[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 06-Nov-01 AT 11:55 PM (EST)[/font][p] I am rebuilding my 71 390, and am thinking about putting Rhoads lifters in it. It is bored 0.030 over, mild cam,stock 4bl manifold, holly 600,headers w/flowmasters. Are the Rhoads worth the extra money? Will they benefit my setup, or will they not make a difference? Anybody have anything to say about them, good or bad?

Thanks for the help,
Yvonne

 

Well Yvonne, personally I believe they bleed-down too fast, even with a hot cam. They are also noisy and make your engine sound old. In your case with a mild cam, it will just kill a lot of your power. I would just go with the lifters the cam manufacturer recommends.

As an example, my friend had a lopey cam in his Vette. After putting Rhoads lifters in, he gained a lot of bottom-end and vacuum but lost power in the midrange and even on the top-end. They definitely won’t pump up and you can rev higher, but I think they are better suited to more radical grinds. Also, the Rhoads took the lope out of the cam. Isn’t that half the fun of having one?

Not being satisfied, he then changed out the Rhodes lifters with the Crane High Intensity Lifters. They don’t bleed down as fast and restored his midrange and top-end power, not as tickey sounding too.

What kind of compression are you running? If it’s below what’s recommended for the cam, then a faster bleed lifter might help you. If the compression is up there, you may have problems with low speed detonation. To me it seems like a cam is hard enough to pick without having to factor in variable duration and lift. I may be wrong but wasn’t the Rhodes lifter originally conceived for those who picked the wrong cam? JMHO of course.

Barry

 

Barry,
I did alittle research while I was waiting for replys to my question, and you are right on the money about the Rhoads. I am sticking with the ones that came with my cam.

Thanks, Yvonne

 

NOISEY


The only lifter trick worth while is the change to rollers - but that hurts the pocket.



In OZ and seeking 427block /428crank

 

You can make you own
"Rhoads" lifter by hand.

pull the lifter apart
take the inner "sleeve"
and rub a flat on to it (there are other methods but you need machinery)
do each lifter the same

you can calibrate the set by
- filling the lifter(use a very light oil - similar viscosity to hot engine oil)

- then timing how long a given weight take to collapse the lifter
- you should measure a std lifter for a base line
- if you can measure a lifter you would like to copy and work up to the correct bleed down rate

It is a "std" practice for "class" racing where you can only remove material from std parts.



In OZ and seeking 427block /428crank

 

Yvonne, yeah, they work just like they promise. I've got a set in a somewhat overcammed engine in one of my trucks. I know they help the idle and low-speed power but they are WAY noisey ! I had originally thought they would sound like a solid cam but they are much louder. I am running 15-50 oil with a M57HV pump and they seem to be pumped solid @ 2500. With a small cam I wouldn't run them, with a big cam I think I would try another manufacturers version of the same thing. Crane Hi Intensity maybe ? DF