Need cam options! Are you up for the task? (Long)

Darth Menace · Dec 9, 2003

Hey, i am wanting to think of what mods do to a future engine. anyways, all i have been looking at is summitracing.com and steeda.com. no real reason, i just dont knwo of any other sites with large quantities of cams.

anyways, i have a couple questions and stuff.say just in theory the engine has the edelbrock performer heads 1.90/1.60 with stud rockers, mass air, 1.6 RR, forged but otherwise stock pistons (since i dont know jack about pistons). tell me what you guys are thinking what cam to use...keeping in mind that there may be a supercharger on there one day (not right away though)

ok first some questions:

-does anybody have experiences with the companies Competition Cams and Crane cams?
-is there a quality difference between the different materials and finishes?
-i see there a re hydraulic cams, roller cams, etc for the 302. WTF is the difference, and what one do i use?
- when i read some cam specs i dont understand some stuff. I was wondering if you could explain PLEASE. Arethe lift examples with 1.6 RR? For example, i see:
* Advertised duration: 292 intake/292 exhaust
* Duration at .050 in. cam lift: 244 intake/244 exhaust
* Gross valve lift: .534 in. intake/.534 in. exhaust
* Lobe separation: 110 degrees
-I want a meety cam (once again I dont care if i pass emissions as long as visibly you can't tell, which with cams I am sure you can't), but when i read the idle specs i see regular, intermediate, fair, good, and rough idle. I havent driven a stang with any other then a stock cam, so i dont know how streetworthy the rough idle cams are. I was wondering if you guys could explain this. Are rough idle cams streetworthy?
-What RPM range cam should I be looking for?

And the final is I have some camshafts in my wish list at summitracing.com and steeda.com. I was wondering if you guys could look at them and tell me stuff (keep in mind i saved hydraulic cams and roller cams because I have yet to know the difference)

http://store.summitracing.com/partd...t=10915&from=MG

http://store.summitracing.com/partd...t=10914&from=MG

http://store.summitracing.com/partd...t=10918&from=MG

http://store.summitracing.com/partd...rt=9309&from=MG

http://store.summitracing.com/partd...rt=9288&from=MG

http://store.summitracing.com/partd...t=23306&from=MG

http://store.summitracing.com/partd...t=27263&from=MG

http://store.summitracing.com/partd...rt=6944&from=MG (Ford alpha cam)

http://store.summitracing.com/partd...rt=6948&from=MG (Ford Alpha cam)

http://store.summitracing.com/partd...rt=6947&from=MG (ford alpha cam)

http://store.summitracing.com/partd...rt=6942&from=MG (Ford alpha cam)

http://steeda.com/store/-catalog/steeda18cam.htm (steeda 18)

http://steeda.com/store/-catalog/steeda19cam.htm (steeda 19)

Once again thanks and sorry for all the questions, but cams are probably what I understand least when it comes to the engine

65ShelbyClone · Dec 9, 2003

Darth Menace said:
ok first some questions:

-does anybody have experiences with the companies Competition Cams and Crane cams?
-is there a quality difference between the different materials and finishes?
-i see there a re hydraulic cams, roller cams, etc for the 302. WTF is the difference, and what one do i use?
- when i read some cam specs i dont understand some stuff. I was wondering if you could explain PLEASE. Arethe lift examples with 1.6 RR? For example, i see:
* Advertised duration: 292 intake/292 exhaust
* Duration at .050 in. cam lift: 244 intake/244 exhaust
* Gross valve lift: .534 in. intake/.534 in. exhaust
* Lobe separation: 110 degrees
-I want a meety cam (once again I dont care if i pass emissions as long as visibly you can't tell, which with cams I am sure you can't), but when i read the idle specs i see regular, intermediate, fair, good, and rough idle. I havent driven a stang with any other then a stock cam, so i dont know how streetworthy the rough idle cams are. I was wondering if you guys could explain this. Are rough idle cams streetworthy?
-What RPM range cam should I be looking for?

All these things depend on how you are going to use the car and what you expect out of it.

- I have mainly second-hand experience(until my engine is in), but Crane, Comp, Crower, Isky, etc are all good quality cams. My dad has used Crane, Crower, and Isky cams and was pleased with them all(since the late '60s).
- If you get a name brand cam, finish and material should not matter because it should be quality anyway.
- If you have an '85 or later 302, you want a hydraulic roller cam. Unless it explicitly says "hydraulic roller" or "solid roller", then assume its flat tappet. Flat tappet cams are alot cheaper and so are the lifters, but rollers generally work better.
-Unless otherwise specified, cam specs are for 1.6:1 ratio rockers. My Crane 2031 is made for Cobra rockers(1.7:1) and the spec sheet is based on that.
-For cam specs:
Advertised duration is how many degrees of crankshaft rotation the valve is open, measured from when the valve leaves the seat to when it fully closes.
Duration @ .050" is the the same as above, but measured from when the valve is already open .050" to when it is .050" from being closed. A kind of standard as far as measurement goes since flow isnt significant until around .050"

As for picking a cam, rough idle usually means less streetability. That means a power band that takes a while to rev up to and a hit in low-end torque. Also, dont pick one until you have your engine mostly built.

Darth Menace · Dec 9, 2003

yeah reading up on the cam idle i see the rough idle is a high rpm cam with a low powerband. i obviously dont want that.

I want a streetable cam, but still with a very nice powerband and obviously not super high rom either.

thanks for the help . maybe some other guys might know the answer to the other questions

TheRedBlur · Dec 9, 2003

Yeah, a flat tappet lifter is just that, flat, on the bottom, the roller lifter has a wheel on the bottom of that one. The two cams WILL NOT work together, as in the lifters are not interchangeable. As for the RPM's, it's up to you, but I wouldn't rev more than 6500, just to keep the thing streetable. Duration is the amount of time the valve spends open, and lift is how far it opens. Duration at .050 is the point where lift becomes measurable at the valve. A cam with a tight lope seperation will have a rough idle and will have some more overlap than let's say 114 deg., the wider the seperaiton, the more vacuum, better for computers and idle, makes more torque. Unfortunaletly, we don't have variable valve trains so our powerbands are pretty much fixed, the only solutuions to high rpm motors are either to gear the hell out of them, or add boost to fill the volume that the motor can't efficiently make down low on it's own. As for the manufacturers, comp has the mot advanced cam profiles for the most part, but their billet is sucky when it comes to solid cams, crane has a better core manufacturer for solid cams.
hope this helps!

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stazym69 · Apr 19, 2004

Go to Anderson Ford Motorsports for a zillion choices or a custom cam if you wish go to the web site and get the tec. # and ask to talk to Rick Anderson he'll set you up right!!!!

Need cam options! Are you up for the task? (Long)

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Need cam options! Are you up for the task? (Long)

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