Rockwell test on cams and lifters
As promised last month, when i went up to Ms. i would test several cams and lifters for hardness.
The first test was a 6 to 7 yr old Comp cams hydraulic flat tappet cam that went flat in my street El Camino on 3 lobes.
Tested 29/30 RC really soft in my opinion.
I then tested the lifters that were on the cam.
They tested 57/58 RC, not a problem i think.
I then tested a 13 Yr. old Bullit solid flat tappet cam, still good after a couple hundred passes on it.
It tested 34/35 RC a full 5 points harder than the newer Comp hydraulic cam.
I then tested a new never run set of solid flat tappets lifters
They tested 60/61 RC
I then tested a solid roller Comp Cams Cam
It tested 58 RC
I then tested a set of Comp Cams Extreme duty .180 offet solid rollers
lifters.
They tested 38/41 RC
I tested all the lifters on the body portion of the lifters
the Cam companys are saying the problem is with the lifters, I think that's BS, it's a cam core problem and they don't want to address the cam hardness problem, I doubt if they even have a Rockwell tester, ofcourse the like of Zinc in todays oils are a contributing factor also.
They are now putting oil holes in the solid flat tappet lifters for an extra fee, i think howards cams started this.
In conclusion they are using cheaper softer cam cores, and are not really intrested in solving the problems, but would rather sell hydraulic roller cams which cost as much as $700.00/$800.00.
JMO
Zip.