Cobra cam vs GT cam

[ctrout71]

I read somewhere that the GT cam is different and better than the Cobra cam. In other words, the GT cam will actually make more power than the Cobra cam in the same engine. Could there possibly be any truth to this?

 

[1slow95]

I've heard the same thing though I don't know if its true or not. The cobra has better heads/intake plus 1.7 rockers so it makes sense that the cam could be a little smaller and still make good power. The stock GT cam is actually pretty good and can make close to 300+rwhp with the right combination of parts.

 

[KamiKaziDK]

Cobra cam has equal duration at 270/270...while the GT cam has 266/276 split duration. Cobra cam has more lift too

 

[revhead347]

I've also heard that GT cam is actually nastier.

Kurt

 

[Dino Dino Bambino]

I read somewhere that the GT cam is different and better than the Cobra cam. In other words, the GT cam will actually make more power than the Cobra cam in the same engine. Could there possibly be any truth to this?

Yes. The Cobra cam was designed to restore some of the low rev torque lost by adding the GT40 heads/intake to the Cobra 5.0.
The stock GT cam with 1.7 ratio rockers is a good combo even with aftermarket heads/intake but there are several off-the-shelf performance cams that'll do an even better job.

 

[blksn955.o]

Cobra cam has equal duration at 270/270...while the GT cam has 266/276 split duration. Cobra cam has more lift too

91-95:
Lift: .278 intake, .278 exhaust
Duration: 276 intake, 266 exhaust
Overlap: 39 degrees, 19.51 factor
Lobe Center: 116 intake, 115 exhaust

93-95 Cobra:
Lift: .282 intake, .282 exhaust
Duration: 270 intake, 270 exhaust
Overlap: 33.5 degrees, 15.24 factor
Lobe Center: 115 intake, 121.5 exhaust

Multiply .278 by 1.6 = .4448 lift for the GT.

Multiply .282 by 1.7 = .4794 lift for the Cobra

Now with a 1.7 swap on a GT cam you have .4726 or .0068 less lift than with a Cobra cam

If both have 1.6 rockers the Cobra ends up with .4512 or .0064 more lift with the Cobra cam.

 

[ctrout71]

I found these specs posted at another forum. I realize that the lift is slightly better on the Cobra but do the other specs like duration not make up for the Cobra's additional lift?

1994
PN# F1ZE-AA

This was a carryover grind from the 1993 model year, the only change is detailed below with the 1995 listing.

LIFT (in.)
Intake - .278
Exhaust - .278

DURATION (degrees)
Intake – 276
Exhaust – 266

EVENT PHASING (degrees)
Intake Open – 20
Intake Close – 76
Exhaust Open – 67
Exhaust Close – 19

OVERLAP
Degrees – 39
Factor – 19.51

LOBE CENTER
Intake – 116
Exhaust – 115

1995
PN# F4ZE-DA

Specs as for the Above PN# but made of a different material that previous grinds.

1994-1995 COBRA
PN# F3ZE-CA

This camshaft is a carryover from the 1993 Cobra model.

LIFT (in.)
Intake - .282
Exhaust - .282

DURATION (degrees)
Intake – 270
Exhaust – 270

EVENT PHASING (degrees)
Intake Open – 19
Intake Close – 71
Exhaust Open – 75.5
Exhaust Close – 14.5

OVERLAP
Degrees – 33.5
Factor – 15.24

LOBE CENTER
Intake – 115
Exhaust – 121.5