I've talked to Berg and Pauter about the ratio rockers today, and their
technical differences. Here is what I found out.

Both companies have excellent reputations:
Wessel has done several of these and thinks Berg's are problem free,  Gene
Berg ran a set in his vanagon for five years without problems till his
death. They have recently done a 2.1 vanagon and have the specs for the
pushrods. Aussies like the Bergs, have no experience with Pauters.
Many people have installed the Pauters and like them.
Advantage: None, really, I haven't heard anything bad about the Pauters,
just more experience with the Bergs

Basic material:
Berg: forged steel, flame hardened ends. Like VW and Porsche. Lifetime
guarantee against breakage.
Pauter: billet aluminium, Guarantee against manufacturing defects, no
"usage" warrantee. For racing applications, lighter is a factor since there
is less mass to accelerate.

Advantage: Berg

Rocker bearing:
Berg: bushing type
Pauter: roller bearing, says uses less oil and is an advantage for racing
engines, not really a benefit for our application, but its the only way they
make them.

Advantage: Slight for Berg since it has so many fewer moving parts

Pushrods:
Berg:Pushrods .26 inches shorter than stock required
Pauter: set is $70 additional

Valve Cover:
Berg - fits under stock valve cover. States that factory design is best,
notes that bolt on covers tend to leak.
Pauter - if necessary, says stock cover can usually can be clearanced with a
ball peen hammer

Advantage- very slight to Berg

Included parts:

Berg:
rocker arm assembly, lubed and ready for installation
lash caps
adjusting screws
mounting studs
jam nuts
spare side play shims

push rods $90 set, cut to length.

Pauter:
rocker arm assembly- uses existing mounts, nuts and studs

lash caps $16 additional
push rods $70 set

Advantage: I like that Berg includes all the bits and pieces new

Rocker arm tips:
Berg says roller tips reduce reliability. "When rocker arms are properly
designed to wipe against the valve end, there is never a need for roller
tips."
Pauter: roller tips, like in a Chevy V8 - "extremely reliable"

Advantage: Who knows- call it a draw

Price:
Berg:     $478.65 total package. No group discount- they may not even have
10 sets left in stock, and are checking. Next order being made up in Sweden
right now.
Pauter:     $385  total package

Advantage: Pauter

.

What does everyone think?

Tom F.