Input Appreciated: Another "which cam?"
01-24-2014, 12:54 PM
#1
2nd Gear Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Missouri
Posts: 227
Input Appreciated: Another "which cam?"
I've searched and searched, read thread after thread, but still yet I do not feel as though I have gathered enough information to make a decision on a cam. Enter fellow MFers!
First I will fill you in on my current set up (2004 GT 5 speed) and future plans:
K&N filter
Stock plenum, intake, and heads
Hooker long tube headers
BBK catted x pipe
3.73 gears
Around the time of cam install I also plan on getting a plenum/tb. I didn't have plans to change heads. For what its worth, depending on the cam, I wouldn't be opposed to changing to 4.10s in the future. I haven't been to the strip yet, but I would very much like to. This is not a daily driver, so sacrificing a little driveability is not a huge deal. As I said I haven't drag raced yet, but I want to and plan to. I also enjoy being able to have fun on the street and am looking to give my buddy's mostly stock lsx camaro a run for his money. I also don't have near future plans to go forced induction. If I did ever decide to make that investment, I would probably change cams again if my decision now did not fully support FI.
With that being said I know some people here like MHS and CMS. I was planning on sticking with Comp. Nothing against the other guys, I'm just able to find more info on CompCams and still I can't decide! This is where I start going crazy. Obviously each cam has its pros and cons. The three I'm mainly considering now are the XE262AH, XE270AH, and XE278AH. I know right, that's pretty much the whole spectrum. What I like about the 262 is the minimal low end loss. While it doesn't have the largest gains of the three its still nothing to look past. The 278 obviously having the greatest gains but that comes at the compromise of the greatest loss in the low end. The 270 being right between those two pretty much. As impressive as the numbers are on the 278, they are probably last on the list out of those three. In all reality the car will do more street driving than all out drag racing so 95% of the time so I wouldn't be taking full advantage of the cam. While the gains from the 262 are still good, descriptions make me feel like its for daily drivers who don't want to sacrifice driveability, which I already said my car is not.
I am fully aware that valve springs should be upgraded, cams need to be degreed, piston notching is a good idea for ptvc, and it will require custom dyno tuning.
I took a lot of information from the dyno charts at http://books.google.com/books?id=8B5...20Dyno&f=false
I realize its not the same setup I have, but I think it should be a good comparison for cam to cam sake since its all on the same engine.
Also, please feel free to correct me if my logic is wrong on anything I have stated. I am here to learn! Thanks in advance.
First I will fill you in on my current set up (2004 GT 5 speed) and future plans:
K&N filter
Stock plenum, intake, and heads
Hooker long tube headers
BBK catted x pipe
3.73 gears
Around the time of cam install I also plan on getting a plenum/tb. I didn't have plans to change heads. For what its worth, depending on the cam, I wouldn't be opposed to changing to 4.10s in the future. I haven't been to the strip yet, but I would very much like to. This is not a daily driver, so sacrificing a little driveability is not a huge deal. As I said I haven't drag raced yet, but I want to and plan to. I also enjoy being able to have fun on the street and am looking to give my buddy's mostly stock lsx camaro a run for his money. I also don't have near future plans to go forced induction. If I did ever decide to make that investment, I would probably change cams again if my decision now did not fully support FI.
With that being said I know some people here like MHS and CMS. I was planning on sticking with Comp. Nothing against the other guys, I'm just able to find more info on CompCams and still I can't decide! This is where I start going crazy. Obviously each cam has its pros and cons. The three I'm mainly considering now are the XE262AH, XE270AH, and XE278AH. I know right, that's pretty much the whole spectrum. What I like about the 262 is the minimal low end loss. While it doesn't have the largest gains of the three its still nothing to look past. The 278 obviously having the greatest gains but that comes at the compromise of the greatest loss in the low end. The 270 being right between those two pretty much. As impressive as the numbers are on the 278, they are probably last on the list out of those three. In all reality the car will do more street driving than all out drag racing so 95% of the time so I wouldn't be taking full advantage of the cam. While the gains from the 262 are still good, descriptions make me feel like its for daily drivers who don't want to sacrifice driveability, which I already said my car is not.
I am fully aware that valve springs should be upgraded, cams need to be degreed, piston notching is a good idea for ptvc, and it will require custom dyno tuning.
I took a lot of information from the dyno charts at http://books.google.com/books?id=8B5...20Dyno&f=false
I realize its not the same setup I have, but I think it should be a good comparison for cam to cam sake since its all on the same engine.
Also, please feel free to correct me if my logic is wrong on anything I have stated. I am here to learn! Thanks in advance.
Last edited by unitedwestang; 01-27-2014 at 07:15 AM.
01-24-2014, 08:43 PM
#2
2nd Gear Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Missouri
Posts: 227
Another thought:
Would the 3.73s (or possibly 4.10s) help "make up" for lost torque on the low end. Obviously what's lost is lost, but what I'm trying to say is with the steeper gears it would get into those higher rpms faster, correct?
Would the 3.73s (or possibly 4.10s) help "make up" for lost torque on the low end. Obviously what's lost is lost, but what I'm trying to say is with the steeper gears it would get into those higher rpms faster, correct?
01-26-2014, 10:44 AM
#4
2nd Gear Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Missouri
Posts: 227
I just may have to do that. Cams in engines have always been black magic to me. Its one of those things where I know the basics of what they do, and I'll figure out the details when I need to. Well that time is here. I understand the mechanical dynamics of cams, but when air flow, atomization, overlap, etc gets thrown in with it, it gets complicated fast. I'm going to have to read up more on lobe separation angle and such so I can learn more of what I actually want and better convey that, instead of just looking at dyno charts.
The more I think about this project, I'm thinking I may just pull the engine next winter (and I don't mean "just pull" as in it will be an easy task). That way the cam install and degreeing would be easier, and I just may port the heads while I'm at it.
I'm still curious what cams people are running on their mildly modified N/A engines. How many people run custom grinds vs off the shelf?
The more I think about this project, I'm thinking I may just pull the engine next winter (and I don't mean "just pull" as in it will be an easy task). That way the cam install and degreeing would be easier, and I just may port the heads while I'm at it.
I'm still curious what cams people are running on their mildly modified N/A engines. How many people run custom grinds vs off the shelf?
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post