Technical Off Brand Roller Rockers?

I'm looking at roller rockers for my 350 Chevy... actually now a 355. The Comp Cams and Lunati aluminum ones I like are around $260-290/set of 16. I did see some others on evilBay and some are stainless steel and pretty good looking for a lot less $$. Has anyone used one of the following products?

KMJ (ARC SRA35015716) made off shore to their specs
Speed Master (PCE261-1006) stainless steel
Speed Master (PCE261.1144) aluminum
Scorpion
Proform (66930) aluminum, sold by Roush-Yates
PRW
Elgin (SSR1840RS) looked real nice for $160
Blumax
Track Pro

In the end, I may wind up going with something really name-brand just so I can sleep at night.

Thanks, Bob

 

Running the Scorpion on my 409 so far so good.

 

If you cannot afford a good set it will be worth your while to put a set of CompCams steel with roller tips , you do not want to grenade A cheep rocker & have to track down all the needle bearings !!!
Myself I've even broke a set of $1500 Jesel before and it was a pain tracking down all the needles

 

Don't use the proform ones I had some a few years back an the roller tips were chrome plated an after 1000 miles the chrome came off an the rollers wore flat spots an the needle bearing trunnions got very loose an sloppy... Remember you get what you pay for!

 

Doing some research... Speedmaster aka Pro Comp are not reviewed favorably. I'll look up the Scorpions, Blumax, Elgin and a couple others next. My engine builder is steering me away from the stamped ones with the roller tip. He likes the ones with the bigger trunnions too.
Thanks.

 

I don't know if Elgin is making their rockers, but they make great cams. Used them in many builds. I'd take a gamble on their rockers.

Mike

 

I'll refer you here;
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/...ilite-distributor.993903/page-2#post-11197303

'Nuff said.

Roger

 

Run away from that offshore crap, unless you either don't drive far from home, or have lots of time on your hands.
Not fun doing major engine work 400 miles into a 1000 mile (one way) trip in the middle of the night in a MOTEL 6 parking lot.

 

If you need roller rockers then you need good roller rockers. That's my thoughts anyway.

 

The Scorpion stuff is quite good. I'd pass on the rest of what you mentioned.

 

Looking at the US stuff only. How well do aluminum rockers hold up for the street? Cam is a Lunati Voodoo 268/276 flat tappet.

 

The Elgin SSR1840RS looks pretty good, stainless steel, big bearing.

 

You have to watch for counterfeits on the Bay, especially name brands. If the price is too good to be true, well, you know the rest.

 

Well.. Speed Master seems to have a knock-off of any legit rocker I've seen so far.

 

the ball pivot Comp roller tip rockers are not stamped steel, they're investment cast stainless. I've been running them on big blocks for a long long time, no issues.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/cca-1442-16

We don't know how much valve spring or lift you are running, so our recommendations might not be as accurate as they could be, with more information.

 

On big lift cams (relative term... > .600 lift to me) I prefer Comp Cams Pro Magnums.
-or-
These things are tough! No problems with big solid rollers and lots of spring pressure. I've had the aluminum bodied ones come apart in severe duty applications. Proper geometry and even American made broke right in two. Prefer not to mention the brand. They were warrantied. I swapped out the busted one and shortly broke another the same way. Switched to the Pro Magnums and never looked back. High 8 second full weight big block Ford OT car on the hose FWIW.

 

This is not the place to try to save a few bucks,the off shore parts are IMHO substandard. HRP

 

Most engine builders like the steal rollers for street use
they work better for the long run

 

have Harland Sharps on the 96 BBC in a towing vehicle 45K miles no problems , the scorpions I have a buddy who has had them on his SBC for 60K hard street miles with no problems . spend the money otherwise you will be spending 2-3 times more for the tow and fixing the parts they broke . besides the rockers make sure the studs are up to the task too . as for roller tips why??? the friction is in the ball not the tip .

 

The cam is a Lunati Voodoo 268/276. Lift is .489/.504. Heads are Dart SHP aluminum, 180 cc intake runners and 64 cc combustion chamber. Studs are 7/16". Intake is Dart as well. Lunati recommends a 700 cfm carb.

The Harland Sharps look nice for aluminum rockers.

Any idea who makes this one for Speedway? I'm leaning towards something stainless.
http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Small...l-Roller-Rocker-Arms-151-7-16-Stud,25052.html

 

I wonder how valve guide life compares between roller and non roller tip rockers?

 

To me, phrases like "leading U.S.-based manufacturer of engine and chassis components" in a press release says something quite different. If that's something that matters to you...
Title: ELGIN ADDS STAINLESS STEEL ROLLER ROCKERS TO PRO-STOCK LINE
Date: 5/14/2012
Content: Elgin, IL…Elgin Industries, a leading U.S.-based manufacturer of engine and chassis components, has introduced stainless steel roller rocker arms to its popular line of Elgin® PRO-STOCK® performance parts.
The new PRO-STOCK roller rockers are available for a wide range of small- and big-block Chevrolet and Ford 302 and 351W engines.
Stainless steel construction and extra-large trunnions give PRO-STOCK roller rockers superior strength and increased durability while eliminating deflection at high RPM. Each part’s full needle-bearing trunnion allows for increased horsepower and quicker response, and a large roller tip helps prevent wear.
The new roller rockers are offered in clamshell kits of 16 that include poly locks.
In addition to these new parts, the Elgin PRO-STOCK line includes a broad range of performance camshafts, push rods, valves, retainers, timing sets and other parts. Many PRO-STOCK parts are available with the company’s exclusive Black Ice™ super-cryogenic hardening/tempering technology.
For additional information regarding Elgin PRO-STOCK performance engine parts and other world-class products, please contact your engine parts supplier, visit www.elginind.com, call 1-800-323-6764, or email [email protected].
Elgin Industries is a Tier One supplier of original equipment engine and chassis components to organizations such as General Motors, Mack, Navistar and Harley-Davidson, and a leading, all-makes/all-models supplier of replacement automotive and heavy-duty parts. The company operates an advanced manufacturing and headquarters facility in Elgin, Ill. Elgin has earned dozens of quality awards and has received its certificates of registration to the ISO/TS 16949:2009 Quality Management System and ISO 14001:2004 Environmental Management System. The company also has received its Ford Q1 Quality Certification.

 

When I see a product label that says "NEW AND IMPROVED" the first thing that comes to mind is....so what kind of shit have you been feeding us up till this point.

 

I like the Eglins, their site won't display them though. Here's an eBay link. Seems awfully inexpensive at $169.99. The polylocks look a bit cheesy though.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/261462891794?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

 

depends on the valve guide material , the main reason for the roller s were to reduce friction losses , not guide wear . and a proper geometry solid tip will also not eat guides . if guide wear was a problem then OEms would have used roller tips years back , but instead they used the solid style and they would get 50-100K mi per head overhaul .

 

Some folks think that wearing out guides in 50k miles is a problem. More lift than stock means quite a bit more sideways movement at the tip of the rocker...

 

most guide wear problems are from , #1 improper geometry ( wrong length push rods and stud height ) , bad machine work ( oversize or too small guide clearances , springs not square to head, wrong type of seals making stem dry , wrong guide material if rebuilt ) , mismatched guide/valve materials ( like using stainless valves with cast iron guides ) and stud movement . or they are plain ol wore out and the owner is too cheap to get a proper guide/valve job done ..
but like I said the main purpose of a roller rocker is to reduce frictional losses in hp . and the main frictional point is the fulcrum and for what you spend for the tip only you can get the real deal . heck even Gm has been using them for the o/t gen III/ IV series motors and they have the flat pad vs roller tip and most of the heads are aluminum .

 

So....roller tips probably won't reduce guide wear, and even if they did, that's not a good reason to use them.

 

Just don't use cheap ones,
There's a lot of force on that little axle. It would be cheaper in the long run to wear guides than to run roller rockers that fail.

 

We ran the Harland Sharps on the Yblock at Bonneville. Had some small issues. Milwaukee Midget had a bear of a time with them as well. I am not sold.