Death of the Hydraulic Flat Tappet Cam

[Chatt69chgr]

I found a very interesting article over on Big Block Dart called the "death of the flat tappet cam".  Essentially, what it says is that since the Zinc additive was removed from virtually all oils, your flat tappet cam will self destruct quickly unless you add back the zinc additive.  I think GM has one that is mentioned in the article and Mopar was supposedly coming out with one.  Comp cams may have it too.  I've been looking at the Engle K56.  Of course, it's a hydraulic flat tappet.  They don't offer a hydraulic roller cam.  I read that all modern engines use roller cams.  With all the old flat tappet cams out there, I doubt that the additive will ever disappear.  But it made me wonder if maybe a hydraulic roller wouldn't be a better solution.  Now the Engle K56 is very highly reguarded and, apparetly, a very good fit for a 440 that will be driven on the street.  I wonder if anyone offers a hyraulic roller that has the same good grind and performance as the K56.  What are the downsides of using a hydraulic roller.  Are any engine modifications necessary.  Just thought I would throw this out there for discussion since I am in the market for a cam.  For clarification, I am building a 6000 or so rpm and under street motor that will be set up for zero deck, Stealth aluminum heads (10.0-10.5:1 CR), quench, CH4B intake, stock HP exhausts, 750 cfm Holley style carb, 3.55 rear, 4-speed. in 69 charger.

The Big Block Dart article is:

http://www.bigblockdart.com/index.php/topic,24082.30.html

[Mike DC]

It brings to mind the leaded gas issue.  Lead disappears, people resort to additives to sustain the old way, but eventually everyone would rather just set up their motors to run the new method. 

The cam & lifter issues won't be as cheap as the hardened valve seats were, but the overall situation will probably follow a similar path in the coming years.




Roller cams usually provide some added power too.  People don't always give them due credit because it tends to be under-the-peak power gains.  The gains are usually in real-world midrange RPM conditions.

[FLG]

Do a search on the forum..there are countless threads on the issue.

From what i read, seems the best thing to do is run some diesel oil (15w-40) and GM's EOS additive.

[MoParMetal]

they're taking the zinc out of diesel too.

diesels now have catalytic converters too.

i blame epa

[suntech]

I think you can  get pretty much whatever you want, as a special grind. I am building a Hemi, and there are not much listed for that one, actually i havent found anything sutable in     hydraulic roller, but both Comp and Crane can build me whatever i want, and i would assume that this goes for other engines too.

[smasherofall]

I just picked up a couple bottles of this stuff, anybody ever used it?

                                         

[Steve P.]

http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?autofilter=1&part=CCA%2D159%2D12&N=700+115&autoview=sku

[RallyeMike]

I did an engine tear down for another issue and found my flat tappet going after only 600 miles with Mobil 1 racing. Apparently they reduced the zinc since I originally explore the content just a couple years ago.

The downside to hydraulic rollers? The cost of the lifters. Ouch.