Roller Rockers worth it??
 

Hey guys,

I am wondering if anyone can tell me if there is any benefit to a set of roller rockers. I have read stories with installation of these in combo with some lightweight pushrods these could add about 20-30 horsepower. How true it is I don't know. I live in California and can't have a cam of any sort so I am looking for alternate ways of increasing horsepower. Any help is appreciated.
http://www.stylintrucks.com/part.asp.../categoryid/28

RE: Roller Rockers worth it??
 

Roller rockers allow the engine to rev with less resistance, therefore, increasing available horsepower.
Are you looking for any power or just top end?
Try a velocity stack or aftermarket TB. Vara Ram makes a velocity stack, that I am using, that makes around 30 ft lbs of torque for the 6L. An aftermarket MAF will help also but is more expensive.
I see you are a new member, check the "ultimate free mod" thread.

RE: Roller Rockers worth it??
 

I looked at this before, but is it really good, or is a port better

RE: Roller Rockers worth it??
 

Port and pollish means your truck is down for more time because the heads must come off. I've not seen a set of heads off these trucks to know how crappy the stock job is. They are aluminum so should be much smoother than cast.

RE: Roller Rockers worth it??
 

Porting the TB is better, an aftermarket one is about $400. Stay at least 1/8" away from the butterfly, otherwise it will mess up your idle.

RE: Roller Rockers worth it??
 

Sorry I was not clear I meant just the throttle body. I think popo or Mrlm7 has done this. Sorry guys I get you two confused.

RE: Roller Rockers worth it??
 

If you did a port and polish on the heads you would need to optimize the fuel system. I have seen more than one person in the tuner market port and polish the factory heads on their cars and the thing wouldn't idle right because the flow was so much better it just didn't have enough fuel at idle. Both ran fine but sounded like a Harley at idle. Not sure the results would be the same on our trucks but I can only assume.

RE: Roller Rockers worth it??
 

if it ran the same and idled like a harley, im interested lol

RE: Roller Rockers worth it??
 

Roller rockers do make a difference on these motors... $680 is way too much, though... You can get some Harland-Sharps out of Summit for like $400...

RE: Roller Rockers worth it??
 

I don't know why they don't come from the factory with roller rockers. The 87 Conquest TSI I had came stock with roller rockers.

RE: Roller Rockers worth it??
 

Thanks Brutha, I appreciate the input. I have been searching the net for some other stuff too. Seems there may be a cam that I can put in that is not necessairly smog legal but will blow good smog numbers. If that can happen I would be set. Anyone know much about thunder racing. I was rolling through the ls1tech boards and came acorssed thunder racing as some options. Prices weren't too bad. Plus for an extra $25.00 they will get you a custom grind that you need.

RE: Roller Rockers worth it??
 

I wonder how much it would cost all together to have a shop install a beefed up cam in our trucks. Did we say whether or not our ECU would have to be reflashed to cope with the cam change? Seems like you would have to in order to get fuel delivery sinked up right.

RE: Roller Rockers worth it??
 

Charger - I am pretty sure it does have to be programmed, also timing will need to be adjusted.

RE: Roller Rockers worth it??
 

07 Bowtie, if you find a cam that will pass muster here in Cali, please let me know. I was talking to a guy at CraneCams and he said that they don't test for emmissions in CA, but some of their competitors do and have the sticker ...but he wouldn't volunteer who they were.

RE: Roller Rockers worth it??
 

Charger, I really think it depends on how aggressive the cam is. I am going to have to go with something that will allow a stock idle. I am going to need a tune anyways, to compensate for all the crap I have already done. I will be going with something unfortunately for me provides a normal idle. If you look at the one that says old man truck cam I think that might be mine. If I get a chance I am going to call Thunder racing today and talk to'em about a decently legal cam. My only problem beyone finding the cam is finding someone to install it in so cal. I know it can be done, just have to trust my baby to the right shop.
http://www.thunderracing.com/catalog...=9&pcid=51

Southbay, are you saying that the guy at crane cams said that there are competitors that have a carb legal cam for our trucks? I looked at the CARB website the other day there is no legal cam for anything newer than a 1987 vehicle. I would be quite curious to know if there is one that I couldn't find. That would be sweet.

RE: Roller Rockers worth it??
 

The emissions testers cannot decide whether or not it is legal to change your camshaft. That is bologna. It's a free country. You've just gotta find a way to make your system pass the smog test right? If you decide to go to a bigger better cam, get a bigger better cataylitic converter. I don't know why people in california haven't figured that out yet. As you upgrade your vehicle get a better cat or get multiple cats.

RE: Roller Rockers worth it??
 

Two points:

1) This is not a free country - this is California. California makes everything impossible. They want everybody to drive around in a Toyota Prius and plant a tree at every stop light.

2) The reason why we haven't figured it out is because we aren't All-Knowing like yourself.

RE: Roller Rockers worth it??
 

I wouldn't rule out a port and polish job. After putting in my TBS, I was kinda disappointed in the craftsmanship of the TB. I mean the flute around the butterfly was real rough and uneven. If they have the same quality in the heads I bet you could pick up some real HP from a port and polish job.

RE: Roller Rockers worth it??
 

Well I just got off the phone with Jonathan at Thunderracing. As I suspected I will most likely have to run the old man truck cam that they offer. He said this is one of the only ones that they provide for a truck that will blow good smog #'s. He said it was good for 40-50HP and was really great for the low end. I also asked him about the roller rockers and he actually advised against it. That being said I will be ordering the cam here in another couple of weeks. Now to find a place to install it.

Charger- Bro to understand how California works u have to live here. In 1979 The California Air resources Board(C.A.R.B.) Was formed as a federal mandate of the clean air act of 1979. They were threatening to pull Federal dollars away for transportation and road reparis and such. Also along with that came the Bureau of Automotive Repair(B.A.R.) still exists today. Back in the day they were actually setting up stings on bad smog techs back in the day when all you had to get was a sniffer put up the tail pipe. Ever since BAR97 was enacted in cali we now get our **** put on a dynamometer with the sniffer. It is so rediculous. Therefore with CARB and BAR yes they can in fact tell us how our cars are going to be. I often reffer to California as The United States of California as it pretty much does whatever the hell it wants to. The last thing I want or need is to fail smog and be labelled as a gross polluter. That will just **** up my world. Sorry for the long post but I felt some education was in order.

RE: Roller Rockers worth it??
 

Did you get a price on the cam? Perhaps you can see if he's willing to give a discount for purchasing 2 cams (meaning that I will buy one too ...if the price is right).

RE: Roller Rockers worth it??
 

Southbay the price is $389.99 for the old man truck cam. If u look at the link I provided earlier it is this # 99-TR214/220-115+2for the cam I am looking at.

RE: Roller Rockers worth it??
 

I'll try giving them a call later on and see if we can work out something ...I'll PM you.

Where in CA are you? I'm up in San Jose.

RE: Roller Rockers worth it??
 

If it is so hard to pass smog inspection, why aren't you guys spending more time looking for ways to make your trucks better at cleaning your exhaust rather than pushing it closer to the limit of the smog restriction?

RE: Roller Rockers worth it??
 

The whole point of every person on this forum is to push our trucks to perform in a way that the manufacturer didn't intend on their production vehicles -whether to make it faster, to lift it, to lower it, etc.. We find something that we want to accomplish and bring it to the boards to discuss how to make it happen. Unlike yourself, everyone is respectful and doesn't call peoples ideas stupid. Those kind of people belong on fullsizechevy.com. Even if we find the person's statement idiotic, we just hit back and read another post.

RE: Roller Rockers worth it??
 

I'm raising my hand on the idiotic statement remark. Lol. That sounds like the perfect advertisment. Read it out loud then have TruckForums.com flash across the screen.

RE: Roller Rockers worth it??
 

Dude, my last post was not an attack. I'm merely suggesting Cali people (and anyone else in smog restricted states) that are trying to add performance enhancements to their truckshould probably also spend some time researching ways to overcome the smog coming out of their engine, rather than just pushing it to the limit and just stopping there. Surely with a little online research, one could find ways of making their vehicle better at removing harmful toxins from their exhaust system. Whether that be running an extra catalytic converter or getting a much larger more efficient catalytic converter or something else that we don't know about. I don't live in a smog restrictive state so I don't have to worry about it but if I lived somewhere like Cali, I'd be putting some effort into making sure I could pass smog tests and still pull everything out of my engine that I could as money permits.

RE: Roller Rockers worth it??
 

dude i dont think hes tryin to go crazy with it. i think he just wants to get everything he can out of it without yanking all of his emissions out so he can pass their strict emissions tests.

RE: Roller Rockers worth it??
 

Well said that is exactly what I am trying to do. If I could put in a monster of a cam I would do it.

RE: Roller Rockers worth it??
 

I was talking to my cousin last night ... he has two different tunes ...one for smog and the other for the rest of the time. This guy actually removes all his mods about a month before smog testing time, pops in the other tune and gets it tested..then puts everything back.

Sounds like too much work to me. lol

RE: Roller Rockers worth it??
 

A LOT of people with Conquest TSIs in Cali do that. That is very common but like you said, that's a lot of work. Course it's only once a year. Problem with that is you cannot undo big mods like engine internals and turbos.

RE: Roller Rockers worth it??
 

Well I think you should now understand why I am looking for a cam that will blow good smog #'s. I am not taking that **** out every two years when the smog is due. Out here we have to smog every two years. Being that my vehicle is brand new I actually get a four year exemption. The other thing with it is that every once in a while when you get on a freeway onramp there will be a guy sitting there measuring tailpipe emissions as you go buy. Mostly when the stoplight meters are on when traffic is heavy. Newayz I wouldn't mind changing out an air cleaner and stuff but this is why I am putting an emphasis on CARB approved parts for my truck.

RE: Roller Rockers worth it??
 

That's rediculous! That should be illegal.

RE: Roller Rockers worth it??
 

Yeah, it would suck. It's your toy, but their sandbox.....

Like someone else stated, Rollers will free up horsepower. They don't really MAKE it, so to speak. Biggest thing is the reliability and strength of them. Add them to a set of screw-in studs, good valves and pushrods and you pretty much bulletproof on the top end. I would recommend all the above for anything that is gonna get squeezed with a blower or turbo...

RE: Roller Rockers worth it??
 

It is becouse you are in SO CAL if you were in NOR CAL they wouldn't care so much. In my home town they don't even put vehicles on the load tester for smog, they just do an idle and high rev smog check. But like everyone else said roller rockers a neccesity if you are going forced induction, of high power becouse of the less resistance they create also less resistance creates less heat which means more efficant power. Sorry about the spelling, I have a NOR CAL edumacation!