[Alan Roehrich]

Trend lifters are available in various grades, from the $25-$28 flat tappet (or "solid") and hydraulics I usually sell, all the way up to $80 NASCAR lifters with DLC coatings.

Trend will tell you that the $80 NASCAR grade DLC coated lifter is the ultimate and truly correct setup for a steel billet core. A lot of people run the lower cost versions.

The cam should be nitrided, and preferably micro polished to the slickest surface possible for the best possible result.

Many people are keeping the Schubeck or Smith lifters, using them only to break in the camshaft, then switching to the Trend for another break in before making power runs. They can break in an unlimited number of camshafts that way, and the result is even better than having the camshaft polished, you can actually skip that process.

If you have already run the Smith's, you can simply do another normal break in with the Trend lifters. The pushrod cup may not be in the same location, so you may need to change pushrods to get the correct lift. In the aftermarket, there is apparently no industry standard for pushrod cup height.