[1989GT]

I've seen cams with lifts as high as .565-.580 with no piston to valve clearance issues simply because the duration was not very long.

By the same token you could run .500 lift and a longer duration and not have piston to valve clearance issues.

Think of it this way: Suppose you were trying to wack my hand with a hammer before I pulled it back. It's not how far I reach my hand out...it's how long I leave it out there before you get a chance to wack it. Now suppose that the timing of me putting my hand out and you swinging the hammer(and missing) is the same sequence over and over again just like the valve timing of an engine....you always come close but always juuuuust miss me.

So now what happens when you stick your hand out further(lift) but leave your had out there for the same amount of time(duration) It'll take you longer to get you hand out of the danger zone because you stuck it out further. So now your fingers get smashed.