TFS stage 1 cam advance amount???

[BKM48198]

I will be installing a TFS stage 1 cam on a 5.0 block with TFS heads, the car has an AOD trans and seemed to lack a bit of low end power with the cam installed dot to dot, should I install it with 2, 4 or 6 degrees advance to gain more low end torque, not a race car..just daily driver-cruiser. I know I should degree the cam and see where it says it is but was just wondering if most people find it better at 4 degrees advanced or where they installed it. Thanks

 

[General karthief]

Give us some info:
Rear gear, lt or shorties, any work done to the trans, intake, what color is the car and are you right or left handed.

 

[85_SS_302_Coupe]

Lots of cams are ground with advance in them already. I'm a dot to dot guy myself. K.I.S.S.

 

[BKM48198]

Lots of cams are ground with advance in them already. I'm a dot to dot guy myself. K.I.S.S.

Well I have it installed dot to dot now and it lost low end power, I would like to get some of the low end back and very rarely get the engine above 5000rpm where it makes the most HP. I am getting another block ready because I was losing oil pressure after the engine warmed up so I was hoping some other that had this cam might say how they had installed theirs. Most of what I have read shows the TFS stage 1 does NOT have advance already in them and that is why so many say the cam lacks low end power, just not sure if 4 degrees is too much.

 

[85_SS_302_Coupe]

Well I have it installed dot to dot now and it lost low end power, I would like to get some of the low end back and very rarely get the engine above 5000rpm where it makes the most HP. I am getting another block ready because I was losing oil pressure after the engine warmed up so I was hoping some other that had this cam might say how they had installed theirs. Most of what I have read shows the TFS stage 1 does NOT have advance already in them and that is why so many say the cam lacks low end power, just not sure if 4 degrees is too much.

I'm not sure advance/retard is going to give you what you want if bottom end is more valuable to you than top end. Honestly you may just be better off with the stock cam or another cam that is geared towards torque production (RV cam) instead of top end. What's the rest of the combo?

 

[BKM48198]

Give us some info:
Rear gear, lt or shorties, any work done to the trans, intake, what color is the car and are you right or left handed.

3.73 rear gears, Ford racing shorties and an xpipe flowing into flowmasters, Saturday Night Special torque convertor in the AOD that has had a shift kit installed, the engine is 5.0 with TFS 170 heads with 1.6 rockers , 24 lb injectors and matching MAF, 65mm TB, and I usually flip people off with my right hand.

 

[BKM48198]

I'm not sure advance/retard is going to give you what you want if bottom end is more valuable to you than top end. Honestly you may just be better off with the stock cam or another cam that is geared towards torque production (RV cam) instead of top end. What's the rest of the combo?

I had stock cam with GT40 heads with 1.7 rockers , explorer intake , shorties-xpipe, 3.73 gears and wanted more power so I went with the TFS cam and heads, it makes great power above 2500 rpm but lost low end. I've read that advancing the cam will bring back some of the low end but drop the top end which I rarely ever get to, I doubt the car will ever see a dragstrip, I bought the car in 1989 as soon as the 90 GT came out with the air bag and it is my daily driver in good weather here in Michigan.

 

[Mustang5L5]

The TFS1 cam in general makes its power above 3000 rpm. You really need 3.73s (or 4.10s with AOD) to keep the engine rpms higher to take advantage of when it wants to make power. You didn't lose bottom end power..it just makes more up top.

I've read enough accounts similar to yours to convince me to sell off my TFS1 cam and look for something a bit more streetabke. Im also running the TFS170s heads in my combo I'm going to go with a custom grind, targeting 1500-3500 rpm as where I spend most of my time

Btw, your going to want to degree the camshaft and not just assume dot to dot is straight up

 

[BKM48198]

The TFS1 cam in general makes its power above 3000 rpm. You really need 3.73s (or 4.10s with AOD) to keep the engine rpms higher to take advantage of when it wants to make power. You didn't lose bottom end power..it just makes more up top.

I've read enough accounts similar to yours to convince me to sell off my TFS1 cam and look for something a bit more streetabke. Im also running the TFS170s heads in my combo I'm going to go with a custom grind, targeting 1500-3500 rpm as where I spend most of my time

Btw, your going to want to degree the camshaft and not just assume dot to dot is straight up

I know I will want to degree it but was wondering what other had as their experience with the cam, I do have 3.73's and drive on the freeway a lot so I don't really want to go up to 4.10's, I have the 170-58cc heads and they did gain power at high rpm but there is also a noticeable difference down low, so it did lose low end power compared to the stock cam - gt40 heads, but made a lot more at high rpms. Most of what I have read says the TFS cam is very close when installing dot to dot but I have also read that 4 degrees advance brings the power in sooner, I will probably install it and check compression at 0,2, 4 and maybe even 6 degrees advance to see where it drops off just to get the most low end possible. I like the sound of the cam and the high rpm power, just want to get all I can down low also, if I just wanted low end I could use the explorer cam I have but it lacks the high rpm power. I just want to get the most out of what I have already without buying another cam. Too many other places my wife wants to spend money now.