valvetrain tech

Wander into the pits at any big drag race event and you’ll find racers draped over an engine with the valve covers off inspecting the components, checking valve spring pressure, […]

How much power are roller rockers worth? How do rockers compare to a cam swap? Can I get the same power gains with rockers and not have to tear apart […]

Hydraulic roller lifters are now commonplace, even in some high performance engine builds. But while they handle the same job as their mechanical roller and flat tappet friends, hydraulic roller […]

I just discovered a rocker arm on my small block that loosened up and popped off the stud. It kinda mangled the threads on the stud, so I’m going to […]

Why do some engine builders stagger the rocker arms, 1.6 on the intake and 1.5 on the exhaust?  Is there any benefit in doing that?G.L. This is a great question and […]

I’ve got a 454 big-block Chevy that I’ve installed a hydraulic roller cam which also meant I had to also use taller hydraulic roller lifters. With it all bolted back […]

I have a 355 c.i.d. small-block Chevy with a big cam, decent compression, and production iron heads. The cam is an Isky 268/272 at 0.050 with 0.640-inch lift. It has […]

Q: What is valve spring coil bind? … A: Coil bind happens when the valve spring is fully compressed. The coils of the spring contact each other. This stops the […]

Q: What is valve float? … A: Valve float is basically when the valvetrain gets out of control. There are two types of valve float: Loft and Bounce. Loft happens […]

Camshafts and lifters are available in two basic formats—roller and flat tappet. And then within those two formats, they can either be of the mechanical (solid), or hydraulic variety. Fair […]