? about the XE 224/230 cam and RRs
 

The ole birthday is around the corner and it looks like I am going to get this cam. I plan on doing a budget heads/cam upgrade, this cam and some LE1 heads. Keyword: budget. Hence, I am trying to round up used parts where I can and avoid buying things that I don't absolutely need. My main question is are non-self-aligning rocker arms and guideplates a must on this grind of cam, or can I get away with no guideplate and self-aligning rockers? Also, I know when the time comes, I need to use a pushrod checker to find the correct length, but can I get hardened pushrods, or will I need the chromemoly ones? Finally, will the SVO 30# injectors supply enough fuel for these upgrades, or should I step it up another notch? Thanks guys.

Re: ? about the XE 224/230 cam and RRs
 

The lift of the cam and how high you're gonna rev it will decide whether you should run NSA rockers. Your injectors will be fine at 396rwhp 6400rpms mine are 89% duty cycle with stock fuel pressure.

Re: ? about the XE 224/230 cam and RRs
 

Does anyone know off the top of their head what the lift will be with 1.6 RRs and what max RPM I'm going to have to take it up to?

Re: ? about the XE 224/230 cam and RRs
 

I think its .544 with 1.6's and you'll probably want to rev to at least 6400-6500 rpms.

-Dustin-

Re: ? about the XE 224/230 cam and RRs
 

I run the XE224/230 with LE2 heads. With 1.6 rockers the lift is .536/.544. I also run 30LB SVO injectors and I am at 84% cycle duty. I do run CC 1.6 NSA pro mags ,Isky adjustable guide plates and 7/16 rocker studs. With this cam do I think they are needed ? No. I wish I would not have sold my CC pro mag self aligning 1.6 rockers. I dont feel the lift is high enough to warrant guideplates. But that is just my opinion. Good luck and keep us posted:D
HVY SS

Re: ? about the XE 224/230 cam and RRs
 

I'm looking at my dyno graph with that cam and with a 52mm tb, 1 3/4 LT's, 1.6 rockers on a 104k longblock, the peak hp was at 5800 and stayed pretty flat to 6300 where it started to fall a bit up to 6800. I can't tell where the max torque was because my converter was flashing past that point :eek: .

Re: ? about the XE 224/230 cam and RRs
 

2000GTP, you have a PM.

Re: ? about the XE 224/230 cam and RRs
 

I talked to Lloyd, he suggested that I do go with the NSA rockers. Guess I will have to bite the bullet on that issue. How are the Isky guideplates working for you? It seems like people swear by the GMPP ones.

Re: ? about the XE 224/230 cam and RRs
 

The Iskys are hardened, but require grinding, welding and proper adjusting for LT1's. They can be a PITA to install, having a spare head off the car helps a lot to pre-configure them before install.

The GM's (14011051) are NOT hardened, but are a direct fit and work perfect for LT1. The pushrod tends to slightly wear the plate away for some guys, and not others. I had an extreme case of wear which led to a rocker slipping off the valve.

I took my brand new GM's and case hardened them in my basement and they have not worn even a fraction or a blemish after 5000+ miles. You can also find shops that will do this for you which I highly reccomend for maximum piece of mind.

Re: ? about the XE 224/230 cam and RRs
 

Wanna share how you did this? I replaced one guide plate after 9k miles due to excessive wear. That was after seeing your post about the wear...thanks it saved me damaging other parts.

Re: ? about the XE 224/230 cam and RRs
 

You need Kasenit no.2 which sells for $135.00 for 10 pound can.
http://www1.mscdirect.com/CGI/NNSRIT...MT4NO=13059242
Don't waste your money on the cheaper no.1 product cause it will not work. The Kasenit is gray powder that smells like cat piss, it has organic substances including bone in it that adds more carbon to low carbon metal like the GM guide plates. You can reuse the powder over an over.

What I did was heat the slots in each guide plate to cherry red with oxy-acetylene torch, then dip the glowing guide plate in the Kasenit powder for about a minute to cool. Then pull it out of the powder and clean off excess crusty powder. Repeat this process three times.
Once you have heated, dipped and cleaned three times heat it up one last time and dunk in clean water till it is completely cooled. The guide plate is now case hardened, it just needs to be cleaned and installed.

Before doing this a metal cutting file would easily cut into the guide plate, after the process the same file wont even leave a blemish. It even sounds entirely different when doing the file test.

Doing the process was very well worth it and like I said there is not even the slightest bit of wear or blemish on my guide plates, I checked them again tonight. This is after 5K miles so. It took about an hour and a half plus a lot of acetylene and oxygen to do it.

I think there is some money to be made here and shame on GM for not hardening the guide plates in the first place.