Digital Tuning Going heads/cam/intake. Do I need a tune?

2000xp8 said:

Most know here i've seen it all run just fine no tune.
I've even seen tunes make things worse and I don't believe NA there is much HP left on the table, so if you think it's being done for more power, most likely you are mistaken.

With that said, 185cc heads are quite large for a NA 302 so is that intake, which is fine, except no chance i'm running that setup with an off the shelf cam, it could leave drivability poor down low, in turn probably taking the tune from optional to required.
This would be a custom situation for me for sure.
The custom cam will also put it in 30's territory.

IMO, worry about the correct parts before you worry about the tune.

Click to expand...

2000xp8 said:

There are a couple ways to look at it, some like to leave room for the future, I kinda prefer to make the best for the present.

The best i've seen to date is 359rwhp on a stock 302, afr165s, rpmII intake 70mm tb (the rpmII won't take more than a 70mm without porting), custom cam 30lb injectors. 80mm meter.
Even guys here have done it with similar results.

The problem with planning for the future like a 363, the cam probably won't work, you may be able to use larger heads etc. The 30s will work though, it's nearly impossible to exceed them NA on a 302 based block.

I probably would keep and use the heads (assuming they clear the pistons).
But there is no chance i'm using anything but a custom cam.

Click to expand...

2000xp8 said:

There are a couple ways to look at it, some like to leave room for the future, I kinda prefer to make the best for the present.

The best i've seen to date is 359rwhp on a stock 302, afr165s, rpmII intake 70mm tb (the rpmII won't take more than a 70mm without porting), custom cam 30lb injectors. 80mm meter.
Even guys here have done it with similar results.

The problem with planning for the future like a 363, the cam probably won't work, you may be able to use larger heads etc. The 30s will work though, it's nearly impossible to exceed them NA on a 302 based block.

I probably would keep and use the heads (assuming they clear the pistons).
But there is no chance i'm using anything but a custom cam.

Click to expand...

Noobz347 said:

The potential is that it's a mismatch for the rest of the combo and the engine ends up being "lazy".

Click to expand...

Noobz347 said:

Now, a "custom cam" does not always mean that somebody is going out to the shop to grind a one-off that's never been ground before.


Think of the cam selection more like this:



You got a guy that looks at combo, does a little math, and selects a cam appropriate for that engine.

Click to expand...

Noobz347 said:

Just as a sanity check, here is where I'm at with this combo and what folks have covered so far:

F303 Plus
AFR 185s
Explorer intake
70mm TB
manual trans
3.55 or 3.73 gears
30 lb injectors
real A9L tune/chip
proper springs and PTV check

Click to expand...

2000xp8 said:

Look, the risk with not buying the correct cam when using oversized parts is that the powerband could land up being at high rpm.
Which will be great running wide open throttle, but awful in traffic, parking lots and probably even getting the car out of the garage.

There was a good chance your custom cam was going to come from Comp anyway. So if you can't wait the 6-8 weeks (which I would) for an expert, there is always the possibility their guys know what you should use.
I'm sure there are plenty of people with identical "custom" cams, but without everyone sharing their specs online and minor variances in setups, there really isn't a way to

Click to expand...