I think many don't want to go two sizes smaller unless they have to. I think many, including me, are looking for the best balance of power and driveability. If my engine is down 5-10hp, but it is better on the street, I'll take it.
The thing is, as you well know, there's a LOT more to just the camshaft for maximum power. I don't care how you build one, power is always left on the table. It makes no sense to me why people pull their hair out trying to choose one.
And that is a very realistic approach.
I think most guys build what they can afford. Although there are a few on here I'll call "very blessed" and good for them. I like seeing those type projects. Those with all of the aftermarket suspensions, big inch small blocks, big blocks and hemis. That's good stuff and I'm honored they share it. Even broke guys like me might pick up a thing or two we can use or do on our junk. I'll never be able to afford a real classy build and that's ok. But I can tune what I have to run its best so that's what I do. I like to have fun. Pulling my hair out over which camshaft makes more power isn't my idea of fun.
But you can tune a piss poor combination to run pretty good. We proved that through the 70s and 80s with stock low compression engines that were way overcammed. Some of them ran pretty darn good.
Horsepower is what moves, accelerates, tows, drive at speed, pull away from light etc.. your car, And hp is made from a combination of torque and rpm.
They're balancing a ton of factors. Drivability, emissions, fuel consumption, 300k miles durability expectations, on and on. These are actual inputs to design.
That's nonsense, like saying watts aren't real it's just amperage alone that moves your speakers, just cause a dyno can't measure it directly, you know how many things in the universe we can't measure directly?
Yes
Along with rpms which combined we call hp.
On the dyno that's everyone's argument, hp is basically meaningless cause there's no direct measurement.
I just told you how it can be directly measured. Go check your toilet.
I would run what You have, run valvesprings that can accommodate .625" lift, get this package optimized 1st... I think it will be very close to what You're looking for.
Power is real, that's a false statement you can say hp standard is kind of made up, it's very loosely based off what a horse can do, but that don't matter we don't use the number to compare what horses vs engines can do but what amount of work an engine can do. Power is real and we use hp as the measurement, you can use different types of power measurements if you like, but all convert to one another.
Torque and rpm combined is what moves and accelerates your car but we need someway to rate that combined effort which is power and here we use hp to do that can use watts or some other power rating if you like.
