What roller rocker arms should I buy?

[CFreed11]

Re: What roller rocker arms should I buy?

How about some of the aluminum roller rockers from Comp Cams? They have some advertised in 1.5, 1.6, and 1.65:1 ratios for 1987+ 90* v6's. They mention the 4.3L but not the 3.8L though.

[ssms5411]

Re: What roller rocker arms should I buy?

Stock is around 1.66 , and I wouldn't trust any other rocker arms then what ZZP or Intense sells. Just the fact they have done the research on our 3.8 rocker arms.

[techsan23]

Re: What roller rocker arms should I buy?

i didnt think you could use rockers and a cam?

Sure you can. You can run 1.7's with a high lift cam, or even 1.8's with a mild cam. The higher the ratio is on the rocker nets you more lift, but also puts more stress on the rocker bolt. At $400 for a nice set of rockers you can buy a cam and install kit for almost the same price if you install it yourself. Its best to plan on getting the lift you want out of your cam so you dont put unnecessary stress on the rocker bolts. If you feel the need to squeeze a little more performance out of the engine you can then add the 1.7's to knock a few grams of weight off the valve train and decrease some friction also.

http://wallaceracing.com/rockercalc.php

[fbodyrs96]

Re: What roller rocker arms should I buy?

I have the GT2 cam, and all I remember reading when I first did my cam is that you cant do both.

[techsan23]

Re: What roller rocker arms should I buy?

I have the GT2 cam, and all I remember reading when I first did my cam is that you cant do both.

That's a good, proven cam. There's plenty of variables to consider in a valve train besides rocker ratio and cam lift including the amount possibly decked on the heads, thickness of head gasket, length of pushrods, valve springs. Hence Letzrides concern for mindlessly replacing parts. Generally speaking 1.7's + radical cam = good combo dependent on budget and goals.

[LETZRIDE]

Re: What roller rocker arms should I buy?

Sure you can. You can run 1.7's with a high lift cam, or even 1.8's with a mild cam. The higher the ratio is on the rocker nets you more lift, but also puts more stress on the rocker bolt. At $400 for a nice set of rockers you can buy a cam and install kit for almost the same price if you install it yourself. Its best to plan on getting the lift you want out of your cam so you dont put unnecessary stress on the rocker bolts. If you feel the need to squeeze a little more performance out of the engine you can then add the 1.7's to knock a few grams of weight off the valve train and decrease some friction also.

http://wallaceracing.com/rockercalc.php

I don't even see why you can't run a 1.9 rocker with an aggressive cam...so long as you check your Piston-to-valve clearance.

ex. a 1.9 rocker on a cam with a .512 lift (or .320 at .000) would now put out a .608 lift..... .608 isn't aweful...but if you have a lot of overlap I guess it could be a problem? but then of course you could always cut valve reliefs into your pistons...

[LETZRIDE]

Re: What roller rocker arms should I buy?

The way I look at things is, if you can honestly install a set of rocker arms...you can install a cam.

If you are competent enough to properly torque down the rocker arm bolts...what's a few more nuts and bolts to do a cam swap? seriously, at the end of the day that's all our motors are...nuts/bolts and torque specs. Believe me, it overwhelmed me to at first to think of a cam swap, and I had a buddy help me...but now looking back at all the work I have done, it's literally not that much more work. Think about it, couple bolts for the fuel rail? The injectors pop in and out...couple bolts on the lower and upper intake manifolds? 2 bolts per side for the piece that holds the lifters in? they slide right out.... The only thing that really sucks if it's your first time is the fact that you'll likely dump coolant all over the place and have to clean it up while getting b*tched at.