New Cam = How much HP

[The Dan]

I'm thinking of putting in a bigger cam. I understand there's about a million different one's you could go with. So, lets say I am going to put in a "mild" cam. I don't want to lose any accesories. With that being said how many HP (roughly) could I realistically expect to gain. And would the power gain be significant enough to warrant the cost? I'm including labor, don't want to deal with the headache or the mess! I'd rather work a little OT and pay someone else to do it

If I go through with it I'll be going with a Comp Cam, probably an XE series.

Thanks in advance.

 

[SadbutTrue]

I'm thinking of putting in a bigger cam. I understand there's about a million different one's you could go with. So, lets say I am going to put in a "mild" cam. I don't want to lose any accesories. With that being said how many HP (roughly) could I realistically expect to gain. And would the power gain be significant enough to warrant the cost? I'm including labor, don't want to deal with the headache or the mess! I'd rather work a little OT and pay someone else to do it

If I go through with it I'll be going with a Comp Cam, probably an XE series.

Thanks in advance.

Depends on the cam, but with a "mild" cam I might expect 10-25 horsepower depending greatly on the rest of the engine.

 

[The Dan]

The engine is a freshly rebulit 289. It has around 3K on it and was rebulit stock. All I've done thus far for more go is a weiand hi rise, holley 570 street avenger, and long tube headers into flowmasters. I want just a little more out of it, but not so much I have to worry about the tranny, body bracing, etc. Essentially I'd like to get 300 hp at the crank. I figure I'm around 250 or so right now.

Will the enigine need a lot of other things done by changing the cam since the internals are stock? I know push rods and lifters, but will I need new valve springs and such with a little more lift on the cam?

 

[NorCal66]

A cam is one of those "combo" parts. It's performance will change dramatically depending on your heads, intake, carb and the valvetrain. The most important combo is the cam/intake: make sure your intake powerband matches your cam. Definately get new lifters with the cam. A mild cam (>.500) shouldn't need new springs as long as they are fairly new and in good condition. If you do go over .500 replace the springs...I didn't when I should of, so now I'm probably goin to have to go back and put those in before they break on me.
Good luck

...a new chain might not be a bad idea if it's old- while it's exposed and easy to replace...just a thought.

 

[347Fastback]

Changing camshaft is a major step in the right direction to gain your 300hp goal. Like mentioned earlier, make sure the rest of your valvetrain can support your swap. Pay close attention to your heads and intake combo. Selecting the right camshaft depends on what you currently have for support.