hey guys, im a younger mustang owner and im not rich enough to afford my car breaking down every few months. however, i want more power, i know iknow, it doesnt work that way. but i have to know how badly a new set of cams would hurt my reliability, anyone out there know?

 

There is a lot more you neeed to do to your car before you worry about cams.

Not so much reliablity, but you are lookingOVER $2,000 BEFORE installation and tune.

 

start off with a cai and tune...

 

ohsixGt how do you like the nitrious setup?

I have recenty been toying with the idea of buying one.

 

buy my brand new setup!

pm me for price

 

Since when did $999.95 + 8hr labor become over 2000?

I agree with the first statement, that the OP should not worry about camshafts right now. He wouldn't even use them to their potential without supporting modifications, and would need a new dyno tune after every mod if he got them now.

 

Its a waste to do cams without doing the accompanying items also. Lifters, springs etc. But, you'd only get 40hp MAX from cams, but you would need a custom tune to get that also. You're looking over $2K with dyno tuning included.

If you have the money then you may want to supercharge your car and not do anything else. This will mean spending $3.5K-$7K, depending on the setup you choose, but then you should be happy enough to leave the car alone after that.

The best choice, however, would be to buy a tuner (SCT or Diablo) with custom tunes from Brenspeed or EVO. These will reflash your computer and really wake the car up. You can buy it bundled with a cold air intake, but the CAI difference is negliable, and only spend the extra $$$ on it if you can afford it. Your main goal is the tune.

Anyways.... have fun, and make sure you make the right decisions so you dont waste money down the road.

 

id agree that the tune is the driving force behind the wake-up, but i wouldnt say that 10-15rwhp is negligable

 

+1 on the above sentiments. Cams should be waaay down on your list assuming you've done nothing else.

However, since you asked...the only reliability issue I've been made aware of is [stock] valve stems bending when used with aggressive lifts. These failures have occurred in very hard use applications with lots of boost and frequent revving past 6500 rpm.

I haven't had any issues, but I generally keep it below 6250 rpm - it rarely sees >6500.

 

with cams, you need supporting mods. ideally new valves, DEFINETLY new springs, at the very least.