So in my research for the best bang for the buck i'm looking into hydraulic roller cams, sure its gonna cost me about twice as much as the normal cam, but the numbers make it worth it.

First, would this work:

This cam: Comp Cams 'Xtreme Energy' Hydraulic Roller Camshafts - Xtreme Energy XR270HR Hydraulic Roller Camshaft Only
Lift: .495''/.502''
Duration: 270°/276°
RPM Range: 1600-5400
$239.00

These Lifters:
Lunati Roller Lifters - Chevrolet-SB 1955-00 262-400ci, Lightweight Pop-Up Design Roller Lifters with Horizontal Bar, .842'' Diameter
$266.99

Adds up to a few bucks over $500, but will give me numbers that a $1200.00 set of heads plus a hydraulic flat tappet cam for $200.00 cant match, $500 vs. $1400.00 is a no brainer, but am i mistaken, is there some hidden cost or additional hardware needed to put this on your basic sb 350?

Is this a set of retro hydraulic roller lifters? Seems to me that they were alot more than $266 last time I looked. Then there's the special distributor drive gear, the cam thrust button, and the torrington roller bearing for the front of the block, and the heavy duty timing cover...oh, yeah, and the machinework for the thrust bearing....and on a basic 350, with basic 350 heads, the power difference is not going to be near as much as what you would think, because the heads is where the power is built.

Good heads+average cam= power and drivability

stock heads+hyd. roller cam=stock power.

wow, dind't realize so much had to be done, and no they weren't listed at retro lifters, just pre-86.

so basically its impossible to convert to a hyd. roller setup without tearing down the block?

that sucks, the cam was showing greater gains in simulations than the heads i was looking at.

I appreciate the info, thank smile.gif

You don't have to tear down the block. I put a Comp 280HR in my 406 and just used a timing set with a bronze thrust washer. You don't need a special distributor gear with the Comp HR cams either. I used a Comp cam button and a heavy duty timing cover, setting the endplay to 0.005". You will need to purchase the proper springs and pushrods, and make sure your valvetrain isn't binding up.
For the money you spend, which will approach $800 to $1000 under the best dealing circumstances, you would get a lot more power out of a good set of heads.

onovakind67, I have to differ with you on the Comp HR + Distributor gear being of no concern-- there is most definately a concern here, and while the parts aren't "special" you do need to pick your components wisely!

My last Comp HR and MSD "melonized" gear parted ways after 2500 miles last year. The distributor gear was simply GONE and the cam gear was pretty shredded. My previous Comp HR and MSD Melonized gear had pretty substantial wear on the distributor gear after 7500 miles. I didn't look at the 7500 mile cam/gear set closely until I lost the 2500 mile cam/gear. When I lost the gear on the 2500 mile cam last year, I dug my 7500 mile cam/gear out of the box and sure enough, they were ugly!

I am not running an HV pump, nor am I running thick oil, so it's not like I have a huge load on my distributor gear which would make the problem worse.

Mike Lewis has had this occur as well at his shop (he said he had one fail in the first 24 miles!), and another friend of mine who runs an engine shop has had this happen numerous times as well. MSD points their finger at Comp, and vise-versa. The Comp HR's and MSD Melonized iron distributor gears just don't seem to mix!

I'm currently running Mike's fix, which is a over the counter GM Melonized gear honed out to .500 to fit on my MSD distributor but so far everything looks great.

Troy

The retro hyd rollers are a drop in deal but are quite expensive.
There is no machine work required except for being sure you have enough piston to valve clearance & retainer to seal clearance, just the right parts.
You will probably need to fit the thrust button for the correct end play.

The lifters you listed are solid lifters not hyd.

You will need cam, lifters, springs, probably retainers, push rods & a thrust button.
You do not need a different distributor gear as the aftermarket cams are on a cast core but I highly recommend you use the factory GM melonized gear Part # 10456413 in all cast hyd roller applications,, lot's of problems here.
You will be spending about $800-$1000 to do it right ;)

++++++++++EDIT+++++++++
I see all has already been answered,,,
Oh well, guess I just type too slow :(

Hi Troy & Mike graemlins/beers.gif

BTW, not one failure,,, FOUR OF THEM with the Comp / MSD gear combo,,, :rolleyes:

Have to throw in my 2 pennies worth here. From personal experience - do not run any spring pressure worth running (hope you understand this) on a cast core roller. Also, cast core rollers are not tolerant of lifter bore misalignment. If at all possible - search out or custom order a billet core roller - whether hyd roller or solid. [I have pictures and a grooved roller cam paperweight for proof].

Originally posted by GRN69CHV:
Have to throw in my 2 pennies worth here. From personal experience - do not run any spring pressure worth running (hope you understand this) on a cast core roller. Also, cast core rollers are not tolerant of lifter bore misalignment. If at all possible - search out or custom order a billet core roller - whether hyd roller or solid. [I have pictures and a grooved roller cam paperweight for proof]. I agree,,, I would always prefer a billet core with the cast gear option,, solid or hyd.
I don't really like cast rollers regardless of the type of lifter.
I use them because some folks don't like the price of a custom billet but if you want it to live it would be a good idea to keep the spring at a reasonable level ;)

Mike, what's your definition of reasonable spring presure for an HR setup?

The rule of thumb I was given is shoot for 125-130# closed / 330# open.

Just want to know if I was told right smile.gif

Troy

Originally posted by Gokou:
Mike, what's your definition of reasonable spring presure for an HR setup?

The rule of thumb I was given is shoot for 125-130# closed / 330# open.

Just want to know if I was told right smile.gif

Troy =

Hi Troy,
No boost right :D
I like no more than about 150/375 if you want it to live.
With the right lobe they will spin up pretty decent.
I just pulled an XE out & replaced it with an Isky that was real close in spec.
The XE had 350 open & an AFR rev kit that added about 95lbs & the thing would not go over 6100.
It had about 1800 miles & was already tracking.

The Isky without the rev kit & 345 open goes to 6400 & is rock steady. I only stopped there because I was over the HP curve.
It lost nothing with the Isky even though the lobe is not as aggressive.

Isky now has a 1.800" beehive that is wound by PSI that I want to try as soon as they get the retainers done. Keep hearing good things about them. ;)

AFAIK, there are no Horizontal Bar HR lifters. Those are solid roller lifters.
And last I checked, retro HR lifter are in the $400 range from Summit.
Not worth the maybe 20hp to me. A FT lifts the valve of the seat a lot faster which can make up for a lot on a head with good low lift #'s.

Originally posted by Gokou:
onovakind67, I have to differ with you on the Comp HR + Distributor gear being of no concern-- there is most definately a concern here, and while the parts aren't "special" you do need to pick your components wisely!

My last Comp HR and MSD "melonized" gear parted ways after 2500 miles last year. The distributor gear was simply GONE and the cam gear was pretty shredded. My previous Comp HR and MSD Melonized gear had pretty substantial wear on the distributor gear after 7500 miles. I didn't look at the 7500 mile cam/gear set closely until I lost the 2500 mile cam/gear. When I lost the gear on the 2500 mile cam last year, I dug my 7500 mile cam/gear out of the box and sure enough, they were ugly!

I am not running an HV pump, nor am I running thick oil, so it's not like I have a huge load on my distributor gear which would make the problem worse.

Mike Lewis has had this occur as well at his shop (he said he had one fail in the first 24 miles!), and another friend of mine who runs an engine shop has had this happen numerous times as well. MSD points their finger at Comp, and vise-versa. The Comp HR's and MSD Melonized iron distributor gears just don't seem to mix!

I'm currently running Mike's fix, which is a over the counter GM Melonized gear honed out to .500 to fit on my MSD distributor but so far everything looks great.

Troy One of my keys to longevity - run a stock distributor body with a stock distributor gear. Almost 30,000 miles with no abnormal wear.

heads will cost just as much and from what ive seen in simulations they both give the same numbers, but heads are so much easier to install in this case tongue.gif

Well, i guess ill go back to the voodoo cams, im waiting for harold to get back to me with some numbers on his 262, im wondering if it would be the better choice vs. the 268 with my 2.76 rear which i cant change :(

Originally posted by Chirp08:
heads will cost just as much and from what ive seen in simulations they both give the same numbers, but heads are so much easier to install in this case tongue.gif

Well, i guess ill go back to the voodoo cams, im waiting for harold to get back to me with some numbers on his 262, im wondering if it would be the better choice vs. the 268 with my 2.76 rear which i cant change :( =
Don't get too wrapped up in the simulation programs ;)
I get into trouble when I give my opinion but what the hell,,, my opinion is they are more fun than PacMan :D

Trust me when I tell you that Dave was pretty much right on in his above post,,, a good flowing correctly sized set of heads will do far more than any cam you can buy no matter who grinds it.
The cam will compliment the heads but in my opinion a cam is not going to a bandaid a poor flowing set of heads,, ;)

Originally posted by onovakind67:
One of my keys to longevity - run a stock distributor body with a stock distributor gear. Almost 30,000 miles with no abnormal wear. Spoken like a wise man... or a man who has experienced aftermarket parts failure. graemlins/thumbsup.gif

Troy