Camshaft selection?

[hickory1969]

Ok I'm looking for a lil help on this one from some of you guys. My son races a 84 K5 blazer in mud bogs. Weighs about 4,500lbs. Building new 383 for next year. Compression is in the 11.5 area and using Dart iron eagle platinum 200 heads.64cc 4.88 gears and Th350 with 2.75 planetary. Tires are 35.00x16.00x15.Boggers. I will be having a converter built for this truck. It needs a lot of low and mid range grunt to get this tank moving. Looking to run a hydraulic roller. Any suggestions? Also ultimately the intake will be a dart shp dual plane or dart single plane depending on the camshaft rpm range.

[bjuice]

Ok I'm looking for a lil help on this one from some of you guys. My son races a 84 K5 blazer in mud bogs. Weighs about 4,500lbs. Building new 383 for next year. Compression is in the 11.5 area and using Dart iron eagle platinum 200 heads.64cc 4.88 gears and Th350 with 2.75 planetary. Tires are 35.00x16.00x15.Boggers. I will be having a converter built for this truck. It needs a lot of low and mid range grunt to get this tank moving. Looking to run a hydraulic roller. Any suggestions? Also ultimately the intake will be a dart shp dual plane or dart single plane depending on the camshaft rpm range.

Enter the Rabbit !

[RogueDog327]

Ok I'm looking for a lil help on this one from some of you guys. My son races a 84 K5 blazer in mud bogs. Weighs about 4,500lbs. Building new 383 for next year. Compression is in the 11.5 area and using Dart iron eagle platinum 200 heads.64cc 4.88 gears and Th350 with 2.75 planetary. Tires are 35.00x16.00x15.Boggers. I will be having a converter built for this truck. It needs a lot of low and mid range grunt to get this tank moving. Looking to run a hydraulic roller. Any suggestions? Also ultimately the intake will be a dart shp dual plane or dart single plane depending on the camshaft rpm range.

I think you should scrap the hydraulic plan and go with this solid

Comp Cams 12-900-9 (http://www.compcams.com/Company/CC/cam-specs/Details.aspx?csid=310&sb=0)

For the situation you described I would go with the dual plane intake and add a 1" open spacer

Dont forget to run one of those composite distributor gears if you use this cam.

[JEFF69Z28]

CALL CHRIS STRUAB

[bubbaf100]

I'd run a solid roller with a McFarland Torque Link intake or Single Plane Dart with a Demon 825 RS- minimum if not a 975RS just change the carb sleeves if need be with tuned headers. H-rollers suck for competition. And give Ken from Oregon Cam grinding Service all his cams are USA. And the turn around is 72 hours from ordering via UPS. Do not get a Comp Cam. The last 5 cams from flat tap pet to roller HAVE FAILED due to MANUFACTURING DEFECTS. How embarrassing for quality.
Here is Ken's number. 1(360)256-7985

Run a cast iron gear and a full base circle- if you got the clearance. If you can afford it a 4/7-2/3 swap will help.

[RogueDog327]

Do not get a Comp Cam. The last 5 cams from flat tap pet to roller HAVE FAILED due to MANUFACTURING DEFECTS.

Run a cast iron gear



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[coloradoracerguy]

I'd run a solid roller with a McFarland Torque Link intake or Single Plane Dart with a Demon 825 RS- minimum if not a 975RS just change the carb sleeves if need be with tuned headers. H-rollers suck for competition. And give Ken from Oregon Cam grinding Service all his cams are USA. And the turn around is 72 hours from ordering via UPS. Do not get a Comp Cam. The last 5 cams from flat tap pet to roller HAVE FAILED due to MANUFACTURING DEFECTS. How embarrassing for quality.
Here is Ken's number. 1(360)256-7985

Run a cast iron gear and a full base circle- if you got the clearance. If you can afford it a 4/7-2/3 swap will help.


Funny, I run Comp stuff and haven't had any issues......getting ready to order another one as well.....and these aren't mild street cams either.... .900+ lift rollers.........

Instead of bashing a company, just make suggestions......Are you sure it wasn't user error that caused the failures???? Any proof? I call BS.....



As to what cam to run, there are several companies that can get you the proper cam for your combo. Chris Straub, Comp, Crower, LSM, Bullet, Mike Jones, Howards.........Best bet is to call all of them and talk to them. Be honest with what you have and intend to do, and make a decision based on what they tell you....If it were mine, I'd run a solid roller myself. Hydraulics are good for street stuff, but I'd shy away in a racing application unless the rules limit you to them. No reason to run a flat tappet anymore on anything, and I wouldn't by one of those either, unless again I'm bound by the rules. A solid roller will make better power over a broader range, even in the milder grinds. For a gear, can't beat the Lunati ever wear gear. You can run it on any cam you want, and they last. A 7/4 swap, or 7/4, 2/3 swap cam will only benefit your combo if it's optimized for it. They are not a magic bolt on and for many combos they are not needed. Save your money for things that will do more for your dollar...For the intake, you can run a dual plane, but there are some single planes out there that will run circles around a dual plane, even at lower rpms. Again, a bit of research here will pay big dividends. There are several head guys out there that are very familiar with those heads, Like Chad Speier, that can also help with manifold and cam selection....

[bubbaf100]

I used to run comps all the time. But between myself and the customers coming back to me pissed off I had to make an intelligent decision. And after sending 3 of the 5 cams back and took pics and gave them a run out sheet all I got back from them was excuses and excuses. 2 in particular was a Solid roller Extreme energy and a Big Mutha Thumpr H-tappet. The Extreme energy failed in two weeks on the dyno-completely missed proper heat treating. Comp didn't do anything or other zip after sending the cam back and playing phone tag. Big mutha Thumpr failed in 1 month in a customers 400SBC. The customer never drove it and the car never left my shop. I only had 6 hours of dyno time and 26 street miles. That cam failed in all aspects from 11 swiped lobes and gear failure. I'll always have respect for Comp Cams. But when it comes to making a living and have lost $$$$ from down time and me forking out $$$$ out of my own pocket to put the customer 1st and foremost and replacing cams, gaskets, lifters etc. now that's unacceptable to anyone. Especially like most us real hot rodders build and maintain all their prized investments and after years of use and they tell you in some words to get $&@?#%. Why recommend them to anyone? Save them their cash and headaches and frustration. You can never mess with any man or woman's living regardless of any entities.


Let's get back to what were really here for is helping this gentleman get a cam profile that will put'em in the winners circle.

[coloradoracerguy]

I have a hard time believing that a cam "just failed". I've ran some pretty cheaply made flat tappet cams and had virtually zero issues. Cam's just don't "fail"....

How did you check the heat treat? Did you perform a hardness test? Did you send the cam back to comp for them to test? I'm not saying it can't happen, but it's a lot less common than we're led to believe. Virtually all the failed cams I've dealt with were either from improper break in, incorrect oil (not enough zinc), or incorrect installation...It's very RARE for a cam to "just fail", even due to manufacturers defects......

I agree, let's help him make a good decision, but also lets not give him only one option based on our opinion of someone we've dealt with...I have my preference for performance parts, and I'm very loyal to some, but I will never tell someone that is the only place to get them from, because they may want something different than what I have or how I do my stuff....And lets face it, there are a bunch of quality companies out there that can take care of him...

[bubbaf100]

Of the 3 our of 5 yes. I've won over 1000
Races Street or Strip. I've been put in the winners circle
138 times from using Comp Cams.
I've used Isky, Howards, Crane, Lunati, Crower, Schneider, Oregon
Predator, Clay Smith, Herbert and Ultra-Dyne.
Installed on count as a builder 826 cams total
And no other Company That I used just premature
Camshaft failure was from Comp.
And those 5 times it cost out of my pocket
For the best interests of the best Customer Service
A total of $2676.42.
To save and anyone else trouble I recommend
The very best parts I can put in that a budget that
Fits all for their usage.
And after sending them the old cam cards and some pics.

Of trophies. I won't ever use a Comp Camshaft.
And I won't warrenty them for my customers Eithier
For this experience I had 5 times.
Everything has a life and an end when Installed properly or not.
But when it comes down to basic manufacturing defects and leave
You in the gutter.
Why take anymore chances.
I don't recommend unless their deserving and will always advise legendary quality.
Ands it's not like the gentleman over the phone no matter how big his check
Is. It does not come straight out of one's pocket.

[zipper06]

Last year i did some rockwell testing on 3 different cams, one older solid flat tappet Bullit with more than 100 passes on it (still good) it checked 45/47 on the RC scale, i checked a failed hydraulic comp cam newer and it checked 39/41 on the RC scale, i also checked a comp cam solid roller, it checked 58/59 on the RC scale, I also checked solid and hydraulic flat tappet lifter, theu all checked 58 on the RC scale on the bodies. I also checked solid roller lifters on the body and they checked 43 on the RC scale. I have in the shop a certified Rockwell tester where i work.
All the flat tappet cams are failing from most of the mfg'er and they blame it on the lifters, that's just not so, it their HT method and the fact that they used to nitride the cams but now they are cutting cost and won't gurantee anything, they just set back and say O'well. I think the big push is to go hydraulic roller stuff because they make a ton of money on them.
I used to run Compcam roller cams but i no longer do, but stil have a couple laying around,
I personally run Bullit cams and that's what i use on engine builds, they have been good to me and for me.

JMO

Zip.

[ajk]

Zip, clue me in a little further if you don't mind on the Rockwell testing. Is there standard # that these are compared off? I see 45/47 and 39/41 etc. I don't want to sound as dumb as I am but what does that indicate? Thanks Al

[zipper06]

Zip, clue me in a little further if you don't mind on the Rockwell testing. Is there standard # that these are compared off? I see 45/47 and 39/41 etc. I don't want to sound as dumb as I am but what does that indicate? Thanks Al

The lower the number the softer the metal, so the newer cam was 7 points softer than the older cam. The older cam i tested was about 11 or 12 yrs. old and the newer cam was 4 yrs. old and had 4 flat lobes on it.
I had run the older flat tappet cam in my 406" motor with 135 lbs of spring rate. The newer one cam out of my El Camino, with 115 lbs of spring rate with about 3,000 miles on it.
The only compaeison was that todays cams are not heat treated as good as the older cams were, and maybe not even as good of cast iron.

Zip.

[Swiley383]

Probably Chinese made cores would be my guess cheaper overhead and less quality. Seems way to common these days. Made in the USA with Chinese steel.

[letreat]

Since you're having a converter built I wouldn't worry about any POS dual plane or anything like that. A 383 in that truck leaving the line at 6 or 6500 would be a must IMO. I'd run mid 250's on the intake and low 260's on the exhaust at .050 on a 107 or 9 LSA. Put a super vic on that dude and rev r up where she'll run.

[RogueDog327]

Since you're having a converter built I wouldn't worry about any POS dual plane or anything like that. A 383 in that truck leaving the line at 6 or 6500 would be a must IMO. I'd run mid 250's on the intake and low 260's on the exhaust at .050 on a 107 or 9 LSA. Put a super vic on that dude and rev r up where she'll run.

Yea I would stick to the "pos dual plane"

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