly on the shaft), 1.6 or 1.5 ratio:

http://www.manciniracing.com/en16alro.html

According to mancini these are the Harland Sharp bodys, just without needle bearing.

i just got a set, the 1.6 version comes not anodized, natural aluminium. Not important to me, because i have no clear valve covers :D

Michael
 
Thanks for the additional links, guys!
But...are billet aluminum rockers even as strong in tensile strength as stamped steel? I would think not. Aluminum fatigues at a much more rapid rate than steel would.
 
I also like the 273 rockers. Less likely fail. No moving parts, but all the adjustability. Once you add bearings, it's just another failure point.
 
Captainkirk said:
Intended cam specs should be as follows (or as close to it as I can come)
Hydraulic tappets
Lift: .450/.475
Duration: 298/308
compression between 10.5-11:1
1.88/1.60 "J" heads
Eddy Torker w/Holley 650DP (to start with, this combo may change)

Not a high lift cam by any stretch of the imagination.
Click to expand...

With that small cam no need for roller rockers..i'd dump the 1.88's too....
 
I agree with crackedback. With that cam, you don't really need rollers. I have a Comp 268XE in my 340 with stock stamped rockers, and everything works great. It is built to about 375 HP, and I have had no problems.
 
273's or Isky ductile irons. Roller tip on a small cam is overkill, so are bearings. Money spent somewhere else. T&D rockers worked out to be about $30 a pop new. The German INA bearings are about $7 of that. Plus you have to run hardened shafts. Lots of money for what Mopar made work (pretty good) for about .20 a stamping.
You can determine ratio by measuring the distance from the centerline of the shaft to the pushrod tip divided by the distance to the contact point of the valve. Shaft distance doesnt change to the valve tip if they are all at the same height.
 
rumblefish360 said:
Cap, I find that the more powerful the build the more return I get from the rocker. On a stockish build, there is a power gain but I do find it hard to justify the expense.
Click to expand...

crackedback said:
IMHO, That size cam = waste of money on HS rockers.
Click to expand...


stroked340 said:
With that small cam no need for roller rockers
Click to expand...


harrisonm said:
I agree with crackedback. With that cam, you don't really need rollers.
Click to expand...

Kinda the direction I was leaning....if they won't buy me any more performance or reliability, why spend the $$? It can be used better in other areas. Thanks for the replies, all.
 
flyfish said:
Define "street motor"....For example, my car is a street car with a "street motor" that I built...but I'm sure my definition of "street motor" is very different from the next guy, and the next guy, etc.

They are nice rockers, but for the money I would got with the Comp Pro Mag's. They are 100 bucks cheaper, stronger, and will clear larger springs without the need for clearencing.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/cca-1622-16/overview/make/chrysler
Click to expand...

those are just roller tipped rockers , not full roller link Harland sharp.


I have had Harland Sharps in my car for over 10 years zero problems.



And when I pulled the engine down last year to freshen it up and add better heads and a bigger cam all the rockers showed no wear and only needed cleaning before putting them on the new engine
 

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I'm running the Comp Pro Magnums too. From Comp's catalog they "Contain proprietary bushing inserts".

Comp%20Pro%20Magnum_zpswmmra9pq.jpg
 
I thought about Harland But Was Told The Trunions flog out Thats The More Recent Manfactured ones Opted For Hughes Instead and Love Them
 
GEO said:
those are just roller tipped rockers , not full roller link Harland sharp.


I have had Harland Sharps in my car for over 10 years zero problems.



And when I pulled the engine down last year to freshen it up and add better heads and a bigger cam all the rockers showed no wear and only needed cleaning before putting them on the new engine
Click to expand...

Yes, I know they don't have needle bearings like the Sharps do, and to me that is a benefit. I don't like the idea of potentially hundreds of needle bearings getting loose in my motor. The HS rockers are a very nice piece, I know a lot of folks love them (I even had a set a few years back), but I personally like a non-rollerized trunnion on a shaft mounted rocker...less stuff to go wrong in my opinion.

This is all a moot point anyway since the OP has a nearly stock cam and it sticking with the stamped steel stuff.
 
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