New HFT lifter from Comp Cams
 

This looks like a new HFT lifter from CC, but reading reviews, seems like they've been out for at least several months.. DLC (diamond like carbon) coating for hardness. I don't recall seeing it mentioned here. Maybe because it looks like they're not available for Pontiacs yet.

"The new COMP Cams DLC High Energy hydraulic lifters perform mechanically just as COMP's well-known High Energy line, but with the added benefit of a DLC surface treatment. This produces a flat tappet lifters with an extremely hard, tough, and slick face that reduces friction at the cam lobe. The unique coating extends the life of the lifter and camshaft, significantly reducing the likelihood of a flattened cam lobe. Additionally, COMP Cams DLC High Energy hydraulic lifters virtually eliminate the need for the traditional break-in procedure associated with cast iron camshafts and flat tappet lifters. They maintain the excellent hydraulic performance that the High Energy Hydraulic Lifters have provided for many years."

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/cca-812d-16

https://www.compcams.com/high-energy...big-block.html

First heard about it while watching an episode of Roadkill Garage earlier this year. It eliminates the lifter noise we have been use to from the lifters made outside the U.S.

Comp Cam took it in house. Also, saw a thread about here on PY. I will try them as necessary.

Its in the firearms world you can research dlc some there

I have some BAM SR lifters with a DLC coating on the pin/rollers contact surface.
Have not used them yet but the reputation is they are very durable.

I have used the Comp Cams DLC HFT # 812D-16
It was a 350 SBC of course... No DLC lifters for Pontiac that I know of....
I used 118 # on the seat pressure and 300# over the nose (.504") Used Comp Cams Break in oil 15w-50 (for warranty reasons)
I ran a Comp Cams lobe #5087 (274* @.006 230* @ .050 143* @ .200) Thats thier Extrem Energy XFI hyd flat tappet lobe.
After normal break in procedure... and many runs on the dyno..... I removed the Cam and Lifters......
Camshaft is like new, with a normal wear pattern. The lifters look like they were never run! Absolutely No wear markes or pattern of any kind.
I was so impressed, I got a quote via e mail from Calico Coating about doing it to other lifters (non Chevy) and I was quoted $35 each
I guess we will be waiting for a Company like Comp to sell them to us....

I did a set of DLC Pontiac lifters using Calico in North Carolina. They turned out pretty good, but they are expensive. By the time they do all the masking, etc. it was about $50/lifter.

If you do it, you have to disassemble the lifters and clean them and serialize them to match the internal parts so you can reassemble them with the original plungers. If you get them mixed up it’s a problem. You ship them just the lifter bodies and they ship them back coated.

DLC is super hard, very near 100 Rockwell C. You don’t need to bother with break in springs, just run them. I also Nitrided my cam so not expecting any wear from this setup. Be nice if Comp could do this as an affordable option for Pontiac.

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Did I read that right -$800?

Will, $800 is a hell of a lot cheaper than an engine overhaul if it eats a lifter or a cam lobe.

I think this would be a great option for a solid flat tappet cam and lifter set up. Yeah 800 bucks but now you have a dependable valve train without the ticking of hydraulic rollers and no worries of a lifter failure. What is the cost to nitride a cam? This setup would be something you could put 100,000 miles on and not worry.

Not knocking it - I’d probably do a roller with the Evolution lifters before going this route. No free lunch either way.

Well the great think is Comp has found away of doing this on the cheap at summit the 812-16 are 109.xx but the costed ones 812d-16 are 119.xx. I’m sure Pontiac/olds lifter will be something like a 50 dollar difference 😂. But still looking forward for them. HYL and SFT Need the help.

Agreed - would be great to have that as an option!

I am guessing, going by how those are priced, that DLC coating is extra thin and mostly is good for breaking the cam in properly. Nothing like a DLC coated lifters used in the racing world. Normally DLC coatings are on tool steel lifters on billet cam cores, not cast cam cores, and the coating is pretty expensive. Moly wear additives in most street oils supposedly eats away at DLC coating also, but if the DLC lasts long enough to help break the cam in, taking less metal off during the break in period, I would expect that to be very helpful. Plus, as I understand it the finish on the lifter surface has to be extra fine too apply the coating properly, which should provide a more accurate crown on the lifters.

https://www.raceenginesuppliers.com/...pet-protection

Flat tappet cams and lifters have been made from cast iron since the beginning. A steel lifter would not be compatible with a cast camshaft and would fail in short order. Cast iron has its limitations but it is a very hard and durable material. The new DLC coated flat tappet lifters deviate from this, these lifters actually have a steel body, but because of the DLC coating the surface is compatible with a cast iron cam core.

Remember the 80’s when we slapped these motors together, fired them up, if the oil pressure was good and no leaks, we ran the snot out of them, without issue, and there wasn’t even the thought of cam or lifter failure??
What the hell happened?

Well, when I first built my old 455 in the 80s a real Pontiac solid lifter was not available. So Whitmore got me Chevy lifters and a special length pushrod and it worked fine.
No reason one could not do the same today with these cheap Comp DLC lifters in their Pontiac.
Maybe do that trick to the lifter bores with a small burr for oil band differences like builders were doing for some hyd roller oil band issues in the past.
No reason it could not work.

I am very interested in all this as I have several HFT camshafts (un-used) in the their boxes on my shelf. The DLC coating on lifters especially interests me. Nitriding the cam sounds good too. I found on Don Terrill's Speed Talk some info about nitriding camshafts that seems good to be aware of if you have DLC lifters. To quote:

".When you nitride a cast iron cam, the process reduces the core hardness of the material. You end up with a very hard, but thin outer layer, but the backing material is now much softer. The hard shell. helps with break-in, but the after a while the softer backing material gives way, and the hard shell starts to flake off. As soon as that starts, your cam is toast."

To me it sounds like do DLC on lifters OR do nitriding on camshafts but not both. Then there is the cryogenic process that can be done on cams, would this synch with DLC coated lifters?
What do you all think about all this? Thanks!

Now I can install my summit $90.00 2802 cam with a set of $800 lifters

Tim, the nitrided cams we used in aircraft engines were in service for 1600-1800 hours. At 200 mph that amounts to 320,000 to 360,000 miles. The oiling for these cams is through the body of the cam ( they are hollow, except for TCM cams) while the lifter bodies receive nothing but splash oiling. The newest “innovation” is drilling oiling holes into the peak of the cam lobe ramps.

Cryogenic treating could be an option; however, what cryogenic treating does is to cause the molecules in the base metal to align, straighten and making the grain denser. It also relieves stress induced in the machining process. We used nitrided cams in aircraft recip engines, but those cam cores were forged steel not cast iron.