331: Crane 2030 or XE274HR?

[BlackVert]

on this combo:

331 short block
ported world products sr heads
1.7" rockers
typhoon intake

which cam would be better: Crane 2030 or Comp XE274HR?

i'm a little worried the duration on the crane will hold the 331 back.

fwiw ....

Crane makes a kit with this cam, springs, retainers and locks for $254
With Comp stuff (no kit) it would cost $393

 

[Grn92LX]

Neither. Do a custom from the grinder of your choice so you get what you want.

 

[BlackVert]

ok, let me put it this way ....

if those were the only 2 cams in the entire world, which would you pick and why?

 

[blksn955.o]

I hear the 2030 is a blower cam, or at least more suited for blower/boost setups.

 

[Black95GTS]

XE Cams have massive lobes. Due to the increased lift, you're gonna need to make sure you are set up to handle the more violent valve action that an XE cam will create.

Its just like slapping a set of 1.7s in replacing your stock 1.5s... the valves are going to get a much harder workout.

For $393, I'm pretty sure you could get a custom grind. I agree with the fox body guy!

Adam

 

[blksn955.o]

stock rockers are 1.6

 

[reddy351]

I agree with the others. If you are spending this money, just do it once. Since you have your combo pretty well worked out, you can get more power with a tailor made cam. This is when you "order" how you want the engine to perform. Crisp throttle, all power in a particular rpm range, etc. You can even specify that you'd like for it to be easy on your valve train. Kind of like buying the roller rockers. If there is a place that you are going to spend more than you anticipated, the valve train is a good place to do it.

 

[BlackVert]

ok 3rd try

what cam/valvetrain should i get? these are the 2 i am looking at right now

	comp 274		crane 2030
	-------------	----------------
cam	246		255
springs	85		0 (included w/cam)
retainers	55		0 (included w/cam)
locks	7		0 (included w/cam)

	393		255

comp has a kit with all that stuff, but it is closer to $650 and it has a timing chain and lifters. add those to the crane kit and i get $443

are you telling me i can get a custom cam and all the valve train stuff for under $393?

this is a budget build, don't forget it please.

 

[final5-0]

Chris

My view point based upon my custom cam experience.

The thing about going custom is you also get the knowledge of the Pro.

You tell him what you expect and he makes those decisions about what works with what based upon the data you have given him.

Choose to not follow his advice based upon what ever your reason
you get less than optimum results.

Pretty much a cut and dried kinda thing as I see it.

It seems to me you would be wise to at least consider the option.

One last thing ... 2030 cam has done good in some 302 combos
however
You ain't puttin together a 302

Consider all options ....... Grasshopper

Grady

 

[Dan95-5.0]

the 2030 is just a e-cam. as Grady said, works good for a 302 and thats about it.

you dont have to go for a custom cam even tho that would be the best way to do it. you can go for an off the shelf cam suited for your combo and CID.

 

[BlackVert]

after a hard look at them, i think i'm going with the XE274HR from comp

 

[reddy351]

How about calling the different cam companies and asking them what cam to use. They have cams in their catalogs/databases that may never make it to a public catalog. Someone prolly has a cam that would fit your combo just right. Most even have 800 numbers for the tech lines.

You asked for opinions. Did you think that we would choose between only TWO cams??!! C'mon! Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!! Good luck!

 

[BlackVert]

i looked at pretty much every cam on summit's site, and this one looks to fit my goals the best, in terms of rpm range, duration, lift, and lsa.

i have learned that the longer the duration, the higher rpm range the cam is for. the higher the lift, the more air it allows in, which is better for a 331, and the lower the lsa, the more power you make but the worse the idle is.

this cam has a duration that gives it an operating range of 2200-6200 (good for my daily driver), a nice high lift (.555/.565), and a lsa of 112 which give good idle quality, but better than 114 for increased mid-range power production.

here's a clip of a 331 with a XE274HR cam ... me like!

http://members.cox.net/davewarnke/Car/MOV00078.MPG

 

[final5-0]

The lsa, for the most part, is of no concern if you can tweec the pcm.

My lsa is quite narrow.

Listen to my idle .......... IMHO ... it is very stable

Not trying to be a hard azz here Chris .............
but
You are now in the decision mode.

Investigating which cam would work best and obtaining that data from peeps who have WAY more knowledge than most on this site will cost you ... nothing.

Choosing a cam based upon manufactures description or what you have been able to learn over a short period of time .................

Well ... I think you stand a very good chance of not getting the most optimum results.

If I was you ............. I would ..............

Slow down, relax, and do this decision thing with input from several knowledgable peeps until you get two or more sets of data that give similar recommendations.

Grady

 

[BlackVert]

i think i have made it pretty clear what my goals are, and i have asked for recommendations.

you guys keep telling me to get a custom cam ground, and i am not interested in that because of the cost.

i am doing my best to make an informed decision. if you want to help me, i'd be more than happy to listen. but stop talking about a custom cam and start talking about something in the $250 price range

i find it very hard to believe that someone doesn't make a reasonably priced off-the-shelf cam that would work well in an application like mine. to me, the XE274 looks like that cam.

tell me why the XE274 is not good for me

thanks

 

[blksn955.o]

1. have you called to see what world recomends with the Sr heads?

2. have you asked what the head porter recomends for the work he has done to the heads?

Those would be the first 2 places/people I would call and get any kind of rec. on cam since they made the head and or ported it.

Also remember on the cam most are numbers with a 1.6rocker so you need to /1.6 get the number with no rocker then x1.7 to see how much lift you end up with.

 

[Black95GTS]

You could look at something like an AFM N-41.

299.

Just curious, why are you set on those two cams?

Adam

 

[Therian]

Chris,

FWIW, I would go with the comp cam. personal preference more than anything (it was cam I was looking at getting for my 302 N/A RPM build). It seems to be a good cam, and well balanced.

Shifting at 6200+ would be very nice

I was going to go with that cam and the beehive springs but if you're trying to do this completely budget that might not work out for you

good luck

 

[bimmertech]

World Products Windsor Senior
I
2.02
61
124
162
196
218
-
-
Stock


World Products Windsor Senior
E
1.60
52
98
121
137
150
-
-
Stock

this is what i have found after some searching. do you have flow numbers on your heads? do you know what was ported?

given this info you will notice the stock windsor sr head has a i/e percentage of 69%. in this instance i would choose a cam that would favor the exhaust side a tad more due to the poor exhaust flow--especially given you have more cubes.

considering this i would personally choose the trick flow stage 1 cam with 1.7 rr's.

 

[BlackVert]

i'm not dead set on those cams, they just were the 2 that looked the best to me in the price range.

i looked at the trick flow cams (i love their prices), but:

the lift on the 1st one (.499/.510) is, imo, too low for a 331

the 2nd one (.542/.563) has good lift, but the duration (286/294) is longer that i think i want, shifting the rpm range higher than i think i want

the 3rd one is even more extreme, not for me