Pros and cons of solid lifters?

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68fastback

68fastback

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I am wanting to know what the pros andcons of solid lifters are over hydrolic. If you can help please let me know.
 
Hydraulic lifters are subject to this thing called "hydraulic intensity" which limits how quickly the cam can open the valve without "collapsing" the lifter mechanism (which would be detrimental in terms of performance). With a solid lifter, the cam profile can be more aggressive and can accelerate the valve off the seat and open it fully more quickly, resulting in "more area under the curve" (more valve opening during the same period) than is possible with a hydraulic. This is why solids will make more power, and you can turn them more rpms because the hydraulics can start to have problems at high rpms. Because of the difference in ramp rates on the camshafts, in general it's not wise to put hydraulic lifters on a solid lifter cam, and vice versa


i found this info using google...
 
70aarcuda said:
thank you that is great info but I am looking for opinions as well that's why I posted the question here. But thanks for taking the time to write all the info you found I was in the middle of reading some other articles online. Lol
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i copied and pasted from articles i found with google...but your welcome...LOL
 
hydraulics are trouble free usually and solids are noisy and require periodic adjustment. you like to wrench go solid. you dont go hydraulic.
 
I guess the real disadvantage to a solid is that you had better be damn spot on with valve to piston clearance. If you happen to hit a piston with a solid lifter cam it's gonna be messy. That and frequent valve adjustements.
I was considering a solid roller,but once again there is a caveate. The lifters can be problematic as the stress point is the shaft through the roller and the hi rates on solids tend to wear them out.There is supposed to be a new style of solid roller lifter coming,but I dont know much about it.

I would figure out what rpm range my engine will spend the most time in and choose a cam based on that and how much maintenance I can handle.
 
68fastback said:
But as far as performance goes is a hydrolic that much less than solid?
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Yes...if you want a fast car get a solid, leave the squish sticks where they belong....mini van anyone? Seriously though, solids will always make more power than a comparable hydraulic.

You could go a step further and get a solid roller. I use a solid roller, throttle response is WAY crisper, and it makes WAY more power than my old 292/.509 MP cam thanks in part to very aggressive ramp rates and holding the valves open longer than flat tappets. I will never go back to a squishy cam...or a flat tappet for that matter. Just my 2 cents.
 
Thats right flyfish. I remember the thread about you installing it! Sounds like it is working out well for you. How many miles/passes and any issues?

Sorry I forget your combo. Care to refresh my memory?
 
In my opinion, it depends on what you are going to use the car for. If you want to street/strip race it and can maintain it then go solid by all means. For cruise nights and the occational ricer crush at stoplights go hydraulic. There are some good performance hydraulics available for the entire engine range. I have had both and when I was young and I was street racing, it was all solid lifters. In my greying dottage I am now a hydraulic lifter fan.
JMHO-Rat
 
People exaggerate the valve adjustment frequency when it comes to solids.
If the valve seats or cam lobes are wearing that fast you've got problems and work to do but not with the cam, more like the spring pressures and lack of hardened seats or even oiling.

What's the the 1st step closer to roller performance?=solid cam
What's the next step?=newer fast ramp solid cam
What's the next step after those 2?=1.6 or better rocker ratio's that open even faster.

When people say ''hyd are if you don't wanna mess with it'' I want them to ask all the people here who have had -lifters tick, break, had clips fall out and those who've tried this and that but still get pump up @6500+rpm and float the vlaves.
I want them to ask 'How do you guy's like hyd's''?

If the only con is a once a year ,maybe twice, valve adjustment and the added expense of better adjustable rockers, the kind that aren't impaled by push rods and are stable.... well then we have a clear winner=solid cams over hyd.JMHO
 
as far as adjusted on solids...i usually check them a couple of times on a new camshaft ...and once they seem stable ..probably only check the lash once year...

I do remove the valve covers every couple of races to do a inspection of the rockers...
 
I have to agree on the hyd lifter thing. Every hyd cam/lifter I've installed sooner or later developes a lifter that bleeds down and rattles on startup. Im going solid with my next cam. And carefull rocker selection.
 
flyfish said:
Yes...if you want a fast car get a solid, leave the squish sticks where they belong....mini van anyone?
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Now that's funny!

I do know some Juice Rollers running in the 10's... Pretty fast minivans! :-D
 
Guess it all depends on which you prefer i run Hydraulic cams,and as far as rollers and solids making more power that all depends on the application,i know of one guy running a 408 s.b. stroker with a .550 something roller cam he can't touch my "stock" stroke 360 with about the same size hyd. cam...
 
stroked 340 said:
Guess it all depends on which you prefer i run Hydraulic cams,and as far as rollers and solids making more power that all depends on the application,i know of one guy running a 408 s.b. stroker with a .550 something roller cam he can't touch my "stock" stroke 360 with about the same size hyd. cam...
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I would think the 408 you are speaking of has something wrong with it tuning etc must be WAY out or the guy is a SHITTY driver.............period!!!!!!!!!
 
Mad Dart said:
I would think the 408 you are speaking of has something wrong with it tuning etc must be WAY out or the guy is a SHITTY driver.............period!!!!!!!!!
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I don't think so it all boils down to component choice and who puts it together,by the way the guy is a pretty good driver....
 
I understand what you are saying and I viewed it as if I was putting the combination of parts together and building it myself.

I stand Corrected..............

Here is what I am working on.........I did change the heads to 58cc Fully Ported Edelbrock Heads and it now will have 11.25:1 Compression on Pump Fuel...........I also changed the Carb to a 750 Mighty Demon worked over by Don at 4secondsflat.com

Other than that here is my combo...........with Flat Tappet SOLID cam...

70 Dart numbers matching 340 4spd.............

410 stroker eagle forged crank
eagle H beam forged Rods
Hughes stud Girdle machined the caps very little spacers used
Milodon oil pan
Srp pistons -16.9 dish
Iron Ram Heads fully ported
Cometic Head Gaskets, Studed w/ARP
Solid Flat Tappet Cam Hughes 5660AS 106 LSA
Intake Duration at .050" 252°
Exhaust Duration at .050" 256°
Cool face solid oil thru lifters
Hughes Roller Rockers 1.6
Jomar Rocker Girdle
Port matched Eddy Air gap
Demon 850 carb 1 inch spacer
Digital 6 ignition
Curved distributor from Don FBO 4secondsflat.com
TTI Headers with 3 inch exhaust thru the tips
Electric cut outs
Cylinder pressure estimated at 200 PSI
Quench is .034
Caltracs rancho 9000 & 90/10 up front
Street ET drag radials
4spd 3:91 gears
10.8:1 Compression Ratio on pump fuel elevation is 1120
 
Just wondering if you are gonna be tearing it down often to clean off carbon with the tight .034 quench? ''exaggerating joke''
I'm running .038 .040 myself.
So with that cam and spec'd 10.8 200psi cranking seems high to me, no big.

Don't like magnum rockers but I do like the combo.:)
 
For me, it's a question of the owner and the need. Solids will make more torque than a hydraulic of equal size. They tend to have flatter power curves than hydraulic again, of the same size. That's due to the extra duration and ramp speed the hydraulic (and hydraulic roller for the same reason) simply can't have and function. The lash will change slightly while the new engine settles in. But after a few thermal cycles you should be able to set and forget. Once a year if that. A performance hydraulic may need the same rockers and may be as noisey as a solid anyway. So at that point it's almost a why bother deal.
 
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