roller rockers on a stock 302

[pipeman]

just finished reading that thread on roller rockers and i wondered if it was something i should do. got a stock jcode 302. al intake, tri ys, rv cam. flat tappet hy cam. checked on e-bay on prices and uses. al, steel etc. can i buy a set and bolt them on? how reliable are they? big range in prices. or just a waste of time and money. any ideas or suggestions welcomed. rich

[bartl]

I've had stock stamped steel rockers and balls last over 200,000 miles. Your only gain will be a reduction of friction and, thus, less heat that will have to be absorbed by the oil. On the other side, you may need to invest in new valve covers to clear the hardware and screw in studs to retain the new rockers.

IMHO, save your money and use it better elsewhere.

[pipeman]

i believe i have pressed studs, right? cant use them? no horsepower gain? always looking for small gains without spending big bucks. rich

[Boom]

You would have to modify the heads in order to use them anyway I believe. Tapping holes or something...

It's mainly a racing upgrade in my opinion.

[pipeman]

well ill make a couple of calls to some vendors and see whats recommended. original engine in the car now, cant change to much. winter here now, no driving. just looking for some upgrades for the engine. rich

[frdnut]

Just bolting on a set of roller rockers will give you very little power gains..The main reason I would use them is if you are running higher rpms or adding an aftermarket camshaft with a more lift and stiffer valve springs...You will need to switch to guide plates and screw in studs or else you must use a "rail" type rocker to keep the rocker arm aligned with the valve stem.There are some roller tipped rockers available from comp cams that are a nice little upgrade over stock..They will give you a true rocker arm ratio and will prevent wear on the valve tips.

[ScottsGT]

Waste of cash on a stock engine for the HP return, if any to be seen on a mildly modded or wildly modded motor.
I went with them to get a little more lift by using 1.7 instead of 1.6's. but I also have aluminum heads and it would be a little silly running stock rockers on $1200 heads.
I say spend money on ignition upgrade, distributor recurve, Pertronics system or even more gear in the rear.

[pipeman]

this is what i was looking for, real opinions instead of vendors trying to sell something. ill take all the advice i can get, thanks. rich

[zray]

I got 11.5 more HP on the dyno when I went to Cranes gold race roller rockers several years ago vs. the stock rocker arms on a 289 HiPo engine. I was curious about the power gains as they were advertising a 20 to 25 HP improvement, which I correctly assumed was somewhat inflated.

But make no mistake about it, a reduction in friction will definitely free up some extra horsepower, just not as much as the ads promise.

Z.

[ScottsGT]

Hey Zray, did you stick with 1.6 or jump up to 1.7's?
Those are some impressive numbers for a rocker swap. I've always heard 3-5 HP gains.

[zray]

Originally Posted by ScottsGT

Hey Zray, did you stick with 1.6 or jump up to 1.7's?
Those are some impressive numbers for a rocker swap. I've always heard 3-5 HP gains.

1.6

Crane is now advertising 15 - 30 HP gains. The 30 HP number was with the increased ratio rockers though.

When turning the engine over with a socket on the crank nut you can immediately feel the difference in friction between the two styles of rocker arms .

I'll be installing a set of Jesel Sportsman shaft rockers sometime in the next week or two. I hear that the frictional difference is even greater between a roller stud mount rocker and a shaft mount rocker than it was between the stock rocker and the roller stud mount type.

I'm just wanting to get away from the stud mount system totally. I've been burned once by broken stud that caused a lot of collateral damage. And I wasn't even dealing with crazy spring pressure or extreme valve lift either. Just a lot of high rpm for extended periods.

The love of high rpm is my weakness.

Z.