Really?! And why is that? Since the very first hot rodders, guys have been swapping in higher ratio rocker arms to get more power from their motors. There's nothing inherently "better" about one particular rocker arm ratio over another. "Stock" for years was 1.5:1 or 1.6:1 and until the LS1 came the along 1.7:1 ratio was considered "high." Now the LS7 motor comes from the factory with 1.8:1 rockers. I suppose some will tell the owners of those motors to stick with that ratio and never go higher (even though some forward-thinking outfits like Crane are already working on 1.9 rockers).

 

FWiW Roller tips on all rockers are the wrong diameter to make them roll especially when you consider the radius that the valve end of the rocker rotates on. A roller tip would have to be at least 1 1/8" in diameter to have the right contact radius at the valve tip. Talk about weight right over the valve stem!!! Steel roller tips were put on aluminum rockers to provide a cheap, easy way to have a hard tip. The friction point is at the fulcrum (trunnion bearing) is the point where the real friction occurs. The roller tips don't even roll, they slide. That's why they wear a groove in the top of the valve stem. If they rolled they wouldn't wear a groove!! Check out some valve stems after extended use with roller cams. Get a SBC and take the valve cover off and install a roller rocker. Start the engine and use a timing light to stop the rocker action and you will see the roller tip sliding. This roller tip as a reduction in friction is all a marketing ploy to sell stamped steel rockers with a roller tip as the hot ticket in the old SBC market. Actually the radius on the stock rocker (SBC or LSx) is the correct radius. Check me out on this, I will look forward to being proven wrong on it as well!! The problem is that the cam companies can't say the roller tip is the wrong radius as they have been marketing it as a "friction fighter" for years. I'm not saying a roller tip costs HP, it just doesn't unleash horsepower. It is the needles bearings at the rocker pivot point and the ratio at which the rocker opens and closes that counts. There is no such thing as a constant ratio rocker. Hook up a degree wheel and a couple of dial indicators and check it out. Crane at least, seems to be leading the way in this with their rocker body geometry and new composite bearing rockers. Maybe someday they will change that nose wheel to a radius pad. Q/T

 

John Lingenfelter points this out in his book as well.

 

Well so far, it has been a general consensus that instead of increasing rocker ratio, it is better to go with a higher lift, higher duration cam. (geometry)
Crane has solved a little of that with it's variable lifts design and shorter p-rods, but these were designed mainly for Crane range of cams and are just starting to be used on other lobes.(with good results, I might add)