Rhoads lifters

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I think Rhoads are louder in a big block Chrysler, my buddy had them in a 440 Six Pack 4-speed GTX, they worked great but they hated the rattle so they pulled them....but did perform well.....like I said, they are quiet in my 340 :D
 
Crane made a version, touted as "no more noise" Cant remember the name....
 
66340SEDAN said:
I think Rhoads are louder in a big block Chrysler, my buddy had them in a 440 Six Pack 4-speed GTX, they worked great but they hated the rattle so they pulled them....but did perform well.....like I said, they are quiet in my 340 :D
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Yes they work..
Tried Crane bleed downs on a old school 79-80 era grind Comp Cams Stage 3 hydraulic can (312 advertise/[email protected]) . Failed on my part, miss that camshaft. The Rhoads have worked better,for me.
 
Honestly, I didn't know much about these lifters except that they used to be popular..I like to be different when I went old skool on my ride, I bought some NOS ones on ebay and they were probably close to 30 years old complete with the vintage box...I went with an old skool Isky cam grind and the combo works good, idles great and awesome power band, still pulls hard at 6,500 but that's where I have the rev limiter set at...might pull even more but not sure I need too and nervous about the "Boom" factor lol
 
There's no "boom factor",lol. A lot of people hate them,it is what it is.
 
Wow Mike! That is really some twisted metal there. Wow!
 
MRL Performance said:
If I were to run the rhoads lifters with this whiplash cam, I would only run them on the exhaust side.

Note for all reading this. Please LEARN FROM MY MISTAKE!!!! Do not use them to "tame" a big cam on a higher compression engine. That was a bad day for me. Detonated the crap out of one of my race engines and this was the end result. SHAT Happens.
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How did you come to diagnose that failure due to the Rhoades lifters.


I've run them for years on many engines and for over 250,000 in an engine with no problems.
Are you sure that something else didn't cause that failure?
 
I don't even notice any ticking from mine.


If it bothers you, install a better stereo and CRANK IT UP!!!! LOL!
 
krazykuda said:
How did you come to diagnose that failure due to the Rhoades lifters.


I've run them for years on many engines and for over 250,000 in an engine with no problems.
Are you sure that something else didn't cause that failure?
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It was a customer of mine. He wanted to tame it down, so we talked and thought the rhoads would do the trick. It did help a bunch. But when you have a big cam in a engine designed for a big cam(read: HIGH COMPRESSION) and then make the cam 3-5 sizes smaller, bad things happen. It detonated real bad, pounded all the rod bearings out of it and spun a few. The cylinder pressures were way to high. He reported the power was incredible right up to the point where it started shaking and then just quit.

So don't use them in high compression engines. They are made to be used in severely OVER CAMMED engines to tame them down at low rpm, then make it come alive at high rpm. I have used them with success since that blowup with great results. I have a set of the VMAX lifters in a race engine running a solid cam. The torque curve was like a turbo Diesel, came on early and hung in there forever.
 
MRL Performance said:
They are made to be used in severely OVER CAMMED engines to tame them down at low rpm, then make it come alive at high rpm. I have used them with success since that blowup with great results. I have a set of the VMAX lifters in a race engine running a solid cam. The torque curve was like a turbo Diesel, came on early and hung in there forever.
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I've used them in mild engines with "tame cams"...


I put together a 318 with 10.5 TRW forged pistons, stock 340 cam, and a 68 318 heads and intake and carb. It idled at 24" Hg, but would overheat after running 20 minutes when the temperature got above 80°. I had to lower the compression....

So I threw a set of 77 360 heads and 69 stock 340 intake with a Holley 600 Vac sec, and it only lowered my vacuum to 22.5" at idle. It brought my compression down to 9.2. I ran a 10.5 power valve and could accelerate at 13" vacuum and keep out of the power valve. 17.75 true highway mpg... I put almost 450,000 on that engine before finally retiring it....


They also worked great in my 340 with a MP .484/284° cam. It gained about 3" hg at idle and had a much smoother idle at 300 rpm's less....
 
I should add that I hear no ticking in my 273 engine w/ the Rhoads lifters (and new pushrods - 340TA PN). I ran that engine only once with the original solid lifters & cam and don't even recall any noise then, but perhaps having owned a 69 slant for decades and M-B diesels w/ solids it all sounds normal. Since my 273 had adjustable rockers, I was able to preload the Rhoads lifters per their manual, and did it with the intake off so easy to see.

I could surely get a smooth idle with the "RV Torque" cam I chose, but figured the Rhoads would help mileage, and I got them cheap. Mileage doesn't matter if your car is a show-only trailer queen.

For those who had engine failure, it seems uncertain to blame it on the Rhoads lifters, indeed very unlikely if failure occurred >3000 rpm where they act as a regular hydraulic lifter. I plan to use a knock sensor and computer spark control eventually in all my classics, which both protects the engine and improves mileage and performance.
 
Im 100% sure it was because of the lifters. Im not blaming the lifters, It was all my fault. We had a 11 to1 engine running a 230* cam that was running great, and for quite some time. After putting the rhoads in it was like dropping down to a 200*(or so) cam. The cylinder pressure was just to high and it detonated, bashing out the rod bearings which caused a few to spin resulting in the blowup. Live and learn.

And I can tell you, they don't always pump all the way up at the higher rpm. Dynos are a wonderful tool for testing such things.
 
284/484 cam in my 318 demon, tried rhoads lifters, tamed it down but thenoise at cruising speed drove me crazy, swapped back to mp lifters and all good now, just had to pay more attention to tuning
 
They cover for overcamming mistakes,good for that.That ,with some tuning, by a helpful friend helped.
 
MRL Performance said:
And I can tell you, they don't always pump all the way up at the higher rpm. Dynos are a wonderful tool for testing such things.
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I've told members here that before.. but the old Rhoads Devotees just won't hear it.
You want to lose some lift and duration all over on your cam at all engine speeds the go ahead and use those snake oil lifters.
 
Bakerlite said:
I've told members here that before.. but the old Rhoads Devotees just won't hear it.
You want to lose some lift and duration all over on your cam at all engine speeds the go ahead and use those snake oil lifters.
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that's would qualify for a solid lifter flat tappet ,in your world? Quick nasty throttle response,smokes Rhodes,are you going to adjust my flat tappet? I love flat tappet solids,maybe he doesn't want to adjust them?
Jus sayin'...
 
If I was gonna use Rhoads lifters would because I would be trying to build a broader powerband not to fix the wrong cam, if your gonna tear into your to put lifters in go the rest of the way and put the right cam.
 
Mine work great. I use them to get more bottom end torque and not lose top end power. They are noisy on a cam like mine (232/237@ .050, .520 lift). I run 3.23 gears and it runs 12.30's @ Vegas. I haven't run at sea level but, comparing mine to 70aarcuda's times, it should run near 12.10 at Famoso. Not bad for street gears. Engine is a 410", 2500 converter with 3.23 gears
 
I am going to assume here that with Rhodes lifters it makes a big difference in what weight oil you use.

I would think that the heavier the oil the less benefit you get at idle and the quicker it pumps up at higher RPM and that thinner oils will take even longer to pump up.

I just put a set of them in the 340, haven't really run it yet, but I am running stock 10.5 forged pistons and a purple shaft 284 484 cam and a Melling High volume oil pump.

I plan on using 10/30 or 10/40 mobil 1 once it is broken in. if it is too noisy I may try 20/50.

What oil / pump combos have you guys used and have you noticed any difference ?
 
You do not need heavier oil to run them. Though I could see what your saying about pump up times and noise reduction possibilities.
 
trapster said:
I am going to assume here that with Rhodes lifters it makes a big difference in what weight oil you use.

I would think that the heavier the oil the less benefit you get at idle and the quicker it pumps up at higher RPM and that thinner oils will take even longer to pump up.

I just put a set of them in the 340, haven't really run it yet, but I am running stock 10.5 forged pistons and a purple shaft 284 484 cam and a Melling High volume oil pump.

I plan on using 10/30 or 10/40 mobil 1 once it is broken in. if it is too noisy I may try 20/50.

What oil / pump combos have you guys used and have you noticed any difference ?
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The weight of oil doesn't make that much difference. I've run them with 10x30 to 20x50. I don't like any 5wXX oils in my small blocks. It seems to "watery" to me...

Neither does high volume or high pressure pumps. I've used them with high volume pumps with high pressure springs and also stock lower ends.
 
This is a great thread as I have been thinking about using the Rhoads with a 484 cam in my 340 that I am putting together for the Duster. My compression will not be anywhere near 11:1, more in the 9 - 10 range for pump gas. I just wanted to help with the idle and to increase the power band on the low end.

So BillGrissom used adjustable rockers with the Rhoads. Is that the ideal setup? I have two sets, one with the oil grooves on the shafts.

KrazyKuda, 66340Sedan, and Abodybomber, what rocker setup did you guys use?

And I must mention that I am convinced that Crackedback has very good points about how to properly tune the 484 cam in a 340.

You guys are great.
 
Rhoads is a small company that still believes in selling a quality product. The VMAX XL lifter has a small groove in the side that allows lube oil at the lifter/cam lobe. If you have an adjustable valve train you can adjust the reduction.
If you run them you need to select your cam based on the lift/duration reduction below 3500 RPM. Calculate the Dynamic compression ratio based on intake closing event to pick the cam that works best for your combo. Every engine I've built with Rhoads has a very broad torque band that pulls like a freight train.
 
DFX 340 Duster said:
This is a great thread as I have been thinking about using the Rhoads with a 484 cam in my 340 that I am putting together for the Duster. My compression will not be anywhere near 11:1, more in the 9 - 10 range for pump gas. I just wanted to help with the idle and to increase the power band on the low end.

So BillGrissom used adjustable rockers with the Rhoads. Is that the ideal setup? I have two sets, one with the oil grooves on the shafts.

KrazyKuda, 66340Sedan, and Abodybomber, what rocker setup did you guys use?

And I must mention that I am convinced that Crackedback has very good points about how to properly tune the 484 cam in a 340.

You guys are great.
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I've always run them with the stock stamped steel rockers.


They really worked well in my 340 with the .484/284 cam.
 
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