Cams for otherwise Stock 5.9 Magnums?

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Cuda416

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Looking to add a little "snap" to an otherwise stock magnum in a 65 Valiant. Stock meaning , nothing done to the bottom end, magnum exhaust manifolds, stock converter in front of a 904. For now, the car is the original 7-1/4 RE, but we'll be changing it to an 8.8 with either 3.55 or 3.73 gears. It's a low buck build so I'm looking at regrinds and have contacted Oregon cams to see what they have.

I'd be happy taking someone's old roller off their hands if need available. I'm mostly looking for advice so I didn't put a "wanted" ad out.
 
With the stock converter and manifolds I think your on the right track to talk to a custom cam grinder.

What intake?
 
With the stock converter and manifolds I think your on the right track to talk to a custom cam grinder.

What intake?

it's the air gap "copy" from speedmaster.

1-147-028-jpg.jpg
 
there is another thread on this with some good info.

topic is 380HP crate engine related
 
there is another thread on this with some good info.

topic is 380HP crate engine related

Alright, I'll go look. I tried to find info but it was all 318 roller related or cams being sold.
 
The stock 5.2L magnum cam is actually an upgrade compared to the stock 5.9L. For a little extra pep without changing the cam, you could go to 1.7 rr's. Made a noticeable difference on my 5.2L in my Dakota. The original R/T cam from mopar is a nice mild upgrade also 260/264 adv. 204/208 .050 .458/.467 lift. It's a 114 LSA, but that could be narrowed up for a carb application. It's a crane grind under their truckmax line
 
Is the "R/T" cam different from a standard 5.9 cam?
 
Ive got a comp grind in the wifes aspen. Almost identical setup, 3.73 8.8, air gap clone, sbe 5.9. Hers has mild porting on the heads, 1-5/8 headers, 750dp carb. Specs are 218/224@ .050, .528/.536 w/ 1.6 rocker, 110 lsa. Pretty happy with it thus far.
 
Is the "R/T" cam different from a standard 5.9 cam?
If it's from an R/T truck, I'm pretty sure they're the same as all other 5.9s. The only difference was some computer programming for that extra 5 or 10 horsepower, whatever it was they made over the base 5.9s.
 
This is what I have for the stock 5.2 and 5.9 cams.

I was not aware that there was any modification to the Dakota R/T 5.9, or a difference in rated HP.

5.2 Magnum Hydraulic Roller 432/432 251/264 113CL
5.9 Magnum Hydraulic Roller 410/417 249/269 109CL

This is what I have for the 380HP crate cam

MP 380 crate cam 501/513 288/292 230/234@.050

I'm going to try this long snout Lunati-

480020200714-60710 485/485(517) 258/264 207/213@.050 112

The 517 number is recalculating for 1.6 rockers.
More lift and less duration than the MP 380HP cam.
 
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Ive got a comp grind in the wifes aspen. Almost identical setup, 3.73 8.8, air gap clone, sbe 5.9. Hers has mild porting on the heads, 1-5/8 headers, 750dp carb. Specs are 218/224@ .050, .528/.536 w/ 1.6 rocker, 110 lsa. Pretty happy with it thus far.
That's the cam Oregon Ken recommended for me. It comes in 2 lifts. The 528/536 like yours (1364 grind#) and also 481/481 (1341 grind #). His comments are XR270 on the 1364 so I assume similar to that Comp Cam. What pistons, springs and heads are you using?

Edit: I think @TrailBeast runs that grind as well.
 
That's the cam Oregon Ken recommended for me. It comes in 2 lifts. The 528/536 like yours (1364 grind#) and also 481/481 (1341 grind #). His comments are XR270 on the 1364 so I assume similar to that Comp Cam. What pistons, springs and heads are you using?

Home ported magnum heads, stock bottom end, ls2/ls6 behive springs
 
Ive got a comp grind in the wifes aspen. Almost identical setup, 3.73 8.8, air gap clone, sbe 5.9. Hers has mild porting on the heads, 1-5/8 headers, 750dp carb. Specs are 218/224@ .050, .528/.536 w/ 1.6 rocker, 110 lsa. Pretty happy with it thus far.
Excellent combo. This is the kind of cam specs I’d recommend as a safe maximum with a stock converter.
 
The stock 5.9L cam had very low lift at .398 if memory serves.

This is what I have for the stock 5.2 and 5.9 cams....

5.9 Magnum Hydraulic Roller 410/417 249/269 109CL

The measured lift on the 5.9 is more than either of those numbers.

Here is a thread where someone cam doctored a 1998 5.9 cam. His cam specs:

Duration @ .050 IN:189 EX:194
Valve lift with 1.6 Rockers IN:.439 EX:448
The lobe centerline IN:106.5 EX:114.5
Lobe separation and its 110.6

The numbers I got from Bullet when they cam doctored my used 2002 5.9 cam before regrinding it:

Duration @ 0.050: I/E 189*/194*
Lift @ cam: I/E 0.273"/0.278"
Valve lift w/ 1.6 rockers: I/E 0.437”/0.445”
Lobe separation angle: 111*
 
LA 318 or 360 hydraulic roller cams works well, being it gives a little extra lift and .050 duration with the increased magnum rocker ratio. But Ken at Oregon has some really nice grinds. I've checked for a friend doing a 5.9 magnum swap into a 4X4 who is going to order one once he sees how much lift his reman heads are good for. But I don't think you'll get a better cam for the price of getting the stock one reground. Even more so for a car with a stock converter.
 
410/417 divided by 1.5 then multiplied by 1.6 gets close to those measured numbers.

Maybe that's what's going on.
 
It amazes me with ma mopar, that they can never seem to give an accurate number for their cam specs. My 5.2L cam was no where near the printed specs I could find. Mine measured out to 244/256 183/195 .411/.431. The printed specs I found was 250/264 .431/.431. So the #'s DionR has doesn't surprise me in the least.
 
It amazes me with ma mopar, that they can never seem to give an accurate number for their cam specs. My 5.2L cam was no where near the printed specs I could find. Mine measured out to 244/256 183/195 .411/.431. The printed specs I found was 250/264 .431/.431. So the #'s DionR has doesn't surprise me in the least.
Probably because the spec’d, specs for the cam as the engineers designed it, what costs will allow it & the quality control of the grinder produce are 3 different things. Also how there measured on what machine.
 
If you read some of the threads over at RamCharger central, several users say that the stock magnum cam specs vary widely according to how a vehicle was outfitted and what level of emissions control class it fell into. I think there are over 12 5.2 cams they've identified with less than .400 lift. Good core for a $159 or so regrind, but useless for any performance usage.
 
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Finding those specs wasn't particularly easy.
 
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A stock Dakota RT with the 5.9 made 250 hp. The difference in hp was do to it having a bigger exhaust. The motor is the same as any other 5.9 production motor.
 
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