Camshafts: What effect does increased lift have on performance?
Yeah but my point is, using "his" theory, that stock 218 needs a .700 lift cam. duhhhhh LOL
That’s not what I said.
For a mild street engine in 2025 (I know this 21st century talk scares people) I can’t think of a single reason that .550 lift shouldn’t be the standard for lift.
That’s not a bunch of lift unless it’s 1980. Then it’s a lot of lift.
The biggest issue is getting the valve gear to take more lift.
I’d be running far more than .620 lift if I had better rocker gear. And that’s on a relatively mild 340 build.
Go back and look at say a 280 lobe from 1980 and then compare that to a modern 280 lobe.
On an older lobe you’ll see at .050 numbers from about 230-240.
The lobe I’m using is 282/255.
But what if I only need say 235 at .050???
In that same family of lobes I could drop down to 262 seat to seat. That’s HUGE.
If you drop down to an .842 lobe you’ll be you’ll need 287 to get to 254 at .050.
Back to my 255 example (I think I’m 281 seat to seat) so 281/255, to get that in an .842 lobe you’ll need to be 289/254.
Which cam will idle better and be more “streetable”? The one with less seat to seat duration.
The slow lobe is .550 lift and the fast lobe is .5994 lift.
Which cam will have better manners? Which cam will drive better?
Pretty simple really. Lift is great. Fast(er) lobes make better engines.