Camshaft Manufacturer
- Thread starter GT63
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Lee_in_KC
Active Member
I didn't vote, but I have an opinion. I wonder whether these days there is really any practical difference among the established performance cam producers. I think everybody knows everyone else's secrets by now. You can get just about any grind you want from any of those listed, plus Isky (how did you forget them, Grant?!?!?). I haven't compared prices, but I would assume there's not a wide range, considering how competitive the market is. Just my .02 worth.
I looked at ISKY, but it appeared they were geared more towards racing stuff.
There's a considerable difference in price between Howard's and the others. Comp Cams appears to be charging you for their name. Lunati is a little closer in price to Howards.
I've run three, (Howards, Lunati, and Comp) thru Dyno Sim5 and Howards gave me the best numbers. It even beat the NX276 from Comp. I'm in the process of building a new engine using a DART SHP block that's bored 4.155 and stroked 3.750. It'll be 406.7 CI. I'm shooting for an RPM rnage of 1800-6000 and looking for max torque at around 3500 and max HP at 5500. Plus with the blower I need an LSA of 112-114. I also want to keep the lift below 550. I hoping for a torque monster of a motor.
I'll be running a Crane and Crower cam thru Dyno Sim5 today and see what I come up with.
Screaming Metal
Active Member
I'm kinda oldschool, I like Sig Erson, Crower and Isky, but UltraDyne made some great rollers, and if your needs are special, check out Reed cams there in Ga. Great Tractor pull, and Marine cams....they got grinds that fit about anything you wanna do.
CamCraft is excellent also....
CamCraft is excellent also....
Screaming Metal
Active Member
Oh, and before I forget, Schneider cams also! Great folks.
"back in the day" I would have voted Crower, but of the cams I've purchased over the past 6-8 years (5 that I can think of off hand) I was actually the happiest with a Summit branded one. I couldn't tell you who actually makes them, but it worked out NICE in a 350 sbc build a couple years ago. pulled hard from 2500 to infinity.
IMHO,
Russ
PS: now that I think of it, I did buy a Crower cam about 4 years ago for a 4.3 V-6 (~290 hp). I was also very happy with that cam for the application (except that it still sounded like a V-6
).
IMHO,
Russ
PS: now that I think of it, I did buy a Crower cam about 4 years ago for a 4.3 V-6 (~290 hp). I was also very happy with that cam for the application (except that it still sounded like a V-6
).
Mike
Well-Known Member
Or maybe everyone is just charging you for their cores? In this day and age, people are scrambling to sell product, so the the days of charging for a brand name are long past. This is the age of you getting exactly what you're paying for.
People don't believe this, but find the best price you can find on the cam you feel is right for you. Buy five of them, all identical. Then roll all five of them and get back to me on whether you could find two that were alike. If spending that much money is out of the pictures, I can save you the money by telling you that you will end up with five different cams. Although one of them might even get close to what the catalog says it should be. I've always said I never had a problem with companies that sell their product for less money, because I figure they are the best ones to know what their stuff is really worth.
Harold offered some really incredible stuff at UD, but could those grinds ever eat up valve train components! His stuff would always seem to make a couple extra horsepower, but it was notorious for breaking stuff. No question Harold could wring the last nth of power out of a combination, though. Did you ever run any of Mike Jones' stuff? Steve Lowe, up at LSM makes some really good stuff, as well. Neither one makes baby chick stuff (cheap, cheap, cheap), but they both know how to make power.
Screaming Metal
Active Member
Screaming Metal said: ↑
Got that right Mike! They'd pound the crap outta the springs and lifters lifting AND coming off the ramp so hard! Even ran the lower spring set with the bar between the lip of the head and the lifter....no help there. and with their stuff, it was mandatory to use stud girdles and Jomar Bars. It it wasn't good quality stuff, you were left picking up the pieces.
Yea, made power but they'd kill ya on looking for broken stuff all the time....
Yea, used to buy the cams and get new billets all the time. Those cores are like gold now! If you don't have a core to rework, they're gonna hurt your feelings on those $$$!
...UltraDyne made some great rollers...
Harold offered some really incredible stuff at UD, but could those grinds ever eat up valve train components! His stuff would always seem to make a couple extra horsepower, but it was notorious for breaking stuff. No question Harold could wring the last nth of power out of a combination, though. Did you ever run any of Mike Jones' stuff? Steve Lowe, up at LSM makes some really good stuff, as well. Neither one makes baby chick stuff (cheap, cheap, cheap), but they both know how to make power.Got that right Mike! They'd pound the crap outta the springs and lifters lifting AND coming off the ramp so hard! Even ran the lower spring set with the bar between the lip of the head and the lifter....no help there. and with their stuff, it was mandatory to use stud girdles and Jomar Bars. It it wasn't good quality stuff, you were left picking up the pieces.
Yea, made power but they'd kill ya on looking for broken stuff all the time....
Yea, used to buy the cams and get new billets all the time. Those cores are like gold now! If you don't have a core to rework, they're gonna hurt your feelings on those $$$!
Screaming Metal
Active Member
Yea, Mikes stuff is kick ass....I heard Steves was too....
Screaming Metal
Active Member
Oh, before I forget, I LOVE Mikes Roller lifters. Good stuff.
Funny thing is, everybody wants to run rollers on the street, because we've run them on the track since way back when. Yes, they're low friction, and all the street folks bitch about price. Where else can you buy a bump stick and lifters, and run the same cam in 3 or 4 diff. motors. They'd run indefinitely on a med. lift (.550) street setup, no matter how many years you'd run it.
Well, thats not counting having a new profile ground trying something new or having new pins and rollers put in every so often.
Cough up all the $$$ for having to get those 3 or 4 cams, then those lifters, and all the crap they shed off into the oil. Oh, don't get me wrong, theres good coating for the cams and lifters now....much rather have the wheel on the bottom of that lifter.
Competition Cams have some great lifters and roller rockers. I better shut my pie hole before I get slapped....
Funny thing is, everybody wants to run rollers on the street, because we've run them on the track since way back when. Yes, they're low friction, and all the street folks bitch about price. Where else can you buy a bump stick and lifters, and run the same cam in 3 or 4 diff. motors. They'd run indefinitely on a med. lift (.550) street setup, no matter how many years you'd run it.
Well, thats not counting having a new profile ground trying something new or having new pins and rollers put in every so often.
Cough up all the $$$ for having to get those 3 or 4 cams, then those lifters, and all the crap they shed off into the oil. Oh, don't get me wrong, theres good coating for the cams and lifters now....much rather have the wheel on the bottom of that lifter.
Competition Cams have some great lifters and roller rockers. I better shut my pie hole before I get slapped....
Lee_in_KC
Active Member
Corrected to what I think he meant.
donsrods
Member
I run roller cams whenever I can for the main purpose of getting away from lobe failure with flat tappet cams. Some say the lack of zinc in today's oils are causing the problem, but I suspect there is something else going on, like inferior metal in the cams. Even with zinc additives more lobes are rounding off today than I have ever seen in the past, even when the cam is broken in properly.
Asking a person what cam brand they like best is like asking if you prefer blondes, brunettes, or redheads..............everyone has their own preferences for personal reasons. I do like Comp Cam products, but in my Ford Motors I like Ford Racing roller cams. I also like redheads.
Don
Asking a person what cam brand they like best is like asking if you prefer blondes, brunettes, or redheads..............everyone has their own preferences for personal reasons. I do like Comp Cam products, but in my Ford Motors I like Ford Racing roller cams. I also like redheads.
Don
Chief-T
Member
I run roller cams whenever I can for the main purpose of getting away from lobe failure with flat tappet cams. Some say the lack of zinc in today's oils are causing the problem, but I suspect there is something else going on, like inferior metal in the cams. Even with zinc additives more lobes are rounding off today than I have ever seen in the past, even when the cam is broken in properly.
Asking a person what cam brand they like best is like asking if you prefer blondes, brunettes, or redheads..............everyone has their own preferences for personal reasons. I do like Comp Cam products, but in my Ford Motors I like Ford Racing roller cams. I also like redheads.
Don
I've been married to a redhead, a brunette (read crow wing black) and a blonde. The blonde is the keeper. I also prefer Lunati cams.
Screaming Metal
Active Member
Well, its like t
I've seen hellacious pit fights just because they 'thought' someone said something about them. SERIOUSLY!!!!!! ASK MIKE!!!!!!!
I'm not supposed to endorse certain folks and say certain things....I have signed contracts as to such. Remember someone endorsed a certain softdrink, then later on that person was seen drinking 'X' brand? Same sorta thing.
I'm on the hook about what I say about certain MFG'ers, some of them probably would not mind, but you'd be suprised how some of these racing folks are.
I've seen hellacious pit fights just because they 'thought' someone said something about them. SERIOUSLY!!!!!! ASK MIKE!!!!!!!
I'm not supposed to endorse certain folks and say certain things....I have signed contracts as to such. Remember someone endorsed a certain softdrink, then later on that person was seen drinking 'X' brand? Same sorta thing.
Screaming Metal
Active Member
Thank you 409T! Did I have a 'i' in there????? Dam windows7 is gonna be the death of me yet. You'd think they would be made accountable, make one work the way its supposed to before releasing windows8.
Helping with ba's zz4 post, I had wrote stuff down about 5 times only to have my whole post disappear about that last line....
Sorry folks....
Anyone here remember the Crower Monarch Cam from the 60s? I still remember the specs for some reason. 310 duration .490 lift. 1966 I had one in my 55 Chevy 327, dual quad cross ram with c series AFBs, 11:1 pop ups . that thing was a screamer. ohhhh the memories.
Russ
Russ
Screaming Metal
Active Member
How that would be right at home in your T! Was it a solid lifter?
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