[TR] TR6 cam - FLAT tappets (lifters)

[aribert neumann]

Greetings all:

I need to replace the cam in my car - had a Goodparts GP2 and wiped a cam
lobe after a mere 10K miles.  I did all the proper: cam break-in time &
lube, high ZDDP oil, etc.  I like the cam grind, so after poking around the
net, asking a few questions, etc, I decided to buy another.

This time I will buy the replacement lifters from the same source as the
cam.  When I went to order the lifters I see that Good's lifters are ground
truly flat.  I have always heard that all "flat tappets" are slightly
crowned.  I contacted Good and his response is that his cam is "... ground
without a taper on the lobe and should be run with a perfectly flat
tappet..." and that his lifters have been ground flat for the past year.

I am a bit spooked with so little "in the field" development time on his
flat tappets.  I don't want to be spending $500 every 10K miles to replace
cams.

I have always heard that flat tappets are really slightly crowned.  All
tappets that I have ever  handled were crowned on the face - two tappet
surfaces could not be wrung together.  Your thoughts?