Just another cam pick question.

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doogievlg

doogievlg

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I have been thinking about swapping out the cam in my small block recently.

The motor is a 360 bored .30 over
Speed pro flat tops
Eddie aluminum heads
Eddie performer rpm intake
Holley 750 dp

Currently I have the older mopar .484 lift purple cam in the car. I love the sound and I am fairly happy with the performance of the car but I have been wondering if this is the weak point of my motor. If it is what would be a better cam for my motor. It goes to the track 5-10 times a year and I am running 3:55 gears at the moment but plan on going up closer to 4:11.
 
Swap gears first. Report back! ;)

There is allways a better cam. Are your heads ported and have they been flow tested? If so, are the numbers available?
What is the goal? More power? Where in the rpm range/band do you want it?
Quick ramps make more power.
Don't allways beileve the hype on a "Our Bla bla cams take advantage of the 904 lifter" crap because few companies do.
And by the time you actually instal and drive one, you may not like it.

When it comes to selecting cams, the first thing you gotta know is what the operating rpm band is OR where your cruise rpm is. With that "Known" you have your duration. It is an adjustable number based on what your doing with the car. Mostly a cruiser? Back the suration down a bit.

Now, the heads, where does the head stall in terms of its flow?
.500, .550?
On a street ride, select lift on the heads Max flow. On a more strip ride, exceeding the max lift is sometimes done. Not what I normaly recomend. But as long as you have V to P clearance and a good valve spring, your good to go.

That rhythmic sound is how the cam is set up. That "Muscle car sound" is normaly generated by a cam listed on a 110. Going down adds to the "Chop" and going up smooths it out.

Now gonlook at cams. Let us know what your looking at.
From here on out it is gong to be mostly opinions and guess' based on smarts or lack there off.
 
I didn't have a chance to get the heads flow tested. We did a little work on the ports just to clean them up. The main thing for me is my et. I only had the chance to make a few passes with the new engine set up and my best was a 13.4 at 98 but it was stuttering big time at the top end. I fixed the stuttering problem and believe the car is capable of a low 13 run now. I'm really trying to get into the twelves buy that can be achieved through a better stall converter then the cheap jegs 3000 stall that's in it now.

I'm trying not to get off point here though because I know the other things that need to be addressed with my car I was just curious if the cam seemed like a bad choice to anyone. I seem to remember guys sayying they saw a good improvement once they ditched the purple cam. I'll try to find some time to dig around for the power range of the cam on my lunch.
 
I hear Ya. With the 4.10 gears, I myself would look at a cam in the 244*-248* @ .050.

Try the gears first and find your launch rpm. Monitor the 60ft. times and get'em Asia as possible. Hooking up and getting it off the line is the first order of biz and where you'll see the most gain.
 
I would suggest first you concentrate on the rest of the car. Swap the gears & debug the suspension issues that the change may bring out. Then start looking at more power, and with that, a new good convertor. For a start - if it wasn't - try degreeing that cam. MP quality control sucks and it's more than possible that it's not in where it should be, nor in where you might want to run it as the two may not be the same thing.
 
The 484 cam is darn good and in that set up should be in the mid high 100's for MPH. 110 mph isn't out of the question. If it's the 114lsa model, barf... Depending on static compression, the 108LSA install it at 100-102 instead of 108 recommended and it will have a bunch more low end grunt.

Ignition timing, better converter, carb squirters/cams, tires, degree cam are all places I'd look before changing camshafts.
 
crackedback said:
The 484 cam is darn good and in that set up should be in the mid high 100's for MPH. 110 mph isn't out of the question. If it's the 114lsa model, barf... Depending on static compression, the 108LSA install it at 100-102 instead of 108 recommended and it will have a bunch more low end grunt.

Ignition timing, better converter, carb squirters/cams, tires, degree cam are all places I'd look before changing camshafts.
Click to expand...

barf. LOL
 
crackedback said:
The 484 cam is darn good and in that set up should be in the mid high 100's for MPH. 110 mph isn't out of the question. If it's the 114lsa model, barf... Depending on static compression, the 108LSA install it at 100-102 instead of 108 recommended and it will have a bunch more low end grunt.

Ignition timing, better converter, carb squirters/cams, tires, degree cam are all places I'd look before changing camshafts.
Click to expand...

Total is 32 or 34. Can't remember honestly. Tires are hoosier qtp, the carb was handed down to me so I'll ask the guy what the specs are on it. I believe gears and a converter will be the best improvement but you think this cam is a good choice for my set up?

Honestly for about the last six months I have been neglecting the dart. Other things in my life have taken priority over my budget. Now it's getting cold and I just pulled the motor out of my dad's mustang so the addiction to turning wrenches is coming back. I plan on saving up and getting a converter built and figured if I transmission out I might as well take out the motor and my cam is the only component that I kept during my last rebuild.

If the general opinion is to stick with the cam and focus on other aspects then I'll do just that. No sense in blowing money on something that Is a good fit.
 
doogievlg said:
My sixty times were 1.9 something. The car hooked pretty well.
Click to expand...

I'd check the cam timing before you change it. With 4.11s i think you should have a mid 12s pacakge with it. Assuming it's in right and not the "cutsie" (114°)version.
 
I wrote everything down during the build in one of my notebooks. It's back at the shop so I'll run back on Christmas and dig it out.
 
cracked and moper hit the nail head. The cam isn't the worst thing in the world. The cam has been known to produce 400+ HP. I've seen 460HP in a well prep'd engine with bowl ported heads. With the 4.10's, you should be able to move quite well.

look to lower the 1.9 60 footer time. 3.55's are holding that back. If you can live with the 4.10's, your good to go. I love that gear. It's been in my '73 Cuda 4spd for over 20 years. I'll go anywhere with them. Of course, it may take a little longer to do, but thats OK.
 
rumblefish360 said:
cracked and moper hit the nail head. The cam isn't the worst thing in the world. The cam has been known to produce 400+ HP. I've seen 460HP in a well prep'd engine with bowl ported heads. With the 4.10's, you should be able to move quite well.

look to lower the 1.9 60 footer time. 3.55's are holding that back. If you can live with the 4.10's, your good to go. I love that gear. It's been in my '73 Cuda 4spd for over 20 years. I'll go anywhere with them. Of course, it may take a little longer to do, but thats OK.
Click to expand...

I can handle the 4.10's. I drive the car a lot but typically just around back roads where the max speed is 55. Maybe I'll give myself one more Christmas present :)
 
Total timing is only part of the ignition timing picture.

With a 484 camshaft, IMO, the engine likely needs in excess of 18* initial/idle timing. If it's not there, it's not running well at idle which causes stacking issues for fuel metering throughout the lower end.

More initial will help low end grunt too.
 
If it idles pretty rough, it's the 108.
 
have you considered going solid lifter cam? i think this cam would work really well in your car! Howards cam CL710862-08DL comes with howards direct lube lifters. link to camshaft
 
My build is very similar to yours but I'm running a Lunati cam..those purple cams are old and outdated there is much better cams out there..
 
moturbopar said:
have you considered going solid lifter cam? i think this cam would work really well in your car! Howards cam CL710862-08DL comes with howards direct lube lifters. link to camshaft
Click to expand...

I went from a hydraulic cam to a solid cam as well. But I went to a solid roller cam, that may be a bit out of the budget though lol.
 
purple cams are old design hughes engines has a cam for you. Gear change and tuning mid 12s or better no problem.
 
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