Roller Lifters

[ScotiaFE]

I've been doing some reading on them lately and what puzzles me is...
Isky EZ Roll lifters.
Instead of needle bearings they use a plain bearing. Granted they may have a super deluxe private bronze mix in the aluminum bronze alloy family, but
really were talking bronze age bearings.
If testing indicates plain bearings are the way to go with roller lifters than why are all the other lifters not going this route.
And they cost way more than needle bearings.
Are they really that much better? or just good advertising...

[jayb]

I don't think they are bronze, Howie, I believe they are a ceramic.  At least that's what the Isky guy told me at the PRI show a few years back.  Some ceramics have really, really good wear properties (ever tried to machine a ferrite magnet?), and I think they are taking advantage of those properties.  It sounds like they have come up with a formulation that can handle the impacts the lifter will see without breaking the ceramic.

[machoneman]

I do belive Jay is correct in that they are ceramic or some proprietary composite ceramic.

But, I'd add that the change to drop the steel roller bearings was contingent upon the massive spring loads and rpms that pure race engines run these days.  At 1,100+ lbs open and over 9,000 rpm I'm amazed that with either standard sized lifter bodies or even larger diameter lifters Chevys seem to run (all still under 1" in diameter or even o.e.m., GM, Ford sizes) that the rollerized lifters don't fail after just a few runs. They do fail of course just not that often. Presumably the new design is much more bulletrpoof and maybe lighter too.

[ScotiaFE]

Even if they are a ceramic/tungsten.
That`s not a really new thing.
When I was doing my apprenticeship (70`s) I had to grind thousands of tungsten bearings for aircraft engines.
Which I really hated. Really boring and dirty.
They look bronzeish colour in the picture. lol
It`s still just a plain bearing and it is not that complicated to grind a doughnut.
Just curious why other company's are not going this direction if they work.
Mostly I think, I want really good parts CHEAP.

[afret]

Isky actually offers 3 different levels of bearings depending I think on how severe the use is.  Crower also has started offering this option.  It seems though that other weak areas begin to show up like the lifter wheel itself if you use really strong springs in endurance applications so they are not foolproof.  Seems like it took Isky awhile to find the right materials for the bearings since the early models might have had some problems.  I think they are a good choice for street roller type applications.

The Isky lifters have pressurized oiling to the bearing like the Crower HIPPO.  You can see the small hole in the oil band of the lifter body and there are two more oil holes to the lifter axle.  You can see the oil hole in the oil band and the hole just above the axle in the second lifter for oil from the lifter bore: