What is the difference between a slider & roller cam ?

5902 Views 20 Replies 9 Participants Last post by dakota87, Jan 14, 2012

Mdniteracr

Discussion Starter · Jan 6, 2012

Can anybody explain the difference between a slider & roller cam ? Anybody have pictures to show me the difference between these two ? I tried researching on here to see if this was ever explained but I never found anything on it (Unless I missed it) Hey, I gotta learn someday

Pictures would be deeply appreciated !!

1 - 20 of 21 Posts

Dr. Johny Dodge

· #2 · Jan 6, 2012

K , a roller cam has a blunter , more rounded tip on the lobe - this allows the roller on the follower to stay on the cam

because the roller cam is rounder , the sides or ramps to the tip of the lobe will be more full bodyed - thus giving more lift as the roller aproaches the tip (ie the cam is wider at this part)

the slider is more pointy

roller cams are also hardened steel - this is why they don't wear so quickly

86seeS

· #3 · Jan 6, 2012

Slider cams use solid rocker arms and the cam lobes are 1 1/4in wide (rough guess) roller cams use roller rocker arms and the cam lobes are .75in wide. Also not sure how accurate this is but roller cams are hardend and slider cams are not. I have used a slider cam on roller rockers before just to try it out. Ran it about 1500 miles and the cam was trashed. very worn end deeply grooved so I dont recomend doing that

Dr. Johny Dodge

· #4 · Jan 6, 2012 (Edited)

ok , cheezy doodle I know but at least it will show what I ment about the sides (ramps) and tips being different

Dr. Johny Dodge

· #5 · Jan 6, 2012

I should have said the roller cam will give lift more quickly as the sides of the cam will open the valves further than the slider even if total lift at the tip is exactly the same as the slider cam

turismolover22

· #6 · Jan 6, 2012

Also, the roller cam runs quieter, as well as smoother. Oftentimes a stock for stock swap will net you an HP or two. Plus the most famous swap for an 86+ head (782) is to swap in an 88 TBI roller cam.

nvysion

· #7 · Jan 6, 2012

Where can I find the 88 TBI cam ?

Dr. Johny Dodge

· #8 · Jan 6, 2012

seems alot of the time people just put a used one in

turismolover22

· #9 · Jan 6, 2012

You can get the 88 TBI cam from any TD that had a TBI cam in it. You can use later year cams, as they all use the same grind specs IIRC, BUT I also believe the cam gear timing is different. You will have to swap cam gears off of your old cam onto the new one, and possibly play with timing. I can't remember the total procedure

Mdniteracr

Discussion Starter · #10 · Jan 6, 2012

Well explained !! Thank you guys ! Now, was 1988 the first year to have the roller cam in our cars? Another question is ... Im getting the F4 cam for my 782 head build. The F4 cam is a roller which means I need roller followers. Are all roller followers the same ?

Mdniteracr

Discussion Starter · #11 · Jan 6, 2012

ttt

AZTurbo

· #12 · Jan 6, 2012

All the chryco roller followers are the same. I believe '89 was the first year for rollers, but it may have been '88 - typically anything with a round-tooth cam gear will have a roller cam. You use your square tooth gear though.

Snag the roller cam and followers out of a donor and they're a drop-in 'upgrade'. The roller cams are something like 4 degrees retarded (or advanced, I can never remember which) which is about twice a 'tooth' (which is about 9 degrees, according to common wisdom). You do NOT need an adjustable cam gear, but you might see the most gain with one.

Mdniteracr

Discussion Starter · #13 · Jan 6, 2012

AZTurbo said:
All the chryco roller followers are the same. I believe '89 was the first year for rollers, but it may have been '88 - typically anything with a round-tooth cam gear will have a roller cam. You use your square tooth gear though.

Snag the roller cam and followers out of a donor and they're a drop-in 'upgrade'. The roller cams are something like 4 degrees retarded (or advanced, I can never remember which) which is about twice a 'tooth' (which is about 9 degrees, according to common wisdom). You do NOT need an adjustable cam gear, but you might see the most gain with one.

Ok, which brings me to my next question....what is an adjustable cam gear. I know what the cam gear is , but have no idea what an adjustable cam gear is. :shrug:

Mdniteracr

Discussion Starter · #14 · Jan 7, 2012

ttt

AZTurbo

· #15 · Jan 7, 2012

An adjustable cam gear is a custom setup. The center of the gear and outer ring (the teeth) are separate, and secured together with slotted holes and screws. You can adjust the outer gear in relation to the inner hub - which allows fine tuning of the advance/retard of the camshaft. It is not 100% necessary, but can help get the last few hp or ft-lbs out of your motor.

Mdniteracr

Discussion Starter · #16 · Jan 7, 2012

AZTurbo said:
An adjustable cam gear is a custom setup. The center of the gear and outer ring (the teeth) are separate, and secured together with slotted holes and screws. You can adjust the outer gear in relation to the inner hub - which allows fine tuning of the advance/retard of the camshaft. It is not 100% necessary, but can help get the last few hp or ft-lbs out of your motor.

Thank you !! :thumb:

dakota87

· #17 · Jan 11, 2012

What's involved in using rollers on a slider cam? Can this even be done? I want to use a 767 cam on my non turbo 2.2.

Dr. Johny Dodge

· #18 · Jan 11, 2012

bad idea

roller cams are hardened steel - slider cams are not
so the roller follower will wear the cam quickly - if the pointie-er lobes of the slider cam don't chuck the follower out altogether

if you go back to my drawing on pg 1 you'll see the diff in the lobes

the roller cam lobe is rounder so the roller follower can "ride" the cam without looseing contact

the roller cam is usually a perf upgrade as it holds the valve open longer even if total lift is the same as the slider - this is due to the wider lobe and rounder tip

pinoaktwh

· #19 · Jan 11, 2012

Cam keys are 45 to 50 bucks a set, Alot cheaper than a adj cam gear. You have to have one or another for the tbi cam to work. I have used a couple, tried to do without the keys (didnt spend the money on the adj gear). Doesnt work well. Install the 4* cam key and it will fire right up and run correctly.

Hope this helps

capev86

· #20 · Jan 14, 2012

You can get the 88 TBI cam from any TD that had a TBI cam in it

technically speaking, No TD (turbo dodge) came with a tbi cam. only naturally aspirated engines got that grade of camshaft.

roller cams got phased in during 1988 (so all '89's should have them). 2.5's got them first and 2.2's started getting them later in the year (probably to use up old inventory....the 2.5 was the optional engine anyway in most vehicles that came standard with the 2.2tbi).

the 1988 roller is the most desirable because the timing is the most aggressive. i believe they tamed it in later years for better economy and smoothness. even though all roller cams are less aggressive than their respective slider counterparts, the loss in power is nill.

that roller bearing that rides on the cam (instead of a fixed tip dragging across the lobe) resulted in a 30% reduction in friction at cruise and a "whopping" 70% at idle. there is a reason the industry went to this type of cam. also realize that modern oils do not contain the zinc necessary for slider cams anymore (for environmental and economic reasons) so old school engines require an additive (works) or a roller valvetrain swap (preferable). i'll take cleaner oil and less noise/power waste any day of the week!

oh....turbo engines got roller camshafts at the same time but they will lose you horse power in a naturally aspirated setup in the high rpm range (turbo engines make up the difference with BOOST!!!). the tbi cam will work in a turbo application provided you go with custom timing to make it work. but remember that while the tbi cam has some power potential over a turbo spec cam with the right setup...that comes at a slighty higher rpm (max torque is around 2800rpm instead of 2000-2400rpm for turbo cars). i personally like my grunt down low in a street vehicle (for towing starting on hills, shredding the tires, etc)....that's why I don't care for most small engines without a stick shift to allow me to rev it up!

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