Rocker Arms

I am looking for opinions on rocker arms to run on Brad 5 cylinder heads. I run a nostalgia front engine dragster and expect the car to run in the low six second range with engine rpms in the 8600-9400 range. There is obviously a lot of different choices out there and I would like to hear good and not so good experiences.

 

sent you a pm

 

Rockers

Your choice will depend on a balance between your wallet & your piece of mind (as always....).

The std BAE rocker assemblies (usually with red stands) have been around for a long time, and are a good choice.
I use them on my TD, running in the low 6's @ 8800 rpm.
Pro's:
They can handle more rpm than what your throwing at them, and are common enough that it's easy to get a few spares, either online, or at the track in a pinch.
Cons:
The original shafts are a bit weak; Manton makes a replacement shaft that is thicker, and I believe Brad offers it too.
Also, the small shaft alignment bolts that go thru the upper part of the stand and down into the shaft, do not go thru back into the stand, & results in easily broken stands & bent shafts.
And unless you get a modified version, the oiling is limited to the int rockers squirting it towards the push rod cup thru an external hole.
Also, the exh rockers do not stand up as well as they could (some are dbl ribbed, some are single,, not sure which is better, but the cracks always show up on the ribs, due to reverse flexing). Had some problems with these at 8800 rpm, wonder what happens at 10,000+

Red stands are std ratio; black stands are high ratio, and i can't comment on the blue & non-colored ones out there, as I do not know.

On the TAD A/Fuel car I use the Manton Rocker assembly, w/ Reid exh rockers (that was the combo Manton offered 3 yrs ago; I believe they now have a Manton exh rocker, and i think Reid has there own set-up too).
Pros:
What sold me on these was the shaft strength, the internal oiling direct to the pushrod cup (no squirting/spraying to it), the design and strength of the Reid exh rocker, and that the upper shaft bolts I referred to earlier, go right thru the shaft & thread back into the stand (and are a bigger dia.), for a whole assembly that's a lot more rigid, but still a bit forgiving.

As with BAE, Noel Manton was very helpful on the phone...even called back to make sure all was good.

Cons: they cost more to buy, (but you get more when you sell them...a good used set of BAE rockers are about $2000, where you will pay $3500 for a good set of Manton's).

I have not hurt my Manton's one bit on the A/Fuel in 3 seasons, and although I do not exceed 6800 rpm, I do have a lot more cyl pressure (especially on the exh stroke) than a blown car at a higher rpm.

As for the Brads on my TD, there too, overall they've worked good.

I'm sure someone reading this may update ya on the current brad / manton / reid / T&D stuff.

Clif

 

Mike,
What Cliff said; the red stands and single rib exhaust rockers are low ratio while the black stands and double rib exhaust rockers are high ratio. The intakes are stage V and are the same for both. They break the 1/4 " bolts and the shafts flex @ high rpm. We never broke a rocker though but did break shafts and pushrods at Very high rpm(drive line failures). The interesting thing is that the flex/vibration seems to kill valve springs at high rpm. The Manton stuff seems more rigid and we more than doubled our valve spring life and re the oiling we ended push rod failures until we got to about 200 runs when we had a couple of the inserts break off in the lifter cup but they still ran just fine till we found them broken when pulled out for the night. Re the cost, it is less expensive per run to use good equipment but you pay more and get more back. Mr Reid is also a quality person to deal with and he builds the highest level of equipment as well. call if you want to talk about it; I'll pm you a number.
Jeff Johnsen

 

BAE has some new rockers available now. I think the newest BAE's have the oiling mods std.

 

Anyone have any more input on pros/cons of using std ratio vs. high ratio?

 

See the Paton Racing ad with Dechellis stands & titanium shafts ......

 

Still looking for pros/cons of using std vs high ratio...

 

low ratio is old tech. I dont think most rockers are even available in low ratio.

 

Overkill, I figured. So are you referring to low ratio as std ratio? I've been seeing a lot of mixed opinions on this and still not sure what's considered what. I'm guessing high ratio is the preferred route over standard, but why?

 

High ratio is worth hp. However it comes at a cost. If your cam is aggressive and seating profile isn't correct it slams the valve into the seat. Beating the seat , valve , spring and lock up. Most high ratio cars turning over 9500 or more cant go but 30-40 runs before breaking spring , tuliping valves or breaking valves. Most Nhra cars throw valves away at 25 passes. Manton standard ratio or low ratio rockers work extremely well and don't beat the valve train to death. I have low ratio man tons for sale if interested. Thanks jay. 248-8842178. Text me if you have any more question

 

Let's go back to the original post from May 2015. He said FED running low 6's. He said a Brad 5. He didn't say fathead. A legal nitro FED cant run a fathead. Does he have the late model big chamber fuel head that some call a Stage V ? I see both alcohol and fuel teams responding.

 

Jay, the low ratio rockers you have are 1.6ex., 1.6 int.?

 

We are still offering the low ratio exhaust rockers, both roller and scrubber type, either as stand alone rockers, or complete assemblies.

 

Roller tip 1.8 Manton and cluff scrubber style 1.6 exh Reid . They we're back at Manton 1/2 way thru last season for a freshin up

 

I'm looking for a set of low ratio, but don't want the 1.8.
Is there such thing as 1.6 intake?

 

i believe Reid makes a 1.65 low ratio intake and a 1.6 low ratio exhaust.
How ever there is a difference between Fuel head rockers and alcohol rockers and thats the fulcrum length. Which changes where the roller starts on the lash cap and where it ends.

 

Will these fit Brad 4 heads and what are you asking for the set Jay?