Cams explained

[Animal]

Hi guys,can someone put me out of my misery & tell me the difference between solid lifter cam & hydraulic cam,also why can't you use  hydraulic lifters on a solid cam?In other words I need to know all the do's & dont's of what you can & can't use.ie,why can't you use roller lifters with standard cam,is it to do with the profile of the cam(taper),also what is best for crane roller rockers?
Sorry to be a pain guys,but if I could find all the info somewhere I would save you guys the trouble.

Thanks in advance.
Adam.

[73dodge]

I can explain the difference between solid lifters and hydraulic.

Hydraulic are filled with oil from the engine to keep the push rod up against the rocker arm. They are like miniature pistons that fill with oil and have a hole in the side to allow oil in and push the piston up against the pushrod.

Solid lifters well are just what you think, they are solid and do not get filled with oil. With solids you need to adjust them to the rocker arm

[oldkimmer]

I know this will open a can of worms,but here goes.  There are many does+donts in the world of camshafts.Back in the late 50s+early60s    stock car racers were looking for any tricks that would move them ahead of the pack. By the late 60s 2 of their best tricks were finally caught on to.1st 1  offset grind the crank for more stroke.  #2  putting hydraulic lifters onto mechanical cams. What this does is take up the running clearance when set to zero lash+or- a few thou.This effectively gives u approx 20 degrees more duration, changing the engine charastics for different tracks.U can ask any old stock car racer and he will usually gladly tell u the other tricks they used.Ofcourse everything was eventually caught on to.Offset grinding is used in engine building today.With all the new cam profiles today there is  no need to swap lifters around.YES I can say Ive tried this trick, with mixed results.For the last 8 years Ive run the MP 284d+528l mech with hydr lifters. It  is worth 1 tenth in the .25.The down side is ...it runs a little rougher.

[Chryco Psycho]

the back & ramp of solid & hyd cams are tapered so the lifter only touches on one side of the cam lobe so that the lifters will rotate to keep the lifters from failing very quickly,
roller cams are not tapered so the full surface of the roller is in contact at all times   

[Animal]

So,the way I see it,you can use hyd lifters on a solid cam & solid lifters on a hyd cam. Does this mean the cams are the same.(tapered)
Thanks guys.Please excuse my ignorance.

[Chryco Psycho]

yes both are tapered to rotate the lifter