ZPounds07GT

I'm looking at getting cams for my next mod. I was really hoping to skip making a post for this but I'm not really sure what to look for when it comes to cams. They aren't a topic that is covered very often it seems to me.

I know there are mild and aggressive cams but what does that really mean? I also know there are cams for FI and NA motors and that the profile determines the lope, but I don't know what to consider when actually looking for them. Everything seems the same?

I'm staying naturally aspirated and she is still a DD also for those that want to know. If anyone can give any advice as to what to look for or what cams are "good" or "bad" then please chime in. If you have aftermarket cams, what did you look for when choosing yours and why did you pick them?

Thanks for any help!

obxdude018

A few things matter for picking cams, your future intentions and budget. Your not going with a FI from what you say, so that eliminates some cams, even though it's wise to get custom grind cams when going FI. Also your budget, obviously some cams require springs/limiters and that creates for much more labor. I went with Comp Cams 127200 NSR cams, they were simple to install, offered a slightly rough idle and decent power up high. However I will be adding the DOB setup shortly and will be pulling them out and going back to stock. If your budget allows for a spring upgrade then I would go that route and get it over with. If you are looking for rough idle and that old muscle car sound, either detroit rockers or hot rod cams and those will get you some ponies as well.

808muscle

Most cams give power in the higher rpm range but at the cost of low rpm torque. This is why you need a better gear to get off the line ie 4.10s vs 3.31 The lope that we all love that sounds so cool when severe can make daily driving suck......ie you have to rev your motor a lot to leave stoplights. So for a DD car you want a cam that is DD friendly. There are several out there that accomplish this. They give you some decent power increase, dont sacrifice too much low end and sound great. Brenspeeds Detroit Rockers and Ford Racings Hotrods. Those are the most popular ones. These are both referred to as NSR......no springs required cams. With an aggressive cam you would need to change your springs. Most shops would charge $400+ to install cams. Changing springs ups that charge a lot more. I did my cam install with friends help and rented the specialty tools.

Overall I think you really need to define your long term goals for your car. Cams sound cool but eat more gas and overall increase the volume of your exhaust. For them to work efficiently you need to have long tube headers. Cams and LTs make for a very loud exhaust note. You will then have to deal with the trumpeting which usually occurs with LTs and sounds like sh*t.

If your thinking is more power, just save the money and puts towards a supercharger. If not, then get your CC out and order up! You will also need tune for your cams so keep that in mind when ordering. Most companies offer a free tune with purchase but some are better at it than others. Brenspeed excels in this area IMO.

HypromanGT

Disclaimer: I am not even remotely an expert on this stuff; below are tidbits of info I've gathered through the forums and some mild research online. Hopefully it's helpful to you.

It's going to be best to decide what you want out of these cams first. Are you looking for old school muscle car lopey idle or are you mostly concerned with squeaking more power out of the car? If the answer is "yes and yes", then try to decide which is more important For instance, the FRPP Hot Rod cams sound awesome, and give some power increase, but not as much as some other cams. The same goes (as far as I know) for Brenspeed's Detroit Rockers. You can find others with more power output, but they don't have quite the lope that a lot of people are looking for. Also, if you are looking for power, keep in mind that to really maximize the benefit of cams, you'll probably want some long tube headers. he general consensus is to also swap gears for some 4.10s, since you will probably lose some low end torque.

You mentioned this is a DD, so you'll probably want to be able to drive it on the street without looking like a fool I believe as a general rule, the more aggressive the cam, the higher the power output, with a sacrifice of low end torque. That low end torque loss, combined with a choppy idle, can (apparently) make the car hard to drive in traffic (mainly starting out is a pain). One of the selling points of the Detroit Rockers is that they were designed with street driving in mind.

Another consideration is whether or not you're up for spending the extra bucks and install time to change out your valve springs (and for that matter, phase limiters). Some camshafts require you to change these out, some do not. Changing the springs in particular opens you up to higher RPMs (I think), and so you'll see a lot of the more aggressive cams will require a spring upgrade. I guess it all depends on how far you want to go, what you feel comfortable with, etc.

For a DD, NA street car, I think the popular choices around here are the FRPP Hot Rods or the Brenspeed Detroit Rockers. Oh, and a computer re-tune is a must, any way you go. The benefit to choosing one of the two above is that the major tuners out there can write solid tunes for these guys (AM will do the Hot Rods for sure; Brenspeed will do the rockers for sure; if you want to go crazy and get a dyno tune I'm sure either can be tuned by a decent tuner).

Good luck! Every time I see a cam thread pop up I get itching to buy some myself. Just can't quite pull the trigger...maybe some day

ZPounds07GT

I would quote the posts but that's a lot of info to quote. Lol. So..

I have heard about the spring changes but haven't seen any that really state that they require them to be changed in their description. I was looking at Hot Rods, Comp NSR or ***** Thumper cams but wasn't sure how they were different.

My car is also an automatic so I forgot to mention that. I also recently changed to 3.73s in the rear so that has the low end covered I think. Bama is my tuner but I can do a dyno tune at a local Mustang speed shop if need be (I want to know my numbers anyway). Price isn't really much of an issue as much as drivability and power.

Longtubes are more than likely not going to be acquired because of state emissions and I don't want the hassle of passing them. Lol. These cams will probably be my last mod for performance as well.

Thanks for the responses so far and so fast

mayo

Zac I wish there was some magical thing I could say to you to help...but there ain't!lol
The one thing I would recommend against is a cam that requires spring replacement for a DD. Why?...gas mileage. More lift, more gas with every press of the pedal. You take a hit with the nsr cam, I would imagine it is even worse with the sr cam.
Eliminating that from the equation leaves the hot rods or the detroit rockers.
I went with the dr's simply because brenspeed was doing the install and it is their grind, and really to me there just didn't seem to be much of a difference between the two.
I have been very pleased my setup to date. Great tune for everyday driving by the guys at brenspeed along with a great exhaust note makes for a winner in my book. If I had it to do all over again, I wouldn't change a thing!
One thing i will suggest with any cam update is to change out the charge motion plates with the install. I have read repeatedly that it makes for better low-end performance. Despite numerous reports of losing lowend torque with a cam install, I found mine to improve. I would bet the cmdp's helped with that.
Hope this helps

obxdude018

NSR (No springs required)
VSR (valve springs required)
SPR (Spring Phaser required)

The only ones that don't list those beside the name of the springs are the hot rods, thumpers, and detroit rockers however those are NSR. Some of the those are also made for superchargers you just have to pay attention to the titles. Hot rods get you a big lope.

This is the Comp 127200 NSR with longtubes, high flow h-pipe and slp loudmouths. That is what I am using right now.

http://s1135.beta.photobucket.com/us...4_862.mp4.html

808muscle

I understand the inspection issue with LTs, that sucks. Your best choice are hot rods or Detroit rockers IMO. I too have an auto and nobody tunes an auto better than brenspeed.

ZPounds07GT

Thanks Mayo. I will check with AM and see what Bama can tune for. Hot Rods seem to be popular but I don't want to go with what everyone seems to have either. I was checking out your video when looking around for sound clips of different ones too. Haha

Thanks obxdude for clarifying all of the abbreviations.

Losing some low end torque wouldn't be so bad since I have the 3.73s now. It seems my options are as follows, Hot Rods, Comp NSR stage 1, Detroit Rockers and Comp Tumpers.

Does anyone else have any info on these cam options in terms of drivability and if they felt the need to change anything else to provide good drivability or keep the motor safe?

Do the cams actually change the pitch and sound of the exhaust outside of the lope?

808muscle

Since your keeping the stock manifolds the tone wont change in volume or pitch as much. A chambered muffler will sound great with the lope.