kalli

Hiyas,

i wanted to get the edelbrock performer rpm cam for my engine (replace). But the seller in UK doesn't have them in stock (hagve to wait a few weeks). He said the most similar speced he has is the 31-242-3 (xe278H) from compcams. I was always eyeballing that one anyway

Any opinions?

eZ

im running the xe282hr in my 347 and it sounds great. the 278 should be a good size cam for a 302. ithink i would go 278 over the 268. if you get the 268 you would wish for the 268. isnt it actually a 274?

MBDiagMan

I read in your signature what I could about your car. A 268 is a good bit of cam in a 302. In a 347, that's a different story. The bigger, long stroke engines will tolerate more cam. If you're going to street drive this car regularly, I would think that the 268 would be plenty.

kalli

that's the one:
http://www.compperformancegroupstore...Category_Code=

31-242-3 == xe268H

i am more concerned about driveability than highrpm screaming and rattle at idle.
of course I like a bit of a choppy idle, but I hate when you have to smash the throttle when leaving a traffic light as the engine doesn't have any torque down there. since streetable is my major concern, I think I should leave it with that.

The engine can handle 6500 according to seller and that was peak HP rpm with the edlbrock cam. I want to keep it to the same or even a little below. rather safe than sorry

am I having this wrong?

Starfury

I think you'll like the XE268H. I ran it on my 331 for a while and liked it. It makes usable power above 1800rpm, really kicks on at 3k, and winds up to 6k easily.

It will have a slightly lopey idle, especially on your smaller cube engine, but I think driveability will still be ok. That Speed Demon should help when trying to tune out low-rpm bogs.

MBDiagMan

With your statement of the application, I feel even more comfortable that the 268 would be a good choice. It is somewhat comparable to the old 271HP cam, which was street usable. I think your T5 will probably make it even more usable.

kalli

sounds great :-)

here's what desktop dyno says ... 400Hp .,.. ahem ... don't believe a word
but it shows the curves nicely. i like how the xe274 peaks from 6000 to 6500, but the 268 does seem to be the best overall idea. i never had the full fun with the edelbrock (my 302) since lobes were gone (remember me looking for more HP for nearly a year?)

kalli

ordered the xe268H today. should have it thursday. will change at the weekend and measure for pushrods. unfortunately the longer checking tool was out of stock, so I hope it's gonna be smaller than 6.8" rods. the compcams hightech pushrod checkers go from 5.8" to 6.8" and 6.8" to 7.8" and stock is around 6.8" .... bummer

eZ

camshafts are to men as breast implants are to women, once installed they wish they would have gone bigger!

MBDiagMan

What valves are in your heads? If they are the tall valves for rail rockers, then you will almost certainly go over 6.8" push rod length. If you have shorter stem valves then you might get lucky and need push rods as short as 6.8 which I think is a 302 push rod, plentiful and cheap.

You are definitely doing the right thing by checking push rod length. There are so many variables involved, you just never know what you'll need. The standardization of parts on a Chevy is where they become appealing. The mix of parts in Ford engines sometimes seems to be infinite. Of course, what that means is that anybody can build a Chevy, but you have to have on your thinking cap to build a Ford and do it right. Everything from push rod length to the possibility of getting the head gaskets on backwards.

Do you have any old pushrods to use to check with? If you have a 302 push rod, try it and see if you're off center. You might get lucky. If that doesn't work Summit stocks the checkers.