solid or hydraulic cam??

[blazerwhipple]

i have a big block chevy with a hydraulic crane cam....i thinking about going to soild cam ...what do you guys think??? also ive heard of several ways to adjust the valve lash...what method works the best with you guys??

[dc96819]

Hydraulic if its a street car

[Busted Knuckles]

Solids are great, tunable, make more power and will rev higher than hydraulics. I love the sewing machine sound of a solid. When the exhaust starts to open, adjust intake. When the intake starts to close, just past full lift, adjust the exhaust. This is the way racers do it to make sure they're on the base circle and it takes cam deflection into account since many of 'em run big springs.

[AyerForce]

Solids are great, tunable, make more power and will rev higher than hydraulics. I love the sewing machine sound of a solid. When the exhaust starts to open, adjust intake. When the intake starts to close, just past full lift, adjust the exhaust. This is the way racers do it to make sure they're on the base circle and it takes cam deflection into account since many of 'em run big springs.

+1
Just make sure you set the lash to the recommended amount by the manufacturer.

[blazerwhipple]

will i barely drive it on the street only on weekends and the drags.....i think ill go solid....whats the diffierence betwwen the lash adjusment on solid and hydraulic

[AyerForce]

On a hydraulic you set it to "Zero lash"- spin the pushrod until you feel drag via tightening the locknut then go half a turn more. On a solid you simply get the feeler gauge out and tighten down the the appropriate gap. I do both with the earlier described method of gettin the cam on the base circle.

[git_sum]

Well it depends on what kind of goals you have with the car. If you want to go max effort go with a solid roller. If your driving a ton and not really wanting to go max effort just go with a hydrolic roller. You can find power in other places than just cam swap.

[beltonbikr]

why not go roller? you can get a set of roller rockers and lifters for like 150 from motorville, change your cam and be done with it...free up some power, last longer, the cams are more expensive but you can interchange with others as long as you can get a tune

[blazerwhipple]

i thought about the crane roller z cam also im all the way in alaska and shipping is killer....also do you guys adjust the lash the motor running or with the it off?

[git_sum]

So your talking about a hydrolic flat tappet or a solid flat tappet? If that's the case going to anything roller is going to be much better. Just a hydrolic roller would be mounds better than what you have now if it's a flat tappet.

[blown68ssrs]

Blazer, How hi are you planning on spinning you big block? I have a bunch of new in box Crane solid roller sticks.

[blazerwhipple]

will the cam i have now is a crane powermax i think and the lift is 553/571 its been good but i definately want more power ....ive been told if you run roller rockers that youll red novaa.jpgneed a stud girdle and i have only short valve covers for now...i have to change my brake booster to fit bigger covers

[blazerwhipple]

will guess my pic didnt work lol

[blazerwhipple]

its a flat tappet...but ive been thinkin of a solid flat tappet heard alot about them ... but now im gonna keep my options open since there seems to be alot of diffierent valvetrain combos

[98GreenMachine]

i thought about the crane roller z cam also im all the way in alaska and shipping is killer....also do you guys adjust the lash the motor running or with the it off?

you can do it both ways, but the best is with the engine running. I set a initial adjustment to get it running then once its idling, I adjust it to final specs. This is with a hydraulic roller anyways..

[blazerwhipple]

so with the engine running do i loosen the nut until it ticks then tighten till tick stops then go one full turn or half?? in quarter turns??

[98GreenMachine]

so with the engine running do i loosen the nut until it ticks then tighten till tick stops then go one full turn or half?? in quarter turns??

With my roller I went 3/4 to 1 full turn, in 1/4 turn increments to let the lifter adjust. But yeah you pretty much have it. Keep in mind this is with a hydraulic roller, I don't know if the same technique applies to your flat tappet..