Welcome to the Corvette Forums at the Corvette Action Center!

Roller Rockers

scotch1

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 17, 2005
Messages
144
Location
Jackson,New Jersey
Corvette
1994 convert. 2002 C5 coupe
Have any of you guys out there installed 1.6 roller rockers on your L98??
Was wondering if there was any seat of the pants difference, and if it was worth the time and money. Also, is there a trade-off like poor gas mileage or rough idling?
Tom.
 
No negatives at all. You will notice the Oil Temp running cooler.

You should change the springs as well. The stock springs will be getting close to binding with the extra lift.
 
Seat of the pants, yes. Generally you can expect 12-15 HP.
Mileage shouldn't suffer in normal driving.
Idle won't be affected because by changing the ratio you're only increasing lift, not duration. Definitely upgrade your springs as stated above.
I think it's a worthwhile mod that's relatively easy and proven. Buy quality , full roller rockers. Avoid brands like Proform and other cheap junk. Comp Cams, Crower, Crane, Jesel, Harland-Sharp all make excellent ones. For a street car Comp Cams and Crane are good bang for the buck. You should get long life from either and they're a little less expensive than the other brands geared more toward hardcore racers. I've had a set of the Comp Cams Pro Magnums on my car for 30K miles with no issues. And if ever need be, they're rebuildable.
 
There are no issues with roller rockers as long as you buy good ones which come from Crane Cams, Crower or Jesel.

GM even had 1.6 rockers stock on LT4s in 1996.

You'll notice a small reduction in peak oil temp.

On a stock or near-stock L98, you'll gain 5-7 hp SAE net.
 
GM even had 1.6 rockers stock on LT4s in 1996.



On a stock or near-stock L98, you'll gain 5-7 hp SAE net.
The GM ones were made by Crane, just like the ones that now come in the Hotcam kits. He'll see more than 5-7 HP especially if he installs suitable springs to keep the valves stable at higher RPMs.
 
Thanks for the info guys.
One more question, what do they mean by self adjusting? And do I have a choice of the size of the studs, 3/8 or 7/16 will it matter to me for just street use?
Tom
 
Thanks for the info guys.
One more question, what do they mean by self adjusting? And do I have a choice of the size of the studs, 3/8 or 7/16 will it matter to me for just street use?
Tom

Did you mean self aligning? You need to use self aligning rockers unless you are going to replace the guide plates and push rods. Regular roller rockers will wonder off of the valve unless the push rod is held straight. That requires hardened guide plates which require hardened push rods. Self aligning rockers have a guide one each side of the roller tip that keeps the rocker on the valve stem and will not require changing the guide plates and pushrods.

Everybody I know and all of the go-fast books say that you should change to 7/16 studs. Your heads have 3/8 unless they were changed in the past.

Thunder has 7/16 studs and has never had a hiccup in 4 years. The rat motor that I built on the cheap (all leftover or used parts) has the original 3/8 studs and a set of used comp rockers. It has done 6K with out any problems.

I will probably get some flack for this but for street use use a set of 1.5 self aligning roller rockers and leave everything else as is or a set of 1.6 and change the valve springs.
 

Corvette Forums

Not a member of the Corvette Action Center?  Join now!  It's free!

Help support the Corvette Action Center!

Supporting Vendors

Dealers:

MacMulkin Chevrolet - The Second Largest Corvette Dealer in the Country!

Advertise with the Corvette Action Center!

Double Your Chances!

Our Partners

Back
Top Bottom