Cam specs question

[cobra427mnsi]

Attached is the spec sheet for the cam in the engine that I bought. It is a center oiler. The cam is a solid roller tappet. The heads are low rise iron with FE Max roller rocker arms. The intake is the Edelbrock performer RPM. Is this cam too aggresive for the street?

Help! all you cam experts. It would be easier to change out the cam now, if I have to, before I install the engine.

We all secretly desire to try a big cam ,but would I be foolish to go with this cam for the street.

Paul

[blykins]

That's a really high lift cam, but the duration isn't bad if you consider a 114 degree lobe separation. I don't think you would have much problem with it though. If you decide to change make sure your piston-valve clearance is good....plus make sure your valve springs will hold up to the lift and not coil bind.

[Mr.Fixit]

Given the rest of the engine combo you stated(dual plane intake, factory heads), you would probubly be happier and faster with less duration. What is your intended working RPM range, because that cam wants some high RPM. Whaen it comes to cams, smaller is usally better, contrary to what you want to believe.

[HighPlainsDrifter]

Paul,
That cam is very aggressive for the street, are you intending to race it?It is also a mechanical cam, needs to be adusted every 500 to 1500 miles, a hydraulic cam goes for years without adjustment. A cam with 230 to 244 degrees would be better suited to a normal cruising / fun cobra. Also stay around .530 to .580 lift , anything over 600 is hard on valve springs, unless you want to change them every year. Mr Fixit is right ,a smaller cam IS faster for a street car.
Perry

[Cracker]

I just last week decided against a roller cam because my engine builder would not approve of anything over .630 lift and 255 at .50 thou. and am currently running a .590 mechanical Crower. Those limitations were with this in mind:
427 SO Standard stroke
Edelbrock Single plain intake Port matched to Polished and ported Edelbrock heads
JE Pistons
H-Beam rods, Etc.
The point for me was the added expense was just not necessary for my application so I took those funds and had them install an unnecessary Jesel Roller Rocker System along with modified pushrod oil system. There is always someplace to spend money! Best of luck and by the way with a .589 lift solid the car rocks back and forth at idle and revs like a banshee!

Cracker

[K.Wilson]

I did a quick Desktop Dyno with your cam numbers and a mild 427 guess at everything else. This cam looks like it should be fine for a street pounder. At 2000 RPM it shows HP at 215 and Torque at 530. At 4000 RPM it shows HP at 390 and Torque at 515.
I will send you the file by E-mail.
Since I did not use your actual engine configuration ( I used 10.0 to 1 CR, a 750 CFM carb and Edelbrock head flow numbers) this could off some.
Keith

[CJ428CJ]

Keith,

390hp is pretty low for even a mild 427. I assume the hp continued to climb up through about 5500 or 6000rpm. Using desktop dyno for my 428, below are the numbers I came up with for a number of different cams. I found that going with too big of a cam caused the hp and torque numbers dropped way off. I didn't even include these higher lift/duration cams on my spreadsheet. This table may be a bit hard to read since it won't format well on this post. I'd be happy to email it in Excel or Word to anyone that wants it.

Chris

# Mfg Part No. Type HP @RPM Torq @RPM Lift(Int/Ex) Dur Dur@.05 Sep.
1 Crane 349521 Hyd-Rol 526 6000 534 4500 .584/.607 284/290 222/228 110
2 Comp 33-781-8 Sol-Rol 526 5500 506 4500 .645/.645 292/292 248/248 110
3 Crane 349541 Hyd-Rol 510 6000 471 4500 .632/.655 300/308 238/246 112
4 Crane 341191 Solid 504 5500 525 4000 .563/.587 300/310 238/248 114
5 Crower 16462 Sol-Rol 502 5500 573 3000 .580/.582 280/288 234/244
6 Comp 33-245-4 Solid 500 5500 519 4500 .571/.571 282/282 236/236 110
7 Lunati 40508 Sol 495 5500 513 3500 .525/.525 290/300 241/251 108
8 Crane 340471 Solid 490 5500 513 4500
9 Comp 33-246-4 Solid 489 6000 492 4500 .605/.605 294/294 248/248 110
10 Lunati 20501 Sol 489 5500 516 4500 .524/.524 324/324 245/255 114
11 Crane 340321 Solid 485 5500 518 4000 .524/.524 244/244 114
12 Comp 33-312-4 Hyd 483 6000 481 4500 .570/.560 286/292 108
13 Crane 343801 Hyd 477 5500 499 4500 .548/.580 278/290 222/234 114
14 Crane 344621 Hyd 475 6000 461 5000 .554/.563 296/300 234/238 112
15 Lunati 30507 Hyd 475 5500 485 4000 .563/.600 280/290 230/240 108
16 Crower 16357 Solid 472 5500 530 4000 .530/.535 278/284 240/243 114
17 Comp 33-315-4 Hyd 471 5500 491 4500 .570/.560 286/292 110
18 Comp 33-314-4 Hyd 469 5500 501 4000 .560/.560 280/288 110
19 Lunati 00054 Hyd 468 5500 490 4500 .554/.554 292/292 230/230 109
20 Crower 16331 Solid 468 6000 496 4000 .551/.565 290/298 247/252 108
21 Comp 33-317-4 Hyd 467 6000 476 4000 .560/.590 292/296 110
22 Comp 33-230-4 Hyd 465 6000 502 3500 .530/.530 280/280 110
23 Comp 33-316-4 Hyd 465 6000 459 4500 .590/.590 296/305 110
24 Comp 33-310-4 Hyd 462 5500 507 3500 .550/.550 276/284 110
25 Comp 33-240-3 Hyd 460 6000 482 4500 .560/.560 292/300 111
26 Isky 351281 Hyd 458 5500 493 4000 .565/.565 232/232 108
27 Crane 343801 Hyd 457 5500 500 4000 .537/.537 288/288 226/226 112
28 Crower 16255 Hyd 456 6000 500 3000 .549/.550 280/288 224/232 108
29 Crane 344561 Hyd 453 5500 470 4000 .572/.572 236/236 108
30 Edel 7106 Hyd 453 5500 470 4000 .572/.572 296/296 236/236 108
31 Crower 16241 Hyd 451 5500 509 3500 .538/.552 280/286 222/228 112
32 Comp 33-241-3 Hyd 448 6000 436 4500 .580/.580 305/305
33 Comp 33-519-3 Hyd 446 6500 420 4500 .580/.580 306/306
34 Isky 351271 Hyd 443 5000 511 3000 .542/.542 280/280 232/232 108
35 Crower 16356 Solid 432 5000 543 3000 .526/.537 260/266 228/228 114

[cobra427hp]

WAKE UP GUYS! Center oil blocks can't run hydraulics! You would be amazed at the rpm and torque curve with a stock 425HP Ford camshaft!

[Clois Harlan]

I am running the Below cam and it is very streetable and creates enough power to paste me to the seat if I want to. I also race it and am very satisfied. Solid lifters are easy to adjust and some people make to much out of the occassional adjustment process. My engine makes good power, runs cool, and has a nice rumpty rump.

Clois


6. Comp 33-245-4 Solid 500 5500 519 4500 .571/.571 282/282 236/236 110

[BB427]

It depends on what you mean by "street".

If you mean driven 500 hard miles per year ,5000-7000rpm alot and keeping a close eye on the valvetrain components then its a great cam.

If you want to turn the key and drive where ever when ever and put the cover on it when you get home I think this cam is too much. The lobe design of a roller will give you a radical sound even in a more mild camshaft. You can take this camshaft out and have it reground for very little money and all of your other components will work just fine. I think you will also see a substantial gain in power in the 2000 to 4500rpm range.

[CJ428CJ]

Hey Clois,

What do you think of the idle with that comp cam? I like a nice lopey idle. I'm running cam 26 and the idle is perfect (lopey that is) but I'm considering switching to a solid lifter cam. I've heard that cam 4 is really smooth but that makes sense with the 114 lobe centers. Just curious how you'd define the idle with that cam you're running.

Chris

[Brent Mills]

I'm running cam 16, which doesn't have a lot of lift and duration is good. It sounds good, although I've not yet driven it. I'll let you know more about it after I've ran it, but the Kirkhams suggested it a while back on this site, which coincidently my builder suggested too, so I figured I wouldn't second guess. I need/want a solid runner and not worry about breaking crap (done plenty of that over the last couple years) so this was a good compromise. Nice torque and hp and I'm not racing, so it's plenty!

[Woodz428]

I think that it's a little much for a street cam. Regardless of the duration that lift is going to kill the valve train pretty quickly and the resulting damage could be expen$ive. Didn't run it on the desktop dyno (I don't have one), but have run dozens of big FE's and brute torque is one of the traits I always liked, and the kind that comes in from idle up to a safe redline. Sounds like it could be a wicked drag racing cam though.

[CJ428CJ]

Brent,

Thanks for the feedback. I'd be interested to hear what you think after you've gotten it out on the road.

Chris

[Clois Harlan]

Chris,

Sorry it has taken me so long to get back to you but I had a few things to get out this week.

I love my cam. It has a nice rumble to it (engine definitely has some attitude). Cam comes in real nice at 3000 RPM and pulls real hard through 5700 RPM and then the torque and HP start to level off a bit. I have a shift light with a 5700 RPM Pill and a rev limiter set at 6000 RPM. All in all it makes very good power all the way through the gears and is always pulling when I shift (even once I see my shift light). I can get scratch in all gears by just blipping the throttle. I really like my cam and 2X4 set up but I think it will do even better once I get the carbs dialed in a little.
I am also running adjustable roller rockers with my solid lifter cam.

Clois

[Steve Dickey]

Chris.
I am running the same cam as Clois and just wanted to chime in and agree with everything he said. Steve D***ey

[Anthony]

I think it will run rough, miss, unless you are in the upper 2000 rpm's.

I'm running Crane's #34SR00006. It's a solid roller, 256/264 @.050", .658" lift on both, 110 lobe separation, in a 477 ci FE (stroked to 4.2"), edelbrock heads, sidewinder intake.

You can run it on the street, but at lower rpm cruising, it misses, a little jerky. The engine wants to be in the upper 2000 rpm's to be completely smooth. But, the engine pulls > 500 lbs torque from 3500 to 6000 rpm's, with max torque 540, and max hp 570.

my cam is alittle bigger than yours, but, so is my engine, which tends to smooth out the cam somewhat.

Crane makes another solid roller, #34SR00005, which is 240/248 @ .050, .616/.637 lift, 110 lobe separation, which should be smoother at lower rpm's. This may be a better street roller cam that you can use, or regrind yours to approximate this.

[Jamo]

My solid roller is 264/658 on intake and exhaust for my 482ci. Yes it's lumpy (Specialk likened it to a AA/Fueler with mufflers). Folks warned me about it--but so far, so good.

It works just fine on the street--tons of torque down low, and it just gets better as revs climb. Went through everything at the Fling without a problem (save for an unassociated issue with a distributor cap failure from MSD).

Better still, and more importantly, it stays very cool (stop and go in 105F heat results in never going past 195F), holds idle just fine, and is just perfect at cruising speeds (2500-3000rpm).

Upkeep? Same as any solid cammed engine. Yes, hydraulics are easier. Then again, a Corvette's alot easier to live with then one of these beasts.

[decooney]

Originally posted by cobra427mnsi


Help! all you cam experts. It would be easier to change out the cam now, if I have to, before I install the engine. We all secretly desire to try a big cam ,but would I be foolish to go with this cam for the street. Paul

Paul,
after trial and error, carb tuning, lots of tuning, and lots of followup research online, with software programs, etc... I reluctantly stepped back down on my cam. I just removed a very similar profile solid lifter cam after 1500 miles on my brand new 428 CJ motor. Same valvetrain, same intake as yours, etc...only I use E-brock ported/matched heads.. I always wanted to try it and see in the FE what the bigger cams would "really" do. To me, It's a waste on the street when the true power band doesn't start to really kick in till it's too late. How much time do you spend driving your FE at 6000-6500rpms on the street?. After trying 4 different solid lifter / flat tappet cams in my last two FEs, I ended going with a custom grind (stepping back down in duration and lift a bit). I thought I had power before, not so. Wow, what a difference now. Found the sweet spot again, and it pulls like a freight train in any gear 2k-6k, down low, mid, on top, lugging it, whatever. If it were me, I'd be changing that cam out ASAP before the motor goes in. But, that's just my .02 cents after trying (4) different cams now my FE 428s with identical drivetrain configurations and vehicle weight. Bigger isn't better in this case. Good Luck.

[cobra427mnsi]

Thanks to all who replied. Very informative

I have decided to pull the cam and send it back to Crower to be reground.

Decooney:

What are the specs on your special grind ? By your description this is the cam that I would like. Something that gives power and is easier on the valve train. I hope you don't mind if I copy your cam.

Paul