josh0002

alright going to have to remove my valve covers to replace a few lash adjusters and while i was in there was thinking about putting in some new cams. first things first is it possible to replace the cams without removing the heads from the car and then secondly i want a bit more aggressive idle and some decent power gains without having to pull the motor and put in some new forged internals or having notches put in my pistons to make clearance for the lift in the cam. the car already has cai maf bbk fuel rail 24lb injectors long tube headers x pipe and 78mm throttle body and will be getting a new intake manifold haven't decided on which one yet but when the motor goes back together i will make that call. was just wondering if i should bother with doing the cams or if in doing so i would be pushing that limit of 400 fwhp that everyone says to stay away from with out forged internals. any suggestions and advice is appreciated thanks.

Soldier GT

With the mods that you have and a good set of cams you'll still be under 300 rwhp so you'll be ok. Also until you go FI and push a lot of boost I wouldnt worry about getting a new manifold either. What are your plans for the car?

josh0002

plans are to stay na but the manifold is ganna have to be replaced as the one i took off is busted. ideally plans for mods are as follows cai maf tb intake manifold ud pullys lt headers x pipe cams and port and polish heads and a good dyno tune

Soldier GT

With what you're going to spend for those mods you're going to spend alot of money and maybe gain about 35 rwhp. The only real gains you will see will be the LTs and cams. You might want to think about doing the 1500 SC build.

josh0002

first off i appreciate the input really do. again though i'm not putting forced induction on the car it is a na build for scca competition. most of those mods are already on the car the only thing i will be paying for is cams heads to be ported and polishied if i get it done and the intake manifold everything else is already on the car when i picked it up for 2k all i'm asking for is sugestions on a cam that wont require notching the pistons and if it can be put in without removing the heads from the block.

MaxxRPM

Any Stage 1 cam should be safe for PTV clearence. I believe most Stage 2 cams are aswell but definately should be degreed when installed.
No, you don't have to remove the heads to install cams.

josh0002

thank you maxx you still leave me with a few questions not trying to be a smart *** but what defines a stage one cam and stage 2 because when i'm looking them up i find comp cam xtream energey followed by a set of numbers or ford raceing e303 cams. and second question what do you mean by needs to be degreed when installed

Stevo86

You don't have to pull the heads but you do have to take the whole front of the engine off so be aware of that. A stage 2 cam is more aggressive than a stage 1. In other words, larger lift, longer duration, and greater overlap on an N/A cam. Usually the higher the stage also the lower the lobe separation angle which is going to build more dynamic compression.

You're going to be stuck with a stage 1 maybe 1.5 with stock pistons to make sure you have no PTV issues.

When cams are degreed they are installed very precisely down to the degree instead of just lining up the marks and going for it. You can retard cam timing a couple degrees to decrease dynamic compression and help eliminate PTV clearance. Or you can advance it a few degrees to gain a little dynamic compression and a bit of power. Be careful though too much and you're done.

That requires adjustable cam gears as well as an in depth knowledge of what is going on in the engine. If you aren't willing to read a lot of books leave that one to a pro.

josh0002

reading a lot wont be an issue I'm rather particular about making sure **** is done right when it comes to my car which is why i do most of it myself and will research it in depth if i don't know exactly what I'm doing and all-data is a life saver. i am by no means an expert or guru but i know enough to be dangerous knowing working theory and the dynamics of how it is supposed to go together and having the first hand knowledge and experience of doing it are 2 completely different things aware of that.

i'm aware of everything that has to be removed to get to them just wasn't sure if i would have to take the heads out. that is now been cleared up as for making sure they are timed right race proven performance is right down the street from me and i'm friends with the owner. anyways what your saying is i should stick to a stage 1 cam not only because of the ptv clearance but because i'm using stock pistons that wont hold up to the different compression levels i would get if i were able to find a stage 2 that had the ptv clearance am i understanding that correctly

Stevo86

No, if you can get a more aggressive cam that won't hit your pistons go for it. You're not gonna make enough power with just cams to blow it up.