5.0l Cam Upgrade Help

accarguy

New Member
May 13, 2016
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Hi there I am new to this site and I actually do not have a mustang, but I do have a 2000 Explorer with the 5.0L. I am going to be upgrading the cam and I was hoping some body that has some experience with doing so could I've me some feedback about which cam to go with.
Right now have found a couple possibilities but my search is not limited to comp XE264HR, XE270HR. and a Magnum 270.
It is my daily driver currently so I don't want the thing to be shanking like crazy, but I do want a nice lope at idle. Also my plan is to have it dyno tuned once the the cam is all in.
Thank you for your input and sorry if I am posting this in the wrong spot.
 
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You'll need to upgrade the valve springs along with it.....the stock Explorer springs are pretty pitiful.

Keep in mind, the stock Explorer cam was designed to provide a usable power curve from idle-4,000RPM.....and at 4,500-5,000lbs, you really can't afford to give much of that up. Any of the above cams you mentioned will provide an increase in upper RPM power, but at the expense of low end torque. What I'm saying is that any cam you choose is going to take a lot of the "snap" out of the bottom end.

This could actually end up hurting your performance, more than helping it. Horsepower numbers may look cool on a sheet of paper, but remember, on the street....torque is king.
 
Could he just add a set of 1.7rr? That would add more lift and "duration"....
He could, but I can't imagine he'd gain a whole lot? Spending $200-$300 on roller rockers just to gain 3-4hp he'll never feel isn't what I would consider a very cost effective mod?

If it were me and I wanted to add some usable spunk, for the least amount of money, I'd probably upgrade the valve springs, drop a stock HO cam in there and open things up on the intake side with a larger volume intake tube and the exhaust side with a true 2 1/2"-3" single set up, from the headers back.....actually, swapping out the crappy Explorer headers for something aftermarket wouldn't hurt either (they're brutal). That would add a solid 20-30hp over what he's making now and still maintain a nice broad torque curve.

The sad truth is that it's a heavy vehicle and a 302 is a little small to make any real usable power with. Other than adding some cubes, or some form of power adder, he's not going to feel a "real" jump in performance no matter how many parts he runs.

If it runs better than 16-flat with just bolt ons, I'll be surprised.