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I am doing a cam swap in my ls3 camaro and need some help deciding what lifters and rocker arms to purchase. Current parts I have in hand are
- BTR cam 233/248 .619"/.595" 113+5
- BTR Dual Springs .660" lift with titanium retainers
- Melling oil pump
From what I have read the Johnson 2116LSR are a good set. On the rocker arms side I am thinking of going with CRS LS3 Cryo Treated rocker arms from BTR.
I am open to any suggestions on where to look at for different options that are available or any advice in helping me decide. Thanks for any assistance.
Last edited by bigboy t/a; Jan 5, 2016 at 08:36 PM.
I am doing a cam swap in my ls3 camaro and need some help deciding what lifters and rocker arms to purchase. Current parts I have in hand are
- BTR cam 233/248 .619"/.595" 113+5
- BTR .660" lift with titanium retainers
- Melling oil pump
From what I have read the Johnson 2116LSR are a good set. On the rocker arms side I am thinking of going with CRS LS3 Cryo Treated rocker arms from BTR.
I am open to any suggestions on where to look at for different options that are available or any advice in helping me decide. Thanks for any assistance.
What's your planned use, rpm, power goals etc. They are great lifters but may be overkill or just what the doctor ordered. Just depends.
I used the 2116SLR lifters. Check them carefully as one pair in my set had different pushrods seat which were lower. Unfortunately I didn't discover it until the heads were torqued. I updated this post with pictures. The snap rings are definitely different, pr seats may or may not be different. Bottom line: pushrods had a lot of slack with one pair. Vendor replaced the pair and all is good.
Last edited by Bill71; Dec 18, 2015 at 10:35 AM.
Reason: added pictures
I used the 2116SLR lifters. Check them carefully as one pair in my set had different pushrods seat which were .100 lower. Unfortunately I didn't discover it until the heads were torqued.
Do what? We only have 1 pushrod seat for every hyd. lifter we make. So that's not the case for being .100" deeper. The 2116 lifters only have .100 travel (.093), so they had to be bottomed out. I haven't seen these come back, as everything comes across my desk. PM me some details so I can get these back and take care of any returns etc.
I just did a cam swap on an ls3 camaro got beehive springs and used that with factory retainers keepers and push rods i even mill the heads 0.020 and still used the same push rods but any more then 0.020 push rods will have to be changed. The whole thing works just perfect zero issues.
The CRS rockers are a good upgrade. As far as lifters I would go with the LS7 unless you're trying to spin the motor 7000+ RPM, Then I would suggest Johnson's or morel link bars. No matter what you choose BTR has what you need.
What's your planned use, rpm, power goals etc. They are great lifters but may be overkill or just what the doctor ordered. Just depends.
Car is my daily that I race on the weekends for now, so I want to upgrade for a piece of mind. I will eventually start going to HPDE and autocross events later next year.
Originally Posted by SydwayZ
The CRS rockers are a good upgrade. As far as lifters I would go with the LS7 unless you're trying to spin the motor 7000+ RPM, Then I would suggest Johnson's or morel link bars. No matter what you choose BTR has what you need.
If I'm not mistaken the LS3 comes with LS7 lifters from factory and I may spin the motor to 7K RPM depending where my power band drops off.
Also I realize this is a big cam to daily drive in a 6 speed car. Thinking of sending the cam back and possibly going with a cam motion custom grind cam.
Last edited by bigboy t/a; Dec 25, 2015 at 05:59 PM.
Car is my daily that I race on the weekends for now, so I want to upgrade for a piece of mind. I will eventually start going to HPDE and autocross events later next year.
If I'm not mistaken the LS3 comes with LS7 lifters from factory and I may spin the motor to 7K RPM depending where my power band drops off.
Also I realize this is a big cam to daily drive in a 6 speed car. Thinking of sending the cam back and possibly going with a cam motion custom grind cam.
Well I ran the LS3/LS7 lifters for 9000 miles or so with a lot of days on the drag strip and then the HPDE tracks. They worked fine but the new build I went with Johnson 2116 LSR lifters. Johnson has awesome products and customer service so you cannot go wrong. Since you are going to run HPDE I would spring the coin for at least the 2110's.
Not overly big cam, i'd keep the valvetrain light and simple. Use ls7 lifters, factory rockers with trunion upgrade and a single behive to suit 600-610" lift
The new bronze bushing and REM treated trunnion rocker upgrade kit I've gotten my hands on after release at PRI are the cats meow...I'd never use another Comp/BTR needle bearing kit again.
Well I ran the LS3/LS7 lifters for 9000 miles or so with a lot of days on the drag strip and then the HPDE tracks. They worked fine but the new build I went with Johnson 2116 LSR lifters. Johnson has awesome products and customer service so you cannot go wrong. Since you are going to run HPDE I would spring the coin for at least the 2110's.
Thanks for your help and I'll look those 2110's up.
Originally Posted by dogsballs
Not overly big cam, i'd keep the valvetrain light and simple. Use ls7 lifters, factory rockers with trunion upgrade and a single behive to suit 600-610" lift
I already have the dual spring kit that came with the cam kit when I bought it.
Originally Posted by machinistone
The new bronze bushing and REM treated trunnion rocker upgrade kit I've gotten my hands on after release at PRI are the cats meow...I'd never use another Comp/BTR needle bearing kit again.
How much better are the bronze bushing compared to the needle bearing kit?
Thanks for your help and I'll look those 2110's up.
I already have the dual spring kit that came with the cam kit when I bought it.
How much better are the bronze bushing compared to the needle bearing kit?
More load bearing capacity - that's why the bushed lifters are so desirable these days. Additionally the finish and hardness of the new trunnions is far superior to all the Comp and BTR ones that I've personally tested in-house due to better machining practices and the REM finishing.
More load bearing capacity - that's why the bushed lifters are so desirable these days. Additionally the finish and hardness of the new trunnions is far superior to all the Comp and BTR ones that I've personally tested in-house due to better machining practices and the REM finishing.
I have sets built and ready to ship right now, I'm not selling the kit on it's own because we add the machine work step of truing the rocker tip of the MIM rocker arm so it's perfectly parallel to the trunnion. No core necessary, $429 shipped, comes with new hardware, ready to just bolt on and go.
Last edited by machinistone; Feb 1, 2016 at 05:37 PM.
I have sets built and ready to ship right now, I'm not selling the kit on it's own because we add the machine work step of truing the rocker tip of the MIM rocker arm so it's perfectly parallel to the trunnion. No core necessary, $429 shipped, comes with new hardware, ready to just bolt on and go.
i know its off topic but where in the north bay u located ? i may need a kit after i check all my top end.. pulling motor and everything out this weekend
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Ls3 Lifter and Rocker Arms Upgrade Help 
