Hey. I can agree with that. My SSC made 440 to the tires with the stock cam. Drive-ability was perfect.To add to that - the stock 5.0 HO cam is great and should rarely be messed with
As would I. I think far too many on this site are unable to see that there's a difference between an OTS cam and a "poorly selected" OTS cam.
It's like the guy who goes out and buys an X303 because it's the raunchiest, most aggressive camshaft that Ford sells and stuffs it into a stock short block, only to find out his car now runs like crap and get's beat all the time? Instead of properly researching all of the offerings by different manufacturers available out there (and there are literally hundreds of them folks), picking one best suited to his needs like he should have, he went with the "bigger is better" approach and ended up with a dud.
Instead of learning the craft and putting the time and effort into understand camshaft dynamics and how they work in relation to the rest of his engine components, in order to correct his mistake....he's sour on pre selected camshaft profiles altogether and decides that the only way to remedy his mistake, would be to go the "custom route".
Quite frankly, I think the term is being thrown around out of laziness more than anything else. It's much easier on ones pride to say "I went with a custom grind, because off the shelf cams are no good", than it is to say "I really just don't know what I'm doing when it comes to picking a camshaft and am gonna let someone else do it for me". After all, the term "custom cam" just rolls right off the tongue when naming off the laundry list of ones parts to your buddies on the internet, right? If nothing else, it makes your car sound far more brag worthy and makes you feel and sound like you've really got something special under the hood.
I guess what I'm saying is that custom cams have their place in more radical, off the wall, or high horsepower combinations....but I'll bet 90% of the owners of cars on the forum probably wont notice a lick of difference between a properly selected OTS cam and a fancy custom one. IMO, many are just going to vote for the one they're told is custom regardless of how it performs, simply out of recognition of the term.
I've got a whole bag of VoodooYeah,....leave it to me to rain on the benefits of the custom cam
I maintain that unless you have an "extreme case" is in the example listed by @84Ttop , the "custom cam" already exists and is just waiting on your order.
There is no magic combo left that hasn't been properly targeted by any cam mfg as long as all of the engine parameters fall into what anybody could buy to build that engine "off the shelf". How much extra voodoo can some cam tech guy put into a grind for a 347 w/ 205 heads, streetable compression, a 5 speed, w/ 3.73's, and a small wheezer force feeding air into the thing that hasn't been done already?
I'll bet all of the cam MFG's have a bell that the tech that gets the "custom call" gets to ring ala Boiler room.
I've got a whole bag of VoodooI sprinkle it in the valve covers and let it soak through the whole motor... It keeps things going in there. Way better than Marvel Mystery Oil could hope to every be
I'm quite certain I didn't say that anywhere?You think you could pick a cam as good as the cam designers could?
E303 cam specs are readily available, in fact ALL the ford cam specs are available, check this out;
SMALL BLOCK V-8 HYDRAULIC ROLLER TAPPET CAMSHAFTS | Part Details for M-6250-E303 | Ford Performance Racing Parts
scroll down until you get to the specs and find the E303 cam.
and by the way, every cam manufacturer lists the specs for the cams they sell.
wrong again. while some manufacturers will charge extra for a custom grind, as i recall comp cams charges $100 extra, there are cam grinders that will NOT charge extra for a custom grind, clay smith comes to mind.
Nearly impossible test to run. Someone who knows cam design very well can pick an OTS cam that's going to be very close to one he might design.
If that portion is true, it's going to reduce the margin of improvement for the custom cut pieces.
I still maintain that custom cams in many circumstances is as much about selection as it is about cutting a one-off.
I'm quite certain I didn't say that anywhere?
What I'm saying is that there are enough off the shelf grinds available for the oodles of "cookie cutter combos" out there, that for most, employing the skills of a custom cam designer isn't at all necessary, or beneficial.
The "custom cam" option seem to be the B303 of the new generation. It's trendy and popular to have one and nobody takes you seriously until you do.
Sure you can. Take an engine, run an OTS cam. Take the same engine, run the custom cam. Compare dyno #'s.
But where does the OTS cam come from? Is it selected by the same guy who is also going to cut the one-off cam or is it Joe Schmo shade tree mechanic?
But where does the OTS cam come from? Is it selected by the same guy who is also going to cut the one-off cam or is it Joe Schmo shade tree mechanic?
I would hope the prospective engine builder would do some research- heck even call one of the tech lines at Summit, Crane, etc. or jump on a message board. Even if he used one fhte tried and true cams say a TFS, Anderson or Crane OTS cam and then get the custom cam and see what difference it would make.. We're talking about your average build= nothing exotic- like a stock bottom 302 with a new TFS, AFR, or Edelbrock top end. The same buiild thats been done 10000 times. Even a 347 with a decent set of heads.
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