97formulakid

I was thinking about putting some rockers and some new springs on my car. The car has over 100,000 miles on it so I figured it would be good to do it. What kind of gains am I going to see by doing this, or is it even worth it??

Evil Eric

you wont see a huge differance but if you are going to stick a mild cam in later it would be an awesome head start.

Jazsun

I recently did this I put 1.6 GMPP rockers on w/ LT4 springs/LT4 retainers/locks. Make sure if you put the LT4 springs in to get the proper locks/retainers and not re-use your stock ones. Since the LT4 springs are more springy. Its hard to tell if I notcied a difference in power as I think I am getting some false knock retard from my rockers possibly and or my cutout. But I think It pulls a littler better in 3rd now w/ my a4. The roller rockers help eliminate friction in the valvetrain. I heard 15-20hp on a stock engine w/ stock cam. Make sure ud o valve seals too while you are at it.

Bersaglieri

I'd definately do it. Epsecially on a car with high miles, those stock springs are probably dead. Because of that you'll probably gain more than someone with under 50k. If you do it I recommend doing Pro Mags the first time since you can go big on a cam down the line, if you never want a cam or plan on getting a smaller one get the GMPP ones. Good Luck.

-Dustin-

Kreinmc

Depends on how worn out your current springs are. My 94 had 132k on it and I put 1.6 rockers and springs on it and gained 4 mph in the quarter.

truedualws6

Before I did the cam change I had 1.6s and the LT4 springs. It's definately
worth while as far as mods go. I was happy with the sotp results.

97formulakid

next question, how hard is it to do?? I am by no means not mechanical but I have never put on rockers or springs with the heads still on the motor in the car. Any tips?

Jazsun

to begin make sure you buy the cran cam tool for the spring compressing you will need it for the springs under the cowl and it makes the job done in half the time. I actually have one which I used only twice I can sell you if youd like. As far as the other stuff, screw using compressed air to keep the valve from falling it. Look online for the tut on brining each cylinder to tdc and do that. I did air and it took forever, and the second time I used the tdc method. Other then that make sure you oil up the new hardware while installing. And when installing the new rockers find the guid on shoebox's website. I used the method w/ the engine not running and I got it on the first try using 1/4-1/2 turn preload.

stereomandan

I gained 2-3 mph in the 1/4 mile with the 1.6 RR's. Very worthwhile gain.

Dan

97formulakid

would you happen to have these websites?? I might also be interested in that tool. How much you want for it???

LT193

I want info on all this stuff to, what tool can we use at our house to do this with, thanks. Also, are there different valve springs on intake and exaust or are they the same preasure?

Compstall

They are the same pressure. I gained 7 rwhp and 2 lb ft at the wheels w/ this mod. Later down the road, I added a Hotcam to it, and gained 20 more peak rwhp on stock tuning, still making power at redline. The cool part is, it's making over 30 more rwhp and 20 more lb ft of torque at high rpm, where the stock cam was already well out of power.

Jazsun

Actually I just put it up on ebay a week ago but the guy who won, never paid for it. I bought it for 107 from byunspeed.com. I only used it twice, so I would let it go for 80 shipped. You are prolly thinking its overpriced but that is really how much they go for. They make the job that much easier. I did it w/ bot hteh spring screw type and the crane one, the crane one was sooo much better I had no problem spending 107 to use it.

r6bullets

Another vote for the crane spring compresser, the first time I did springs I used a screw down type. It worked but man did it suck, the crane tool is expensive but like mentioned before it is worth the money. Plus the crane tool is not only eaiser to use but it compresses two springs at once making it much much faster. I did the 1.6 rockers but I went the cheap route and got some springs off of ebay. Let me be the first to tell you that is a bad idea, they had way to much pressure and took out my cam bearings. I am currently half way through my 355 install, so I tried to save money on springs and now I am doing an engine swap. The LT4 springs and 1.6 rocker will be fine, if you upgrade your cam down the road and you go any bigger than the hotcam you will need new springs. Good luck, and I did notice some HP with the 1.6 on a stock cam.

Jazsun

Second tha brother, I did it w/ the screw type one twice and it sucked soo bad. Your back will hurt,your arm will hurt. The third time I used the crane one. I ended up removing all my springs 3 times within a week. First time I put valve seals on wrong, second time I didnt use LT4 locks/retainers. I was learning as I went which isnt good at all. The crane thing was a life saver. It requires no effort to use especially if you got a big ratchet.