superooo Posted July 15, 2016 Share Posted July 15, 2016 I'm doing an ea81 build and I'm curious what you guys opinions are on hydraulic vs. Solid lifters. Do you guys prefer one over the other I'm favoring the solid lifters but the motors I have to build are all for hydro lifter setups. Is it possible/worth it and what would i need Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BratWarrior Posted July 15, 2016 Share Posted July 15, 2016 They are very similar. The one benefit of the hydro lifters is that you don't have to adjust the valves every 15K miles. No power difference, just a convinience thing. They do sould a bit different. There is a PLETHORA of info on here about the difference. Use that search function. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superooo Posted July 16, 2016 Author Share Posted July 16, 2016 Ive seen a lot about identifying them, i just get the impression that hydro lifters have more to fail so they tend to have more problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferp420 Posted July 18, 2016 Share Posted July 18, 2016 im interested in this too the hydrolic lifters rob power and mileage because there resitance from the constant contact friction and drag but there very reliable you shouldent have to do anything to them ever in theory solid lifter have to be adjusted regulerly i know my 2000 impreza has solid lifters so subaru ditched the hydro lifters so im guessing the advantages of solid lifters out ways the added maintinace needed to keep them runnng i would love to run solid lifters in my ea82 but i just cant figure out how to adjust the valves maybe just use different size shims maybe some one can or already dose make a kit but ive never seen any Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomRhere Posted July 18, 2016 Share Posted July 18, 2016 The debate over which is better for performance has been going on for a few decades with the 1/4-mile bunch. Not much of a definitive answer has been proven that I know of. There's still those what run solids regardless. Myself, I'd rather have hydro's, set 'em and forget 'em. Proper oil change intervals with a good quality oil, and you should have no issues other than oil pump being properly sealed also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skishop69 Posted July 18, 2016 Share Posted July 18, 2016 im interested in this too the hydrolic lifters rob power and mileage because there resitance from the constant contact friction and drag but there very reliable you shouldent have to do anything to them ever in theory solid lifter have to be adjusted regulerly i know my 2000 impreza has solid lifters so subaru ditched the hydro lifters so im guessing the advantages of solid lifters out ways the added maintinace needed to keep them runnng i would love to run solid lifters in my ea82 but i just cant figure out how to adjust the valves maybe just use different size shims maybe some one can or already dose make a kit but ive never seen any The power loss you are referring to is less than the loss due to friction of the lifter on the cam or the rocker on the valve stem. Having built many high performance engines over the years, I can tell you from dyno runs there is no discernible difference in either that would net you any advantage on the street. The argument for solid is simply one less thing to go wrong and near infallible at high RPMs. There is absolutely no reason to not run hydro. Time wasted adjusting valves and having to listen to the industrial sewing machine tick in my Brats is most certainly not worth having solid lifters. Subaru did away with hydraulic lifters for pure cost reasons. They are cheaper to produce as are the heads without additional oil passages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afterbang Posted July 21, 2016 Share Posted July 21, 2016 I have two 84 GL wagons, one is completely stock and untouched w/ only 54k. my other has 220k, is completely rebuilt with EA82 pistons, a weber, and I pretty much replaced/upgraded every part on that car. The one I built myself is a daily and I chose a hydro motor to build it, even with the power upgrades I've made, bc the yearly valve adjustment is annoying and the hydro engines run quieter. With the hydro lifters, this wagon still feels like a rocket ship compared to my stock one. I would run the hydro lifters, get a Weber, slap a new oil pump on, and just drive it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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