Cam mfg. questions

[Ghoste]

I'm just wondering why some of you choose the cams you do.  For instance, I know Neil likes Engle and even though this seems like an odd Mopar choice, they were grinding Hughes cams for them at one time, so I figure they must know something about Mopars.
Ron likes the Crower grinds and I have to admit, that surprises me a little because you just don't hear that much about them anymore.
No one mentions Hughes and that surprises me as I thought they were supposed to be the Mopar cam experts?
No one mentions Comp and that really surprises me with the amount of advertising they do and they amount of ink time they get in all the mags tech articles.
So why do you pick the ones you do?

[firefighter3931]

Lots of cam companies grind good profiles but it depends on the application. I like the Crower grinds for a mild build with stock heads etc...nice split pattern and wide lsa that works well in those applications. They are more agressive than a chevy profile which a lot of cam companies like to use on their mopar cams. I also like Comp for their solid lifter profiles. The newer XS solid lifter profiles work very well and are a "medium" rate of lift design. Not too agressive but quick enough to get the job done and not beat the valvetrain to death. Comp has a lot of different grinds in their master lobe catalog and my stroker build will have a solid lifter (or roller)   come from there....it won't be an off the shelf cam.

The engle hydraulic profiles look very good as well....i've just had more experience with Crower and tend to gravitate to what has worked well for me in the past. The engle solid lifter profiles also look very good and i'm probably gonna use one in the 6-pack car when i go through the motor and upgrade. It won't be off the shelf....i'll spec it out for what i feel will work well in that combo.

Crane, Lunati, Isky, Ultradyne etc...all make descent cams. It pretty much boils down to making the right choice for the application. I will say the two cams i wouldn't run are MP and Racer Brown....too oldschool for my liking. The one exception is the MP 528 solid which is an awesome cam for a mild build....but i'm betting i can come up with an engle grind that will idle better, be quieter (tight lash) and make more power.

Ron

[phat69charger]

I don't know to much about the actual Mfg's or what's better than the rest, But I do know that if they design camshafts using any computer software and it's all based on mathamatical input, then the software should produce the same number's provided they input similar input. That's what I know to be fact, but there can be variances based on the actual geometry of specific mechcanical parts in individual engines, an example of that is, build identical engines with the same cams, break the first one in then test it's output on a dyno, then take the heads off the first engine place them on the second identical engine, break that engine in then test it on a dyno theorectically they should be close to the same output, I've seen it tested that way one time and the outputs where not close or similar, so I called Hughes Engines and briught a cam grind based off of my specific parts, so all you can hope for that the engine output from your information they input works well for your combination of things.

I posted some camshaft information links over in the street tech section and the information basically says what Firefighter, says use what you have experiece with, and what worked well in a specific combination of things for you.

Here's the links I posted:

http://www.wighat.com/fcr3/engine.htm

http://www.wighat.com/fcr3/camtruth.htm

http://www.wighat.com/fcr3/confusion.htm

[Chryco Psycho]

I guess when I find something that works I stick with it , I have had poor results with every Comp cam I have seen used , , I replace the cam & the engine makes more power 100% of the time
Engle & Ultradyne have treated me very well with great results , crower is good & the old Mopar cams still work very well
hughes has an unknown company grinding their cams now so I have avoided them + they will not warrenty a cam unlike Engle , a friend ordered a Hughes cam & had me install it , it is constantly breaking rocker arms now & will be replaced this winter

[Ghoste]

You do hear less about Hughes now than a few years ago when they jumped on the .904 lifter thing.

[deputycrawford]

I personally like the profiles of the Hughes cams. I want to try a solid cam for my 383 in the 255 dur at .050 and around a 570 lift. What is Engles web sight? I want to compare the two and see if I order an Engle. I would ultimately call them for a possible custom grind for my application but I want to see what they look like and how they think.

[Chryco Psycho]

Seriously I would deal with Engle , Chris wil help you out , they have a failure replacement policy should something go wrong , hughes does Not
www.englecams.com

[Rolling_Thunder]

A guy in my car club with a 1969 Coronet R/T is running 11.09 swears by Engle cams and Isky - thats it....    other than that you couldnt pay him enough to run it....       

[Ghoste]

Isky is another one you don't hear too much about anymore.  Do they do much r&d or are they making their way with old grinds?

[Rolling_Thunder]

Well Isky is a relatively small company I guess...   they're right over here in LA -- I know they have older style cam grinds available - but not sure if they have anything "new" --- They do custom grinding which is nice and they help you out whenever they can - I hear nothing but good about Engle and Isky --- 

[deputycrawford]

Thanks for the Engle site. I have them in my favorites now. I looked at the KV-4 or known as the 2304 V. I wonder if my 9.35 to 1 comp 383 will take that much cam. I guess I can call them and ask. Thanks again.

[Chryco Psycho]

you will need more compression to run the KV4

[deputycrawford]

OK. What is the minimum compression I should run for the KV 4 cam? Firefighter mentioned go from a .040 composite gasket to a .020 steel shim gasket and mill my 906 heads from 75cc to 72cc. Would that be enough for the cam? I also have a .023 deck on the block.

[Chryco Psycho]

call engle & discuss it with them , my guess would be closer to 11;1 compression with that long duration bleeding off cylinder pressure

[deputycrawford]

Sorry Chryco, I went back to Engle site and read the cams again. I was reading the rpm range above it, not below it. I meant to say I want the KV-3. I hope I have close to enough compression. I might just pull the 906s and steel shim them again. That should help. I will call Engle and ask them. Thanks for all the info.

[Chryco Psycho]

You are Welcome