Edelbrock combo for daily driver

DucatiRdr · Jan 8, 2008

I am considering a h/c/i for my '88. To date I have only picked the low hanging fruit:

1.72 roller rockers
65mm TB
UD crank and waterpump pulley
Mass air conversion
70mm 94/95 mass air sensor
1 5/8" headers
Flowmasters

I scored a mint Edelbrock Peformer intake from eBay and was looking at the Edelbrock heads but I have no idea which cam to pick. After the h/c/i I have no future engine changes planned and want the car to be able to be a civil daily driver and pass Massachusetts emissions testing. There was a prior thread similar to this but it died early. Any suggestions? I would really like to stomp my buddy's 93 Camaro Z28.

Turkey Sammich · Jan 8, 2008

You should have no problems paying emissions as long as you have cats. If you have your stock catted H, keep it even if you buy an o/r h or x. When it's emissions time put her back on, do a tune, oil change, ect and you'll pass with flying colors. If not, let us know, and we'll have one of our tools help ya out.

Those with a simular set up should be able to help you pick a cam to go with your current set up. You should be running just as much as your buddy if not more at that point. You could always throw in some NOS just to be sure you smoke him.

And...

DucatiRdr · Jan 8, 2008

Thanks for the reply!

Pics - I do need to post some pics of my original owner 17,000 mile car. It is in mint shape inside and can use some paint TLC on the outside. No dents or parking lot dings but 1988 was before clear coat and the base coat was crappy from day one.

JKidd · Jan 8, 2008

The Edelbrock is one if the best intakes (IMHO) with potential for further power (porting).

The Edelbrock heads are also and excellent quality head with good power gains, but....TFS Twisted Wedges or AFR 165's are also good quality heads and make a bit more power.

The E303 cam is a good cam. There are better and there are worse, but it keeps the car driveable and will pass emissions. Or you could just keep the stock cam in (if you're doing all this other work, though, I'd switch the cam at the same time). Keep the cats on - possibly go with a 2.5 high-flow catted x-pipe with 2.5" cat-back.

The only other item I'd put on that list would be a set of 3.73 gears. With that laundry list, you should have NO problem with that Chevy.

DucatiRdr · Jan 8, 2008

Is the Edelbrock Performer cam any good?

ttop88 · Jan 8, 2008

You should hang with your buddy now.Personally If it were me and I was running those heads, I'd leave the stock cam in it.

NKau · Jan 8, 2008

An E-303 or Crane 2030 would be right up your alley.

DucatiRdr · Jan 8, 2008

ttop88 said:
You should hang with your buddy now.Personally If it were me and I was running those heads, I'd leave the stock cam in it.

Stock cam with Edelbrock intake and Performer heads w 1.72rr?

88mouse · Jan 8, 2008

DucatiRdr said:
Stock cam with Edelbrock intake and Performer heads w 1.72rr?

The stock cam has a good grind on it allready. There are cars running in the 11's with a stock cam.

But if i was doing all the work I would go ahead and change it. I like the TFS1 cam.

ttop88 · Jan 8, 2008

DucatiRdr said:
Stock cam with Edelbrock intake and Performer heads w 1.72rr?

Yup. Be a killer street car. Great torque and mid range. If you want a cam, I personally love the anderson cams. The N-21 is made for 1.7 rockers and would be a good fit with your parts. As for the others listed I would go TFS-1 before A E303.

NKau · Jan 8, 2008

DucatiRdr said:
Stock cam with Edelbrock intake and Performer heads w 1.72rr?

The stock cam would still work really well with those parts. You'll just be leaving a bit on the table over 3,000 rpm. Car Craft built a 5.0 motor a while back with AFR 165 heads, a performer rpm intake (carbed), and the stock cam, and made close to 400 fwhp if I remember right. I don't think you'd come real close to that number outside of a dyno cell, but it does show you what the factory cam is capable of.

DucatiRdr · Jan 8, 2008

Let me ask this; what are the downsides of the TFS1?

ill advised · Jan 8, 2008

See sig.

Other than upgrading to the RPM manifold and 1.7rr's a few years back, I've put just over 125,000 miles on my core combo. I've never had a problem passing Ca. smog. I went with the E-cam (back in '98) simply to cut out the guess work but from a performance standpoint I've been happy with it. I lost some low-end grunt with the E-cam but the 4.10 fixed that right quick. With this combo I drove the car daily for roughly 7-years. Aside from the occassional visit from the surge demon, which can be a PITA, I've been satisfied. I like the idea of running a stock cam though. If I ever decide to step-up the power on my '92 (via h/i or blower) I will be sticking with the stock cam.

NKau · Jan 8, 2008

DucatiRdr said:
Let me ask this; what are the downsides of the TFS1?

You don't have that instant off-idle 'kick' that you have with the stock cam. Car doesn't feel like it's really pulling until about 2,000 RPM.

DucatiRdr · Jan 8, 2008

NKau said:
You don't have that instant off-idle 'kick' that you have with the stock cam. Car doesn't feel like it's really pulling until about 2,000 RPM.

That doesn't sound so bad. Right now I run 255/16 KDWS out back and traction could be better. What about the idle? Will a lumpy idle make daily driving a chore? My car isn't a daily driver but I do drive it when I can in the summer and living in MA means there is the inevitable stop-and-go to contend with.

NKau · Jan 8, 2008

DucatiRdr said:
That doesn't sound so bad. Right now I run 255/16 KDWS out back and traction could be better. What about the idle? Will a lumpy idle make daily driving a chore? My car isn't a daily driver but I do drive it when I can in the summer and living in MA means there is the inevitable stop-and-go to contend with.

It's hard to say; it varies for everyone. No two modified vehicles seem to act the same. You will notice a difference in idle with a different cam, but the idle speed can be changed to compensate for this. Personally, after doing the h/c/i this last summer, and driving the car a bit, I'm breaking down and sinking $600 into a Tweecer R/T to tune my car with. My car starts/runs like crap when the motor is cold, and it occasionally likes to die on me when rolling to a stop; all things that can be fixed by tuning.

Also, with the combo listed below in my sig, I trapped 103.7 mph in the 1/4 mile the only time I had it to the track this fall. A definite improvement over the 96.5 mph it went before the motor build up, but still about 3-4 mph and a few ponies less than I was expecting........all of which I will be able to retrieve with tuning.

I would think you would be able to avoid some of this by keeping the stock cam, but there aren't any guarantees. Luckily, you can have any of these issues resolved with a good custom chip/dyno tune or by purchasing a tuning device and ironing these things out.

Edelbrock combo for daily driver

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