Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim Moshier
I was wondering why only the Pontiac communities embrace Rhoads lifters nowadays. I have read about anyone using them in a build in years. When I went to Westech to have my engine dynoed he said oh yeah that's a Pontiac thing.....or that was a Ken Crocie thing, nobody else runs them. What are your thoughts and are they still relevant in today's cams?
|
The first set of Rhoad’s I recall locally was in a SBC Nova back in the late 80s. Rhoad’s had several patents. Some attempted “back doors” to get around the patents, and they didn’t work. Rhoad’s first patent was in the late 60s, they filed many more patents over the years. I think even into the 1990s. Lost track after that. I don’t know if anyone has copied that groove on their lifter yet. Probably because there is a patent protecting it somehow.
https://patents.google.com/patent/US3304925A/en
On the V series, the way they are shimmed off the bottom the lash gets rid of the hydraulic cushion most hyd lifters have. Most HFT lifters for high rpms the lifters have to be set at the top of the travel, they still will collapse some though. The original collapse a lot also unless you bottom them out. On the street I like the V series Rhoad’s with set the lash tight. Most of the bottom end and vacuum gains come early when the profile is slower which happens most at the low lifts. With the lash set tight they can be quieter than a normal lifter, and rev like a SFT. That is the apps I usually use them for. I usually set them at .006” to .008” lash.