cam selection

[Rolling_Thunder]

Well....     Chryco and Firefighter were correct....     my little cam isnt cutting it anymore....       so it will be swapped....         anyone have a comment on this cam

Advertised duration: 300*/308*
Duration at .050: 238*/246*
Lift: 0.480"/0.495"
Lobe separation angle: 110*
RPM range: 1,500-6,500


build is a 440 with 9.5:1 compression....     closed chamber heads.....       Tremec 5-speed transmission...      3.55 sure grip.....     


just trying to get a feel for a guess on power improvement....     

current cam is:

Advertised duration: 280*/290*
Duration at .050: 214*/224*
Lift: 0.442"/0.465"
Lobe separation angle: 112*


so the big question is will I like the new cam ? 

[firefighter3931]

There are lots of good cam options available. The cam you listed has a lot of seat timing so it will idle rough and it doesn't have a lot of lift relative to the advertised duration. That appears to be an old grind with slow, lazy lobes.

A quick question that is relevant to this build : were the guides machined down for positve style valve seals ? If not, you will be limited in your choice of cams due to retainer to guide clearance. Anything over .510 lift is a no-no with stock guides and umbrella seals. 


Ron

[oldkimmer]

U have way to much adv duration for the lift...........kim

[Rolling_Thunder]

hmmm...     so much for Edelbrock knowing their stuff eh??      the heads are a mystery - they a 915? closed chamber heads...    they do have stainless valves and dual springs...   not sure on the guide machining however....      any quick way to tell   pull the valve cover and look ?             I was thinking of going with this cam along with 1.6:1 rocker arms...    the lift did seem pretty low to me as well....        according to my math with 1.6 rockers - according to my math - valve lift will then be...      0.512"/0.528" - would this be a worth wile thing to do   (cam and rockers)

[oldkimmer]

The ebrock cams are a reboxed noname brand. Get a comp cam and never look back...........kim

[Chryco Psycho]

I won`t use comp cams in anything , all small block chev grinds , I consistantly get 20+ more HP from cams designed For Mopars , Like Engle ,Lunati ,Ultradyne 

[jg68]

I won`t use comp cams in anything , all small block chev grinds , I consistantly get 20+ more HP from cams designed For Mopars , Like Engle ,Lunati ,Ultradyne 

Chryco, what would be a good example of a Engle,Lunati Or Ultrdyne, I've run the XE cams in mine & were VERY pleased with the performance, i once installed a Lunati 480/280 230 @ 50 cam in one of my 440s, even though it ran decent, i wasn't impressed with that cam, the comp XEs have never let me down, they have always performed exeptionally well, i wouldn't mined trying a VooDoo cam one day or even one from Straightline Performance.

[firefighter3931]

they a 915? closed chamber heads...    they do have stainless valves and dual springs...   not sure on the guide machining however....      any quick way to tell   pull the valve cover and look ?           

RT, if it has dual springs then the heads have been machined for the aftermarket seals. Do you know what the spring pressures are ? This will have some bearing on what cam you can run. An Engle K58/K60 split pattern hydraulic on a 108* lsa would really wake things up under the hood. 


Ron

[Rolling_Thunder]

thanks for all the replies guys - i guess i will be going another route...

[Chryco Psycho]

www.englecams.com
Lunati also has the VooDoo line which is close to the Engle grinds either will make more power then the comp gm designed cams

[Streetwize]

The Crower 271HDP is 222/234 @ .050 .486/.496 lift on 112 centers...great cam for a 440 with 3.55 gears. it has mopar Specific .904 lobes

A good alternative is the old Ultradyne (now Bullet) 231/239 on 108, ~.483" lift very torquey for it's @.050 numbers, it can make more midrange but maybe not as much up top as the Crower, with a tremec you might do better to spread the centers out a bit but it really depends more on how well your heads flow.

I wouldn't go much over about 232 on the intake lobe with a mild 440 and 3.55 gears, your torque multiplication is pretty good with the tremec but there's still a pretty big RPM drop on the 1-2 unless you have the close ratio TKO 2

[SeattleCharger]

www.englecams.com
Lunati also has the VooDoo line which is close to the Engle grinds either will make more power then the comp gm designed cams

On their 440 cam chart, basically you pick the compression/rpm range, etc., I mean, pick a grind they show?  or do you request special grinds and submit the four numbers you want?   

Here are the two Engle cams I think I should be deciding between.  At this time I am wanting to try and stick with hp exhaust manifolds and CH4B intake, 2500 stall. 770 carb.  But want to be able to gas it from stop without a lug or hesitation each time, but still want some guts in it, don't know if I can have it both ways, heh.   thanks, Nate

    2356-H K-56HYD .504"
.504" 272°
272° .336"
.336" 224°
224° 110° $155.00
    .904" Lifter profile for midrange torque 9 to 1 compression street cars & trucks power from 1800-5500 RPM

   2358-H K-58HYD .520"
.520" 276°
276° .347"
.347" 230°
230° 110° $155.00
     .904" Lifter profile, Hot street performance 9 to9-1/2 to 1 compression moderate idle Midrange torque power 2000-5800 RPM

[Chryco Psycho]

at no extra cost they will grind that cam as you want , different CL or split profile etc
Either will work well with the converter you have , I would order a K58 with a 112* CL
Chris at engle can help you as well when you order the cam

[SeattleCharger]

  Thank you.  I will order that cam you said then,  or should I give the cam specs to machine shop and let them order it? 

    Another key question I have. . .    If I switch to headers and highrise like RPM performer in future, will the cam be effective still?   how much hp might I gain from those upgrades?  also, if the cam isn't enough then, can I just switch to 1.6 rockers or something to imitate bigger cam?   then I wouldn't have to pull engine and switch cam, I don't know, 

[Chryco Psycho]

with headers you get better scavanging at the cylinder head so a 110 or 108 cam will work better , the aRPM intake will work with either possibly as much as a 30-40 hp gain witrh both headers & intake , I would order the 110* cam if you are sriously going to headers in the future
you can order the cam to make sure you get what you want

[SeattleCharger]

Thank you.

   Does anyone know the cam specs for the hp cam from 68 or 69? (or approximately compared to K58)  How does it compare or what are differences with that engle K58 with a 112 degree,
    What driving characteristic differences would you notice from those two? 
Thanks, Nate

  I'm going to use hp exhaust manifolds, eddy CH4B, holley 770 or thermoquad 850, 2500 stall,

[Chryco Psycho]

a factory Magnum cam was a 268/284 ad duration , 228/241 @ .050, 46* overlap 115* CL with .450/.458 lift
with the wide CL & longer duration the factory cam had power everywhere , the 115 cl also helped with cast manifolds
the K58 will have similar duration so the idle will be similar , with the cl on 112 the powrband wil be slightly shorter with more peak power & as long as the heads are ported the extra lift will help breathing

[firefighter3931]

a factory Magnum cam was a 268/284 ad duration , 228/241 @ .050, 46* overlap 115* CL with .450/.458 lift
with the wide CL & longer duration the factory cam had power everywhere , the 115 cl also helped with cast manifolds
the K58 will have similar duration so the idle will be similar , with the cl on 112 the powrband wil be slightly shorter with more peak power & as long as the heads are ported the extra lift will help breathing

To add to Chryco's post ; the Engle cams are more agressive so opening the valve sooner will also increase power and torque.  Even if both cams were in a stock spec engine....the Engle would be more responsive and show better numbers. 


Ron