Rocker arms and the cam grinder

[Don Dulmage <big-d@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

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I used to think that we were losing out because many of the competitions engines had higher rocker arm ratios. but all is not that simple. 
For instance  BBchevies BB fords  had 1.7 + rocker ratios BUT these engines dont have the 904 lifter so if the cam is 904 lifter specific then the chevy the most (smallest lifter) and the ford to a large extent need that higher ratio ratio to equal the lift rates of the 904 mopars.  Maybe with a generic chevy grnd the higher rockers would be an advantage
When a cam manufacturer designs a cam specifically for our Mopars what matters is what are the valves doing at each position of the crankshaft. He designs the profile and runs it and tests it  . if it was designed for 1.5 rockers then in all likely hood it will run the best with them. 16s and 17s will put the valve action outside of the design parementers which you can be pretty sure were already explored in the design stage of the cam. You will get more lift and slighty more "area under the curve" but  since you have screwed up the design that was already carefully done you will most likey lose power. 
If the cam you have is woefully inadequate then maybe the rockers will help but if there is one thing I learned the hard way during all this experimentation it was the More is not better , Not always and hardly ever. right or the right combination is what makes these engines roar to life and to get all parts to match makes for a far more powerful engine than one would think possible for a lot less money. So if the cam lift matches the heads abilty to handle lift. if the cam duration matches the cyl heads flow  (Flow controls or restricts RPM so the duration must match the rpm the engine needs to turn at peak head flow.) The carb should match the peak Rpm with a saftey margin. The compression must be matched to the duration of the  cam as the longer the duration the lower the static or mechanical compression will be. so it must be raised accordingly.  The dIst must match the engines timing needs. The intake runners must be long enough to be effective at the rpm the engine sees. (Many are too short)
And the bottom end must be able to live at the speeds the engine needs to run. 
When all these come together you can run with the big boys because they dont understand this but operate on the principal bigger is better and the more it costs the better it must be. Half the time you can win cause the fancy stuff is often broke and the rest of the time you will be very  competitive and with good driving skillls (Something i dont have) you can slay the giants all day long. I have two guys with my engines out there who have never finished out of the top ten for the year in the last ten years and have often won first second or third in the points overall. both run very basic no trick combos that run forever and just do the job. They are running against cars with over $50000 Can in them and still manage more than their fair share of wins. 
This is what i believe in. This is what brings me joy. 
I know this approach doesnt interest everyone  . I can understand that as well. 
I also know and remember how hard it is  to understand why a seemily smaller cam will run faster  and that sometimes less produces more. I remember Marty Algrihm calling me several times as he contemplated building an old reliable for his pamona Street Class 72 Challanger. I remember him worrying about chucking a roller cam and a set of stage V heads in favour of a 520 lift solid and a set of reworked 452s. (I remember when he phoned and said to heck with it he was going to go for it. )I also remember his excitement as he phoned me at 12 :34 AM my time and got me out of bed to tell me that his very first pass was 11.88  and he had never been below mid 12s before. 
I can still hear him telling me how he lowered the power windows after the run "just so people would remember this is really a street car."  I would get out of bed anytime to hear it again.  
That is what makes me tick just so you understand. 
Don   
Author of
Return to Deutschland (True Adventure)
Old Reliable (Mopar)
http://stores.ebay.ca/Don-Dulmage-Enterprises
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