I know that the NSA 1.6 rockers will yield the best results in terms of hp numbers on a dyno and on the track, but what about the gold crane roller rockers that are self-aligning? How do they compare to the NSA's.

The reason I ask is that everyone is recommending the self-aligning rockers to me instead of the NSA ones, but I do not know why? So, why?

As you can tell, I am not that mechanically inclined as some of you might be, so please help a future LE2 guy.

 

Im betting Loyd would say the Comp NSA 1.6s.

I had the Cranes on my old cc306 setup. They worked fine, but I did get one loose and bent a pushrod. Not a huge deal, just put another one in and go.

Cranes are good, but I think the ones that come in the hotcam kit (same rockers) are only up to .575. (Could be wrong, but I have read that before)

On my new motor I switched to the Pro Mags. Do a search, pretty much every time this has come up people have said NSA will be more stable at high RPMs. 6000+ or very much lift I say do the NSA ones. Almost the same cost and its a bit more insurance.

 

Thanks for that reply.

Yeah, Lloyd did say the 1.6 NSA's. What makes them more stable at higher rpms as compared to the self-aligning ones? <--thats what I do not understand.

If all the damage you did was a puchrod, then thats nothing.

Everyone is telling me to go with the self-aligning ones, but maybe they are the ones that uneducated on rocker sellection?

 

Forgive me if I am stating the obvious:

With NSA rockers you will be running guide plates. Those plates keep the pushrods in line with the rocker/lifter. With a SA setup the only thing aligning those pushrods is the cup and some little ears on the tip of the rockers.

With a SA setup, if a rocker gets loose, you float a valve.... blah blah; It is very easy for the rocker to jump off the pushrod. (not common, but easier than NSA)

With NSA the pushrods can not move very far side to side. So even if your rocker gets off center/loose etc it is much more likely to still hit the pushrod.

 

Are you going to use the le2 cam? A small cam I would use whatever is cheapest, bigger cam and high rpms "I" would go with NSA.

 

The Comp Pro Mag NSA 7/16 rockers are the rockers that the setup was designed around.

Bret

 

Yes, I will be gonig with the LE2 heads and the LE2 cam.

The obvious I know. Interesting though about the pushrods moving from side to side. I thought that they are not supposed to move at all.

I am just trying to make a wise decision before I spend the money on a product that I do not need and will not work the best with what I will have.

 

"Small" and "big" meaning duration/lift aren't the only reason to use a good (read that as stiff) rocker. So why are you using ProMags?

Going with Lloyd's recommendation will save you money in the end. You've heard from him and the his valvetrain designer. They both want your engine to perform and last. You can buy your rockers anywhere so they ain't in it just for the money.


Pushrods are the second weakest spring in the valvetrain. Think of them as working something like a pole vaulting pole. The move/bend a lot. Stiff is good in pushrods, rockers and a number of other things in nature. Flaccid isn't in those applications.

Good luck!

 

my valvetrain consists of...

GM Performance Parts Pushrod Guideplates
Comp Cams Hi-Tech One-Piece Chromemoly pushrods, 7.200"
Comp Cams "High Energy" Rocker Arm Studs, 7/16"
Comp Cams Pro-Magnum Non-Self-Aligning Roller Rocker Arms, 7/16" stud, 1.6 Ratio
Comp Cams "R" Hydraulic Roller Lifters

lloyd said NSA pro-mags, so I went with them.

 

Why question the masters? Anyway, at high rpms the SA rockers only have a very small lid that keeps them centered on the valve. If you spin high enough or jut have bad luck, they can jump off the valve. This doen't happen with NSA rockers because instead of the rocker being held in place over the valve by the lip on the rocker, it is held by the pushrod, which is kept straight with the guideplate. The only way the rocker can jump off the valve then is if you have insufficient spring pressure i believe.

 

97- I wasnt questioning the master persay, but rather was trying to be educated on why? I learned a lot just from reading these here responses and the responses that I got on other boards. Thanks!

 

It depends on your spring/valve combination. My LE2/LT1 head setup consists of Lloyd's LE2 porting, LT4 valves and ...918 "beehive" springs.

You MUST run a non-self aligning rocker arm setup with this combination because there is not enough "meat" on the valve stems for the tabs on a self-aligning rocker to work properly.

I'm running Lloyd's recommendation of 1.6 CompCams ProMags (NSA) with the GM guideplates.

 

Im running the LE3 heads, and a custom grind cam. I have 1.6 Pro Mag NSA's.