Cams or Nitrous?

Well I think I'm going to CAM it, but now what set should I get? I'm thinking these ( 1999-04 Mustang 4.6L 2V Comp Extreme Energy Camshafts, Xe 262Ah-13 by Comp Cams at LRS - Same Day Shipping! ) since it is my DD I dont want to go to crazy... Sorry to all the nitrous guys out there I just like that the power is always there :nice:

Hitech Stg II's FTW

Hitech Ford 4.6 / 5.4 2V N/A Stage 2 Camshafts [Hitech2061] - $599.00 : Hitech Motorsport Inc, Performance EFI Tuning / EFI Dyno Tuning Experts - Elk River, Minnesota - Midwest Region
 
Take your time with cam selection. It's an expensive purchase only to realize you aren't happy with your final choice.

Comp 262's are a baby cam. They do make some power, but they have very little lope if that's something you're going for.

The Hitech stage 2 cams make GREAT power on a stock head, bolt on vehicle. They are among the few cams that can crack a 2v over 300rwhp without ported heads. However, they are fairly tame at idle as well, but definitely more noticeable than the 262's.

Keep in mind possible future plans for the car, as well as if you're willing to change out valve springs for the swap. Don't buy based on how a cam idles. If you did that, you'd end up with a Comp 278, have zero power below 4k and crash your valves into your pistons.

Also, whatever you do get, you really, really need to have the cams degreed to ensure they perform to their full potential, and even more important that they don't have piston to valve clearance issues.
 
100 shot and call it a day.

Spray is too convenient and doesn't affect dive-ability or gas mileage when you aren't spraying. People do run a 100 shot on a bone stock tune. The biggest thing is using 1 step colder plugs (2 steps for a 125 shot and up is suggested), and keeping a clean fuel filter. As long as your engine is internally healthy as well as your fuel pump, a 100 shot won't be too hard on the car. I highly suggest a wet kit.

Cams are good and all, but for the price to gain ratio, it's pretty small. Figure $600 for cams, $220 for new springs, $xxx? for install, plus a tune, and without longtubes you can plan on 20-30rwhp depending on cam... but your choices are limited before you run into piston to valve issues on larger cams.

I wanted to cam my car, but nitrous is a cheaper initial investment and provides instant, very noticeable gains. I pay $32 to fill my bottle and when your just playing around with it, it'll last a while. Yeah, if you make a lot of track passes or spray it every day for the hell of it, it adds up, but so does using gas in that manner...

I'm running a bare bones 100 shot on my car. Using a wet kit, PSI gauge mounted on the bottle (within reach and view), no purge, no window switch, just one switch to flip to arm the system, and the rest is hooked up to a WOT switch mounted on the throttle body. No one knows I have spray if they aren't under the hood or in the trunk. I have the line covered where it peeks through the carpet and the arming switch would pass for some kind of audio or neon switch... Got my kit on sale, brand new for $416... add $32 to fill the first bottle and I instantly gained 75rwhp. Now I'm on the 100 shot and the car pulls like it never has before.

You had me leaning towards spray when you posted this...

Take your time with cam selection. It's an expensive purchase only to realize you aren't happy with your final choice.

Comp 262's are a baby cam. They do make some power, but they have very little lope if that's something you're going for.

The Hitech stage 2 cams make GREAT power on a stock head, bolt on vehicle. They are among the few cams that can crack a 2v over 300rwhp without ported heads. However, they are fairly tame at idle as well, but definitely more noticeable than the 262's.

Keep in mind possible future plans for the car, as well as if you're willing to change out valve springs for the swap. Don't buy based on how a cam idles. If you did that, you'd end up with a Comp 278, have zero power below 4k and crash your valves into your pistons.

Also, whatever you do get, you really, really need to have the cams degreed to ensure they perform to their full potential, and even more important that they don't have piston to valve clearance issues.

Now your really making me wanna just go with spray :shrug:
 
You had me leaning towards spray when you posted this...

Now your really making me wanna just go with spray :shrug:

:lol:

Really, each one has it's advantages and disadvantages. Just trying to make sure you know what all is involved with a cam swap, as it's not just a drop in and go process.

For cams, plan on a set of cams, springs (if the cams require stronger springs, smaller cams often do not), degreeing the cams upon installation, installation costs itself (if you aren't doing them). If you choose to have someone install them, you could easy spend $1500+ on a cam setup (assuming you purchase springs and have it tuned) and see at most 300-ish rwhp with a really good tune, and full bolt ons plus longtube headers. A tune is also a very good idea for a cammed car, so keep that in mind.


For nitrous, plan on the kit (prices vary greatly), fresh fuel filter, and a colder set of plugs at the BARE minimum. A window switch (will activate and shut off nitrous at a pre-set RPM to prevent spraying too early or late) and a purge kit are nice AND create a safer kit, but not "needed". Getting a nitrous specific tune is also a very good idea. You can run up to a 100 shot on a stock tune, but every car is different so what works for some may not work for you.


Either way, I'm sure you'll enjoy the mod you choose. Nothing sounds like a cammed Mustang, and nothing feels like an instant hit of nitrous and the huge torque increase associated with it. It's just a matter of whatever fits your plans for the car more.

I'd start hitting up YouTube and checking out videos of cammed Stangs, and nitrous Stangs. See which one you like better and go from there if you're having trouble deciding. You can usually find out what cams people are running in the video description.
 
If you go cams, burning has some good points. Any thing bigger than stage 2 is going to hit the piston. When I did my cam I went with comp xe 270 ah. Do I regret it, I think so. I think I wish I had done the HT 2s. I didn't hit my power goal at all. I went with what the engine builder wanted to run. So now I loose power at about 6k on the motor. On the gas it will hold power until about 6600. Why, I don't know. If I had to choose my favorite mod it would be nitrous. There really is no comparison to a huge hit. You can spray a 100 on a stock tune and never worry. Do a window switch and plugs. If you go that route plan on about 1000. If you go cam then you hit the big math, 600, plus springs 200, plus tuner 300, plus tune, 400, plus install cost, or if you can do it that is something. so 1500-2000. All depends on what you want in the futuer. If you want to make more than 300hp wait until you know if you are going turbo, nitro, or blower. most likely you will pick a diffrent cam.