Rhoads lifters.good or bad?

No, it had been rebuilt prior to my owning it with a hydraulic stick

 

I understand the theory of them. But, since you stated that you bought the package as-is, you have no way to know if it still would've ran fine without the Rhoads in it

 

I have the Rhoads lifters in the 350/400 trans combo, with a 9" Ford 373 gears and the big Micky Thompsons rear tires in my T-Bucket, I run open sprint style headers, car is crazy fast. I don't think they are that loud at idel, then again I run open headers. I like them.

 

Back in the day,...about 1980, I put a set of Rhoads lifters in my sbc equipped with a 280 cam...with the regular lifters it ran ok but had low vacumn , with the Rhoads the idle smoothed out and it picked up vacumn....I think they are fine for some applications.

 

Yes, if you run a stock motor with a stock cam and don't want any click or such and want to have the motor run so quiet you can't hear it you don't need what they do for someone that uses them. If you have a dragster you are going to want a big cam with solid lifters and low end torque is of no concern you wouldn't choose them either.

WE all know they are a compromise. Everybody that I know that has them(and understands their function) likes them. They do as advertised.

What the manufacturer says they do;
For maximum low end torque, engine vacuum and fuel economy, you need a smaller, more efficient cam. But smaller cams rob mid and upper RPM power needed for fast acceleration. For more mid and upper RPM power, you need a larger, more powerful camshaft. But larger cams are murder on low-end torque, engine vacuum, fuel economy and idle quality. With Rhoads Lifters, you get both! Rhoads Lifters work automatically and give you a ''smaller'' cam at lower RPM and a ''larger'' cam at higher RPM for the best of both worlds. How you ask? At idle and lower RPM where lugging power and more torque are needed, Rhoads Lifters ''bleed down'' to make you cam seem smaller by about 10°. This really boosts low-end torque, engine vacuum, fuel economy and idle quality. At higher engine speeds where more cam boosts mid and upper RPM power, the Rhoads Lifters work to restore full lift and duration of your cam for maximum top-end power. As your engine revs higher, Rhoads Lifters bleed less because there is simply less time to bleed at higher engine speeds. Near 3500 RPM, the bleed action has virtually disappeared, shifting back to your full cam and maximum horsepower potential back into action.