Hughes Whiplash Cams?

[Charger4404spd]

Has anyone tried one of these cams yet in a RB engine? Likes or dislikes?

[Chryco Psycho]

I knwo Hughes was getting his cams ground by Engle , he told Engle to give him all the Mopar business & Engle told him to drop dead , no clue who is grinding for him now . I have been using Lunati as they have awesome Mopar specific grinds now , All of their VooDoo cams are reworked for better performance

[Rolling_Thunder]

I have used 3 Hughes cams...    all three went flat...                     I stick to Engle myself.

[Chryco Psycho]

No warranty or help from Hughes either I bet , he never used to where Engle would help you out

[greenpigs]

Sounds like you should start looking someplace else for a cam.

[Charger4404spd]

Yes it does, thanks guys.

[Challenger340]

Very tough for any Camshaft Manufacturer to "warranty" any Flat Tappet Cam failure ?
mainly because,
invariably it involves warrantee'ing someone else's work....or LACK thereof ?

No wars wanted here, let me explain

Flat Tappet Cams fail mainly because of the following reasons......albeit there are even more....but.....
* Incorrect Valve Spring Pressure or "rate"
* Incorrect break-in rpm and lack of resultant of "Oiling" and lubrication
* Lack of base metal content in the Oil to film for the dissimilar metal hardness.(Zinc etc)

I we examine ANY of the above from a Customers perspective, the argument for Warranty usually centers around the following ?
* Incorrect Valve Spring Pressure or Rate.....But I used the reccomended Valve Spring from the Manufacturer
OK,
but were the inners removed (if it was a double Spring), what was the actual Seat Pressure on EACH and EVERY Spring, and Spring RATE, measured against EACH and EVERY Valve Spring installed height......YES, each and every Valve Height must be measured with a MICROMETER.
Never "assume" the heights will all be the same, or, that the Springs are all exactly the same.....

* Incorrect break-in rpm and lack of lubrication, .....Yeah but we fired it, and right away it went straight to the reccomended rpm for the correct time period.
OK,
- how much was it cranked over PRIOR to it actually firing and running ? Cam Lube wipes away ?
- did it IDLE at all during the break-in, even while timing was set.
- was the rpm VARIED during the run-in to THROW the Oil in different places on the Camshaft during break-in ? The Camshaft gets most of it's VITAL LUBRICATION during break-in from crankshaft "throw off", different rpm's throw oil in different places & lobes on the Camshaft.
- was the Connecting Rod side clearance CHECKED in pairs on the journals to INSURE adequate Oil Throw off ? especially if using aftermarket Rods with no " oiler" in the Rod cap, or an Aftermarket High Radius Crankshaft(stroker) ?

Lack of base metals (Zinc) in the break-in Oil ?  Yes, we had a ton of Zinc additive in the Oil
- See the above if the Oil doesn't GET to the Lobes, the Zinc ain't much good ?
- if the Engine has been cranked excessively prior to actually being able to FIRE, RUN, and LUBE the Cam, it may be game over anyways.

Like I said, no wars wanted, but IMO, there are reasons Flat Tappet Camshafts go dead, and surely many more than I've listed here....and in my opinion only, the vast MAJORITY of which have nothing to do with "defective" parkerizing or hardening,
which would neccesitate an expectation of WARRANTY from a Manufacturer.

I may be the NEXT DONKEY having just written this......I certainly had my share of DEAD CAMS years ago when Zinc was being removed from Oils.....
All I know is,
I have 83 DYNO sheets since in the last 5 years using Flat Tappet Cams(the rest are Roller), ALL BRANDS, and I have not lost one YET, since I started paying more attention to the above factors.

Apologies if I have offended anyone, NOT my intent, just trying to pass along some things to check when using a Flat Tappet Cam for successful break-in.

[Chryco Psycho]

Understood but Even still Engle used to offer a warranty , as long as you paid for the core approx $40 they would replace a cam that went bad , with the change in owners I am not sure if this is still available  .

[morepower]

ive never had a cam go flat. i guess i am lucky

[Rolling_Thunder]

no wars -   but I used to break in all the engines I built the same way - used the same oil - used the same damn everything...          Hughes went flat. Engle, Comp, Crane, and everyone else I have used stayed strong...        Just saying.  I know it cant be warrantied but when the only three cams I have ever had go flat were from Hughes...     that's saying something in my book.   

[dangina]

What do you guys think of the thumper cams by comp as an alternative...

[elacruze]

One thing you can't know about a cam without a cam doctor (graphing machine) is how aggressive the ramps are. Two cams may have the same card numbers, but one may have a much more aggressive ramp in the first half, to get the valve open farther sooner-and the second half may soften some so that it works with the same spring as the first cam. The net result would be more power throughout the range. The salient point to this discussion is that the lobe pressure will be higher on the more aggressive cam.

Camshaft material science isn't something engineers are just discovering-it's well known what works. If a cam fails, it isn't because the manufacturer or distributor sucks, it's because the break-in conditions aren't being met. Of course this leaves room for QC issues like completely missing the hardening process, but that's not what we're concerned with.

Before you punish somebody for their cams wholesale, ask if you really did everything you could have and should have to break it in.

[Rolling_Thunder]

Before you punish somebody for their cams wholesale, ask if you really did everything you could have and should have to break it in.

Very true and understood...        I only pass judgement when it becomes a pattern