sellecting a cam if your new to engines

[grumpyvette]

:thumbsup: heres a semi-fool proof method

 

 

write a list of all factors that will influence the choice DON,T LIE tell them EXACTLY what you expect and what you have currently ,installed that the cam must work with NOW,....NOT what you intend to install later

 

car weigh?

rear gear?

trans?

stall speed if its an auto?

displacement?

COMPRESSION

HEADS (flow numbers)

intake type

tire size

intended use

max rpms

launch rpms

MIMIMUM IDLE

fuel octane

carbs,mpfi? CFM

ETC.

 

call a minimum of 5 major cam companys, (6-8 is better)

write down thier recommended cam type,its lift, and duration at .050 and LCA.

read off the list to each manufactures tech guys, but DON,T DISCUSS IN ANY WAY WHAT OTHER MANUFACTURERS SUGGESTED

 

AVERAGE THE RESULTS and buy the cam thats CLOSEST TOO THAT AVERAGE, this tends to give consistantly good results

keep in mind solid lifters generally have an rpm advantage and roller cams generally out perform flat tappet designs but cost more

 

http://www.crower.com/

 

http://www.cranecams.com/

 

http://www.mr-gasket.com/pdf/Chevrolet.pdf

 

http://www.holley.com/index.asp?division=Lunati

 

http://www.chetherbert.com/newchet.html

 

http://www.iskycams.com/

 

http://www.reedcams.com/

 

http://www.schneidercams.com/cams/20.htm

 

http://www.lazercams.com/CamTables.html

 

http://www.englecams.com/

 

NO! ONE SIZE LARGER WON,T GENERALLY WORK BETTER

[MY77Z]

heeey, why calling 6-8 companies when we have you Grumpyvette here on this forum??

[lesd]

So which company will be the first to have an online calculator that would take most of those parameters and narrow the choice down !

Ya, I'm dreaming.

[grumpyvette]

comp cams has one on CD you can buy

 

180950 COMP Cams® CamQuest™ 6 Cam Selection Software $29.35

 

its useful as a starting point, to get ideas on durration,LCA,and lift that matches your application

(I personally won,t use a COMP CAM, CAM in my engines, simply because they have the absolute worst tech support imaginable) the cams may be ok, but the guys answering the phones are horriably mis-informed and rude and just don,t give a $%^&

[rxKaffee]

So by the list of things to take into consideration when purchasing a cam, I guess its one of the last items to pickup, if you want to get the right one?

[grumpyvette]

not EXACTLY..

you need too set a HP goal and RPM BAND that you want to operate in, then youll need to match the other engine requirements to meet that goal, displacement, compression ratio, fuel octane, type of intake, head flow rates, exhaust design/size, cam lift/durration,rear gear ratio,trans gearing ,ETC.

 

COMPONENTS SELLECTED ,MUST THEN BE MATCHED TO REACH THE GOAL, and if your smart you set the goal a bit higher than youll need so you don,t need to be in perfect tune to reach it!

[grumpyvette]

BTW theres some basic combos that give dependable and consistant results, when you vary the sellected components a good deal from known matched combos youll seldom have a good combo, simply because , that theres certain requirements that must be met to reach certain hp levels given the restrictions imposed in current engine designs

look over these, notice that if you were to make an extensive spread sheet that certain compression ratios and cam durration, and head flow rates tend to result in almost expected results, and your kidding yourself if you think you can vary the results a great deal from what most of the better engine builders can produce, its part art! but its mostly science

 

 

http://www.strokerengine.com/TrickFlowCombo.html

 

 

http://www.airflowresearch.com/articles.php

 

 

http://www.chevymania.com/dyno/

 

http://www.ryanscarpage.50megs.com/combos1.html

 

http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/7610/dyno.htm

[LS1 240Z]

if you have a gen3/4 sbc get the G5x4 the only cam you will ever need.