I doubt a misaligned roller tip imparts as much side force on a valve tip as a properly adjusted stamped rocker does.

 

That's quite a bit of miles on a performance motor.

 

There's really no need to continue to kick this around. There are certain recommended specs for most everything. Defending a spec out of the recommended range is, to me, an exercise in futility.

If you feel comfortable running your setup as it is, that's fine with me. I only try to pass along generally recommended specs and procedures. Readers are always free to do as they please.

Merry Christmas!

Jake

West Point ROCKS! Nation's TOP college per Forbes Magazine!! Graduation Day Parade 20 May 2010!!!

 

Centered is better. Not centered ain't gonna kill it. Mine's proof.

End of story.

 

Reminds me of when I was in college some 40 years ago. Psychology-101 Defense Mechanisms - Rationalization.

"I did something incorrectly but, rather than admit my mistake, I'm going to defend my mistake, to the death (LOL), that it's okay that I did it that way".

Whatever.

Jake

West Point ROCKS! Nation's TOP COLLEGE per Forbes Magazine!! Graduation Day Parade 20 May 2010!!!

 

I didn't do it "wrong", so to speak, just not quite perfect.

And I'm within the "1/4 of valve stem diameter" distance from the edge, so it's all good.

There's a big difference between people who say it won't work and people who are doing it.

 

Kinda like the difference between book smart and street smart.

 

". . . to the death . . ."

Jake

West Point ROCKS! Nation's TOP COLLEGE per Forbes Magazine!! Graduation Day Parade 20 May 2010!!!

 

There are some compelling arguments for not worrying about being perfectly centered.
http://www.mid-lift.com/intro-mid-lift.htm

I agree with the statements about folks blindly defending their mistakes, just disagree on WHO is doing it.

There is a BIG difference between what works in practice and in theory and it can go either way.

 

But I will admit, if I hadn't already bought $150 pushrods, I would have used the ones that made it exactly centered.


Yep.

 

Now you're talking, LOL. I often ask myself "How would Jimmy Johnson's Crew Chief do it on the #48?"

Jake

West Point ROCKS! Nation's TOP COLLEGE per Forbes Magazine!! Graduation Day Parade 20 May 2010!!!

 

In my case, I sold my almost brand new $150 pushrods for $75 and bought new ones. For me it was worth the piece of mind.

96capricemgr, thanks for the read, good article.

 

Wow what a post, well I have had to put the project on hold but should get back to it soon, will update ya'll

 

If people that knew what they were talking about would have told me it was bad, I would have done the same thing.

 

There are a lot of "advisors" who have, what I call, an "as good as" way of thinking. Thinking that lacks precision. Now, I'm not referrring to being ****, merely precise. They'll say thing like "That should work", "It'll be okay", "That's close enough", see what I mean?

In comparison, consider the way top competitors think. Consider any of the top performers in any field of competition; what are they doing differently from the others that keeps them at the top?

By and large we all have access to the same parts, so being able to get "better" parts than the others guys can can't make the difference. So what is it? Why is it we always see the same several names in the listing of top finishers?

Elimination of Variables and Attention to Detail gets my vote.

Those who are consistently top performers have certain things in common. They've conditioned themselves to eliminate as many variables as possible and pay attention to even the smallest detail.

The more variables introduced into the mix, the less consistent and repeatable the result. So, for example, getting that very last .001" - without going over - of piston ring end gap may not seem like much, but failing to ease up on it, in order to nail that spec precisely, would introduce just one more variable. Add together all the instances of tolerance stack and before you know it what could have been a top shelf performer turns into a "so-so" one.

Main reason I always recommend a machine shop that specializes in racing engines is their machining precision; holding tighter tolerances. Mass produced engines, like crate engines, are built with tolerances that are too broad, so I steer clear of them for that reason. Check your FSM and see the wide range of clearances listed; all of them being "within spec". Yet within that wide range there's a sweet spot and the engine that hits that sweet spot will be a better performer.

I recall reading that if you take any ten randomly selected engines fresh off the assembly line at the factory: two will be super runners, two will be "dogs" (comparatively speaking) and the remainder will be middle of the road performers. Yet all ten passed "spec".

So why the difference? They're all using the same parts, right? Tolerance stack!

Take degreeing-in the cam. Many will say, "Ah, you don't need to, just put it in, it'll be okay". Yet if tolerance stack doesn't fall in your favor guess what you'll end up with? One degree here and another half-degree there and before you know it your buddy is pulling your hat off and you'll be scratching your head trying to figure out why. Also, unless you degree-in the cam you won't even know why it happened.

I recently emailed with a guy who, when he degreed-in his cam, found it was 7 degrees off and it WASN'T caused by the cam being mis-gound. Tolerance stack in the crank, timing chain gears, etc. Had he not degreed, he wouldn't have known. Then, when the engine didn't perform as expected, he'd be scratching his head, wondering why.

Admittedly, some specs are much more critical than others. A difference in, for example, spark plug gaps of .005" (.035" Vs .040") is one thing, but that same difference - .005" - among camshaft lobes is quite another.

Quality control has gotten immensely better over time, but checking and verifying is still the name of the game. There's NO substitute. The closer you hold the tolerances the better off you'll be; that's what the top competitors do.

Just my thoughts.

Jake

West Point ROCKS! Nation's TOP COLLEGE per Forbes Magazine!! Graduation Day Parade 20 May 2010!!!