Solid Lifters What Gives?

[quick63]

I have had real good results and no problems with Comp's solid flat tappet cams. But
on my new motor, I went with a roller. Twice the money up front but worth it in the long run.

[littlejohn44]

Next year I prob will go roller, I am new to racing and I am building from the ground up. I dont wanna get in to deep yet. I most likely will go with a hughes cam,but I am not sure on the lifters. I am trying to find out what is worth the money.(If the cam dictates the performance, then the lifters are only there to provide a means to transfer)Right? So What makes a good lifter a good lifter? If it does its job, other than weight it should not add anything to the performance. right? so then what makes the diffrent manufactures lifters diffrent from each other besides price and weight?. If they are doing there job than there should not be much diffrence right? Someone mentioned fugly knows his stuff mabey he can explain and it to me. I want to make an informed purchase on all my parts, so that I have less room for error.

[77dragracer]

I think the EDM was to help lifters/cams survive better and longer with the higher spring pressures in some of todays engines.I found out how much they could handle and what happens when it's too much pressure.

[Fugly]

There are any number of variables involved , but 77 kind of alluded to the main thought- Modern cams, especially the bigger ones have faster ramps, therefore heavier required springs than some of the older ones. Compound that with the lack of anti scuff agents in modern oils and you have a difficult situation at best. There are any number of differences such as band size and location on the body, edm size, weight, and sometimes face grind ( the crown on the lifter). There are a limited amount of mfg's that distribute to the people who retail.My advice is use the same lifter brand as cam and for that matter the lifter they recommend. If you do have problems, there are no questions that way. Most name brands are decent-don't buy cheap lifters- if they fail, you will at best be out a cam and lifters, maybe more. Hughes makes a good shelf cam - we use all custom and I prefer Bullet or Isky as I said before, but if you are going shelf cam, use their recs on lifters. Also make sure to use break in additive .

[littlejohn44]

Thanks for the info. I guess a shelf grind will do for now. I dont know enough about my my truck yet to get a custom grind, and enough about cams for that matter. Does the EDM holes play a huge role in the lower lift cams with less spring pressure? I see how they would benefit when spring pressure forces the oil out from under the lifter, but at what pressures does that start to happen? Sorry if I am asking to many questions,but I hate following the trend unless I know why. Thanks again

[R-body_mopar]

Well, I can't contribute anything here, but maybe I can learn something!

The EDM lifter is a solid (non-hydraulic) flat tappet lifter that has an oil hole in the bottom face against the cam, for oiling? Wouldn't it make a difference in the size of the hole for oil pressure, also the location of the hole in relation to the crown of the lifter, and the wear on the bottom of the lifter after some miles? The lifter needs to rotate in the bore, yes??

I never knew there was such a thing........

[Fugly]

R body, you pretty much got it, little , the pressure is more or less controlled by the engine oil pressure, and yes it becomes more important with spring pressures, which more or less rise with lift and lobe angle. While a smaller cam may not need it as bad, anything you can do to improve oiling on the face nowdays is cheap insurance...

[Cranky]

Is EDM a brand name or does it stand for Electrical Discharge Machining?