Rhoads lifters.good or bad?

Hi!
All the old folks say nothing but good about them.Even Vizard has something in his books.
They should take around ten degrees out of your hot cam down low,which comes back when you rev her up..Getting more vacuum and such.

I really like the idea.But what about different motors having diff oil pressures?
Wheres the clatter point with these lifters?
Will they work if you run a hot oilpump,or just act as regular ones?

Thanks a ton,
Ollie

 

they are noisey....have heard but not seen of some failures.

 

All good questions. I'd like to know more too.

 

Not really all that noisy, they sort of tick like solid lifters. I had some in a 350 when I was driving a van.

It was not a high revving engine so I cannot comment on the upper end, I was young, read the ad and figured "I GOTTA HAVE EM"

 

Heavier weight oil will make them bleed down slower, oil pressure doesn't make any difference. I've used them and liked them, and I didn't notice any clatter at all.

 

I have had them in a several "over-cammed" engines. Nothing but good things to say about them.

 

I had good luck with them, but that was 25 years ago.

 

I liked them in a 360 i used to have. I dont remember them making much noise either.

 

the best thing to do with rhoads lifters is to throw them in the garbage can before they destroy something.
worst hunks of shit ive ever used.
sounds like a f#%kin sewing machine on steroids.
most of the machine shops around here will tell you to go get your engine built somewhere else if you want to use those garbage lifters.
call gellner engineering
one of the premier engine builder in cleveland during the gasser years.
they flat out refuse to use them in anything.
junk!garbage!crap!engine destroyers.

 

Sorry executioner, but something about your signature makes me not want to trust you. (Unless it's a joke?) haha. Although I can't add much to this thread right now, I'll be rebuilding my motor soon and installing a set of Rhoads V-Max Super Lube lifters. If this thread still exists after I've got it back on the road I'll definitely add my experience.

 

I know they've been around for at least 30 years, as far back as I can remember they have had ads in the ot rod mags.

 

I want to hear more on this side of the arguement, I've never known anyone personally that had them, I figured they had been around this long, they must work. Possibly a few faulty examples made their way past the Q.C. dept.?

 

Alot of the Pontiac guys swear by them.

 

I had put a 305 duration cam in my 396, I was running a comp 280, the 305 gave up some on the bottom end so my father had said to try the rhoads lifters so I did, the car went back to having the snap of the 280 on the bottom end, but pulled better upstairs but they definitly sounded like a solid cam , that was about 25yrs ago haven't run them since but I probably would if the need arose again

 

Used 'em in a .030 over 454 in a '70 Chevelle way back when, worked great.

 

I was hoping Executioner would elaborate. What got destroyed? How?

 

My experience with 'em goes back to 1975. Worked great, no problems, solid lifter sound, smoothed out idle.

 

I've used them in several engines including the one in my '70 Mach 1 with a 351C, they have at least 50,000 miles on them by now. They are noisy though.

 

I've been running them in my 406 SB for over 10 years. To me they sound like a perfectly adjusted set of solids. People have asked me if I am running a Duntov cam in it. It has a Comp Cams 4X4 hi-torque cam.

 

I'm not a fan. They're NOISY, not like solids, but just noise, and made no improvement on a 302 in a 69 Z-28 I had yrs ago

 

Only good things out of my mouth about Rhoads lifters.Used them in all my small block circle track motors and never had a problem with them.the noise thing-just put a louder exhaust on your car and you will never hear them.

 

I have a set of them in Big Block Chevy, with a high volume oil pump. The high volume oil pump does not make them bleed off any slower, so you get better idle quality, vacum and low end torque as promised. But they are very noisy, not like a solid cam to my ear. I often get asked, or suggested that I need to adjust my lifters. I don't necessarily tune my engine by ear, but I do listen closely to it for sounds that indicate possible trouble, and the Rhoads lifters are so loud, it makes it difficult to hear anything else. I would not use them again, maybe I am getting old but I will either use a big cam and deal with it or a milder cam that doesn't tempt me to use Rhoads lifters.

 

What cam were you running in that 302???

 

I don't remember, it was a long time ago. A tad lumpy @ idle though. But, ZERO change in idle quality or throttle response when going to stock lifters. And a little 302 in a 3300 Lb car theoretically would've welcomed the Rhoads, but did not

 

I had a big lumpy cam in a '75 Blazer. Sounded really cool at idle and low RPM, and would get that heavy unit moving from the stop position pretty fast with the Rhoades lifters. Then when getting down the road at about 60mph, you could punch the 4 barrel carb, and all hell would break loose! Set you in your seat big time. It probably has a lot to do with matching the cam, differential gears, carb, and intake together, with the Rhoades lifters. I wish I could duplicate the combination that this truck had. I bought it already built, so I did not know the cam specs. The guy that I sold the blazer to, wanted it only for the engine. I love Rhoades lifters, and will use them again some day.

 

Since you got it as-is, how do you know it wouldn't have run better without the Rhoads? Just asking

 

Reason why I asked is those lifters were only made for hydraulic camshafts and not the stock .030-.030 solid lifter cam that was installed in the little 302's....

 

I ran them in my one and only SBC powered vehicle (350/350 combo in a Chevy Luv). They worked great, and I'd recommend them.

 

Those lifters and a L-79 camshaft would probably be a cool combo to use in a small block. Maybe I'll give it a try on the next build.

 

The Rhoads lifters helped big time, because of the (highway) gear ratio, automatic transmission, heavy vehicle combination with LUMPY cam. I guess if the Blazer would of had a manual trans and some 4.88 gears, the Rhoades lifters would not of been necessary. The Rhoades lifters do have there place in some applications. The Rhoades lifters lets the engine get into the upper RPM range quicker and stronger, so that the LUMPY cam can start doing what it was designed to do.