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FE Cam Specs and selection
Its' almost winter and I am pulling my engine for some maintenance and upgrades.
Maintencane: Replace all bearings and timing chain and gear. Leak down check of rings and valves showed an insignificant wear. Upgrade: Thinking about upgrading my cam to a .605 lift and 248 duration solid lifter Comp cam GRIND #294S. OR .640 lift and 260 duration solid lifter Comp cam GRIND #306S. I am also considering new dual valve springs and solid roller lifters. Key to any upgrades is that they maintain streetability and be useable with a 10.6 : 1 compression ratio and dual plane manifold. Anyone out there have any thoughts or recommendations. FYI for the last two race seasons I have been running a .571 lift 236 duration solid lifter cam and absolutely loved it but I need a few more R's. Clois |
Clois-
Right now I am running the Comp Cams 292H, which has .560 lift and 244/244 duration @.50. I am actually going to change it this winter to the cam you are currently running. Although the 292H is very streetable, (idles great at 850-900 rpm- vacuum is very poor at idle though), I've found that the cam is no fun on the road unless it is revving over 3000 rpm. Because my use is limited to street driving/cruising, I want something more well mannered with better torque in the lower rpm, so out it comes. But, if I were going to put the car on the track every now and then, I would be inclined to keep the cam because it does pull well in the upper rpms. |
Try calling Comp Cams and see what they recommend for your application.
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Clois,
You will find it WELL worth your effort to buy a dual pattern cam and stay away from the straight patterns. If you get one that has about 10 or so more degrees duration and maybe 10 or so more thousanths lift on the exhaust side you will be suprised at the increase in power. It helps compensate for the restricted exhaust ports on the FE. Comp has a couple nice ones I've had real good results from in their extreme series. Their website is great for researching options. Also, if streetability is an issue, try to stay at or above about 112 degrees lobe seperation. This will smooth out the lumps at idle and get the vaccuum signal a little higher. |
I am running no vaccuum anything. So unless I am missing something I am not concerned about my vaccuum. I will go back and check out the Comp Cams Catalog.
Chaplin, You will love the 571 lift and 236 dur cam I have been running. I just need a bit more RPMS for places like Road America and Texas Motor Speedway. |
You might want to call George Gessford. He has a solid lifter comp cam that he uses on the FE's and has been real happy with it. He'll be putting one in my 428.
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Clois H Clois Before you go cam hunting why not get a dyno 200o or the dyno slim from jegs and run a bunch of different cams through the computer. Bigger is not always better. Maken the intake, heads, compression, and backpressure in the exhaust system will help make the most power. How heavy is your flywheel? Have you looked at the new comp cam beehive valve springs instead of the dual springs most FE run? Buy a spare rear for the car when you go to the big tracks. Build more tork for the engine. How Lew doing? Talk to George A and see what he says. Hope you make R&G next year, we missed you and the ROBIE:rolleyes: :D Rick Lake
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When selecting a camshaft several things need to be considered. I would like to know is this camshaft for your 428 engine, are the heads ported and what kind of heads. What rear gear are you running and with what transmission. Do you plan on some road racing as well as street use.
I would say with what we know that a camshaft with 246@.050 duration on the intake and about 256@.050 on the exhaust side with about .600 lift would work nice. I would use a 112 lobe seperation and install 4 degrees advanced. We have used camshafts similiar to this depending on size of engine and use. Good luck, Keith Craft |
Keith,
Thanks for your input. I am running Edelbrock heads and yes they have been ported and polished a little. My current cam is a 571 lift 236 dur solid lifter cam. Alum McLeod flywheel about 18 pounds. I am running 3.50 gears with a close ratio toploader. 27 x 10 slicks. I also have an alum medium riser intake w/ 750 Speed Demon Carb. Pistons are Speed Pro flat tops w/ 10.5 : 1 compression. Most other options just reduce weight or handling. I am also thinking or going to 3.31 :1 gears. I occassionally drag race (1 or 2 times a year, turn mid 11's) but I mostly road race and put about 1/4th of my miles on the street. I need more speed on my topend for tracks with longer straight-a-ways. Currently about 6300 RPM's are my max before I break something. Clois Clois |
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