I have a quick question. 350 sbc, planning on a voodoo 60103 .489/.504 or 60104 .504/.525. This is the lift with stock 1.5 rockers. Now i can gain more power by using 1.6 rockers, roller or roller tip but it actually increases my lift over the 1.5 rockers.

My question is, would it be better to go with the 1.6 rockers, or should i just purchase a cam with higher lift and stay with the 1.5 rockers?

Im not sure if my setup to the question made sense, but i hope someone can help me out here. Thanks Josh

What type of heads are you running? You won't see much if any improvement at all. If you have good heads that have good springs that are rated for .600 lift then you could do it. I personally would just get some good 1.52 roller tip rockers.

The difference will be in the lift only. Installing 1.6 rockers will give you about .030 more lift without changing the duration.

Will this help me at all, in either way? Does it help to have more lift without changing duration? Or should i maybe go with a larger cam? or does it simply not help in either way?

ie. If my cam in 504/525 with 1.5, should i just stay with the 1.5 and get a 535/555 cam since thats wat the 1.6 rockers would give me?

I am asking becuase i am following a build where changing the rockers was good for 5 or 6 hp and about 8-10 lb.ft...thanks again Josh

Yes, more lift usually helps, "IF" that's what's limiting your engine from increased airflow. Otherwise it'll likely be a waste of resources.

Many things affect the number of cubic inches of air you can get into the cylinder, valve lift is only one of them.

For example if it's the intake runners that are restricting you then increasing lift probably won't help as much as increasing duration (translating to length of time the valve stays open). The solution to this problem would be porting or swapping heads, or adding a supercharger etc.

Recently, if you havent seen it Chevy High Performance magazine did a great set of articles explaining the basics of all this and comparing various heads on the flow bench. Go to www.chevyhiperformance.com and look under their pull-down archive section then under heads.

Knowing where the restrictions are in your induction system will allow you to increase horsepower and torque most effectively and efficiently.

Josh, A few years ago I had a ZZ4 in my chevelle. One of the things I did was go from the stamped 1.5 rockers to the Comp pro magnum roller rockers. I never dynoed the difference or checked just that change at the track, but, you could clearly hear it in the exhaust. I would say that it was probably worth the 5-6 hp and 10 lb.ft. If you have a mild cam your motor may like it. Stampted steel rockers are notorious for being off anyway. I did have to modify my valve covers though.

Josh, those were 1.6 rollers.

The current VooDoo hydraulics are just about maximum valve lift with 1.5s, for their duration, whether seat or .050. Just about every SBC ever made benefits from 1.6s on the intake, and sometimes on the exhaust also. If you have to buy a full set, put them on both valves, if you can get a half set only, just put them on the intakes.
Note that the intake on the 60103 is .489", and not .490". It certainly won't be .522" for quite some time. The intake lift was .489" because I couldn't get it to .490", without making a very-pointy nose, or else running off the edge of the tappet. The VooDoo series define the State of the Art. Get the cam you want, and run the 1.6s for more lift, that is, if your springs will take the extra lift.

UDHarold