Why are roller cams so $$$?

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pishta

pishta

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Question: Why are LA/Magnum roller cams 2-3X the price of flat tappet cams? Even with roughly the same specs (minus duration) they aint even close in price. WTH?
 
Tell me about it.:D
That's why I opted for the regrind at $125.
 
pishta said:
That aint bad at all..Oregon? And how big can they regrind one?
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Flat lifter cams are typically machined from a nodular cast iron blank that has the cam bearing areas and valve lifter travel areas cast in the rough. There is still much finish machining to do, but the as cast part at least looks like a cam.
Roller lifter cams start as a forged steel round blank that is completely cylindrical across its length. There is much additional machining just to get to the rough machined cam shape of a non machined cast cam.
There are also material cost differences. Pound for pound, cast nodular iron is less expensive to produce than forged steel.
 
Forged billet? IIRC all modern OEM rollers are iron but they are some low po low spring pressure dogs. Fair enough, did Oregon cams (or regrinder) give you spring pressure recommendations?
 
pishta said:
Forged billet? IIRC all modern OEM rollers are iron but they are some low po low spring pressure dogs. Fair enough, did Oregon cams (or regrinder) give you spring pressure recommendations?
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Rollers are billet,
The small contact point of the roller dictates that. Cast material will not take the loading.
 
I can tell ya after you build and engine with one...its hard to go back!
 
my68barracuda said:
Rollers are billet,
The small contact point of the roller dictates that. Cast material will not take the loading.
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Lots of roller cams come on cast iron cores. Even solid rollers.

They cost more because the core is more expensive to start with. It's more time consuming to grind 8620 bar stock than cast iron. Once the lobe is roughed in, it needs to be heat treated, then finish ground and polished.

Regrinding a roller core can go through the hardness so you can't change the lobe very much, unless you redo the heat treat and then you get into the cost of a new cam.
 
Factory Gen 3 Hemi cams are cast, in fact they're only $80 for a replacement for most apps. And they tend to fail cam lobes at high miles and trash the lifter along with it. I'd rather have a forged or billet cam myself just knowing that.

I've been looking at a Lunati retro-fit hydraulic roller to run in a JY 5.9 Magnum and list price on their site is just under $300 for the camshaft only, I think that's pretty good...?
 
MOPEkidD-3 said:
Factory Gen 3 Hemi cams are cast, in fact they're only $80 for a replacement for most apps. And they tend to fail cam lobes at high miles and trash the lifter along with it. I'd rather have a forged or billet cam myself just knowing that.

I've been looking at a Lunati retro-fit hydraulic roller to run in a JY 5.9 Magnum and list price on their site is just under $300 for the camshaft only, I think that's pretty good...?
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Good price , Khalid... I went "retro fit " myself . (Was 320 shipped Howards , through Comp Products) Extremely happy , with the results.
 
MOPEkidD-3 said:
Factory Gen 3 Hemi cams are cast, in fact they're only $80 for a replacement for most apps. And they tend to fail cam lobes at high miles and trash the lifter along with it. I'd rather have a forged or billet cam myself just knowing that.

I've been looking at a Lunati retro-fit hydraulic roller to run in a JY 5.9 Magnum and list price on their site is just under $300 for the camshaft only, I think that's pretty good...?
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Double post...
 
That’s basically my favorite thing. I’ll do a nice health solid flat tapper cam again. I have one lined up. It’s a beefy lil’bastard. But that’s about the only reason why. It’s also easier to clear pushrod tunnels on some heads. I wasn’t to fond of whipping out the die grinder on the Edelbrock heads and the Hyd. roller cam.
But that’s what ya gotta do sometimes.
 
pishta said:
That aint bad at all..Oregon? And how big can they regrind one?
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That I don't know, but a call to them would answer your questions.
Address: 5913 NE 127th Ave #200, Vancouver, WA 98682
Phone: (360) 256-7985

I told them about the spring set from Hughes and they said it would be fine.
Don't remember the seat pressure, but the open pressure was a tad over 300lb.
 
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There are different quality cam cores too... You can't compare a Jegs cam to a custom cam from a boutique cam outfit... not a whole lot if difference in price to a grinder but that's how you get a budget cam.
 
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