rocker arms- what works and wont break the bank?

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mshred

mshred

The Green Manalishi
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Hey guys,

One of the things i still havent priced out yet for my 360 build is rocker arms. I am going to be running a hydraulic roller cam in the 550-570 lift range, and the spring to accompany these lifts. What i would like to know is who makes a good rocker arm that doesnt cost an arm and a leg but works well for my intended usage and goals. I was looking at the hughes shaft mount, but they are a little pricey for me....Is there anything out there cheaper than those that work well?

thanks!
Matthew
 
Matthew, there are plenty of cheaper ones out there. This is something I have been researching myself, as except for the crankshaft, rocker arms are the only large purchase I have left. All of my research says STAY AWAY from the overseas stainless rockers. Lots of times, I don't have problems with overseas stuff, but you can find plenty of horror stories regarding the overseas rockers. I would go with either the Comp pro magnums or the hughes. I think they're both about the same price. I actually ran the comp pro magnums years ago on a 360 I had. They worked great. In the lift range you're talkin about with roller spring pressure, don't chance it man. You're gonna have a lot of money tied up in it. Wait til you can afford just as good of a rocker arm as the rest of your engine. Just talkin to you on here, I know you know what you're doin....so do it right.
 
siuauto said:
I would use Hughes, they are made for Mopars and Dave stands behind his products.
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I have a set of their 1.6 Rockers, shafts and hold downs on my 410 Stroker.

Solid Flat Tappet at .624 lift and they hold the Valve Adjustment Perfect!!
 
My engine builder, whom I trust, is an ex Pro Stock racer Chose PRW roller rockers for my stroker build with .558/.573 lift. They are similar to Comp steel rockers but with a bronze bushing. PRW website lists them at $449 complete with hold downs.
 
I have Hughes 1.6 shaft mount rockers on my 408 stroker, and also 1.5 on my 318...

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its better to not skimp out on rocker arms...
 
hey guys,

thanks for the info! i appreciate it all... I wasnt looking on a way to cheap out so to speak, but was wondering if there is a rocker that works good for the money without being excessively expensive...The Hughes stuff looks good for what it is, but mad im gonna probably hold out till i get the engine built to figure out what ratio i want...but im going to keep my eyes opened now atleast for either hughes or comp magnums...the PRW's seem a little more expensive

thanks a bunch guys!
 
........if you hadn't spent all that money on the T5...............



sorry. ......lol
 
Me too on the Hughes 1.6 and hold downs. Just started assembly and they seem to be great pieces. Dave at Hughes has been a big help to me with their retrofit hydraulic roller lifter and cam. Lots of good feedback from them. Worth the $$$ IMO.
 
I like the sintered iron factory ones or the Isky versions. Otherwise the Comp steels. I miss Crane...lol
 
StrokerScamp said:
........if you hadn't spent all that money on the T5...............



sorry. ......lol
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your just loving that t5 thing lol...and oh, for the record, i have maybe about 500 bucks into the t5 swap, including the transmission lol (i made money off that transmission when i pulled it from the wreckers!:toothy10:)
 
moper said:
I like the sintered iron factory ones or the Isky versions. Otherwise the Comp steels. I miss Crane...lol
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Isnt the sintered iron and ductile iron stuff supposedly off on the ratios? and isnt the roller tip a beneficial upgrade, or is it over hyped?
 
mshred said:
your just loving that t5 thing lol...and oh, for the record, i have maybe about 500 bucks into the t5 swap, including the transmission lol (i made money off that transmission when i pulled it from the wreckers!:toothy10:)
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:---)
 
mshred said:
Isnt the sintered iron and ductile iron stuff supposedly off on the ratios? and isnt the roller tip a beneficial upgrade, or is it over hyped?
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Everything is "off". Mainly because of the less-than-optimum lifter/pushrod/rocker angles.
But OEM stamped rockers are the worst. Ductile iron and rollers each have their advantages and disadvantages. I've run Crane ductile and Harland Sharp rollers for many years on different combos with good results and longevity.
 
Locomotion said:
Everything is "off". Mainly because of the less-than-optimum lifter/pushrod/rocker angles.
But OEM stamped rockers are the worst. Ductile iron and rollers each have their advantages and disadvantages. I've run Crane ductile and Harland Sharp rollers for many years on different combos with good results and longevity.
Click to expand...

good info, thank you! if it works for you, i trust it
 
I like the Harland Sharps, needle bearings on the shafts is nice. Pricey, but no troubles with mine.
 
I measured some of my oem iron rockers when I assembled my engine and found around a 1.4:1 ratio. Not enough to make a big difference on a stock rebuild but It should help a bit if they were a true 1.5 Toolman
 
I found that isky makes some ductile iron ones as well for 389 on summit, but not sure if they include shafts in that price

I also noticed that mancini sells some proform rocker arms for around 200 dollars...is proform the chinese stuff, or do their rockers work well?

anyone have experience with either of these brands of rockers?
 
Pro Form is overseas stuff. Also.....if you go ductile, make sure you get bushed rockers, or make room in your budget to get them bushed. Non bushed rockers on a performance engine is a combination askin for trouble.
 
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