V10 MOJO
Enthusiast
How far can I take the cam upgrade before i lose daily drivability? I want as much as is possible so as to get as much performance as possible but I want no detriment to daily drivability or reliability
Cam Upgrade; how aggressive
- Thread starter V10 MOJO
- Start date
TomMiriViper
Enthusiast
You should be able to do a cam upgrade without loosing street ability. There are a lot of cars that are cammed that are daily drivers, you just need to determine what you needs are. I wouldn't go too big.
Torquemonster
Enthusiast
Any of the top tuners can talk you thru their cam options.
The main limiting factor is the factory uses hydraulic roller liftrs. Those will always have a limit as to safe rpms and ramp of cam.
a solid roller cam could make huge gains while being very streetable - but you'll have regular valvetrain adjustment re lash clearances. A solid roller is great for a weekend warrior but overkill for a daily driver.
I would not think about going to a solid until I was prepared to go the whole 9 yards. There's a 0.577" lift factory cam that is very popular in upgrades - any tuner will know it.
The main limiting factor is the factory uses hydraulic roller liftrs. Those will always have a limit as to safe rpms and ramp of cam.
a solid roller cam could make huge gains while being very streetable - but you'll have regular valvetrain adjustment re lash clearances. A solid roller is great for a weekend warrior but overkill for a daily driver.
I would not think about going to a solid until I was prepared to go the whole 9 yards. There's a 0.577" lift factory cam that is very popular in upgrades - any tuner will know it.
MOJO, good luck on getting any specific answers as far as grinds go. It seems cam specs are deemed "top secret" and most are not willing to share them.
Once you decide on who you will be getting a can from, tell them exactly what you just posted and they will hook you up.
Once you decide on who you will be getting a can from, tell them exactly what you just posted and they will hook you up.
Martin D
Enthusiast
If you want the badest *** sounding cam that will give awesome performance, call John Hennnesssey and tell him you want the same cam I had in my 650R. Ask anyone who heard the car.... It was AWESOME. As for driveability, I had 55k miles on my car when I did the stroker and went with a Solid Roller cam. I had NO complaints. Bottom end was fine, and top end was incredible...the car was at peak HP from 5500 till it hit the limiter.
If I can help you broker a deal with John, let me know. But that cam was the ****.
Regards,
If I can help you broker a deal with John, let me know. But that cam was the ****.
Regards,
Vipermed 97.01
Enthusiast
cams are no well kept secret as a cam needs to be spect to the build and the customers needs.If you want to get the best out of your cam without loosing drivability in first and second here is some basic #s These are also good blower cams as you want to stay mild on the overlap(duration)[email protected]"222/230......Lobe lift .352/.366 your Adv.lift would be .561/.580....Adv duration 272/282 this is with a 114 degree centerline.Or you can go crazy and say the heLl with 1st and second gear as "BIGBADCJ"did.Duration@ .050" 240/246 deg.......Lobe lift .360/.359....Adv lift .612/.610......Adv duration 304/314 deg. with a 110 degree centerline 
ACR Joe
Enthusiast
Do any/all of the above recommendations assume the use of stock heads, intake rummers, exhaust maniolds, etc.? Optimum gains would be realized in conjunction with a performance package containing at least a cam and heads.
Vipermed 97.01
Enthusiast
I would just assume that this was being done in conjunction w/heads ect .this would be the highly recommended to get the full benefits of a more aggressive cam,otherwise short of 00 and up the factory cam is just fine
Torquemonster
Enthusiast
To me - the cut off point between hydraulic roller and solid would be around 0.600" lift and 300 degrees advertised duration on the hydraulic.
You can assess the cam ramp by looking at the difference between duration at 0.050" and the advertised duration. This difference is referred to as "cam intensity". The shorter the number the better for power everywhere - but the more spring pressure needed to keep the valves from bouncing.
The cam specs listed above were hydraulic roller grinds that have an intensity ranging from 50 degrees right up to 68 degrees.
A good roller will easily tolerate an intensity in the lower 30 degrees or better. That means you can run 250 degrees at 0.050" and still only have an advertised duration in the very low 280's. Despite all the claims - trust me on this - I would NOT use Mobil One on that cam - go Royal Purple, Oil Extreme, or Redline, or a dinosaur performance mineral oil if you want to lose some hp. Mobil One lacks the film strength for fast ramps - I've seen engines wrecked trying it. Mobil One will however work great on the hydraulic roller cams.
Translated - that means in very simply terms - you'd get the power a cam at 250 degrees @ 0.050" can make with the driveability of a low 280's advertised duration cam = best of both worlds. That cam would like headers, head work, throttle bodies, tight quench and gears. It'll be driveable on stock gears, but not as good as stock from idle to 3000rpm (what do you expect - miracles?) - from then on it will rip your arms off.
Tighter lobe centers make more power, wider ones drop the power curve and flatten it but reduce overlap so provide more vacuum at idle etc. 108 degrees is the best average max power centerline but will have reversion at low speeds - which is why most compromise at 110 to 112 degrees. Anything more than 112 degrees is killing performance too much, you'd be better off going smaller and tighter.
As a side note - anything more than 230 degrees @ 0.050" should have headers and head work to get the benefit, and before you get to solid cams you'll need bigger throttle bodies. Putting in a big cam without exhaust and good heads is like wearing a tie and silk shirt with your swim trunks...
You can assess the cam ramp by looking at the difference between duration at 0.050" and the advertised duration. This difference is referred to as "cam intensity". The shorter the number the better for power everywhere - but the more spring pressure needed to keep the valves from bouncing.
The cam specs listed above were hydraulic roller grinds that have an intensity ranging from 50 degrees right up to 68 degrees.
A good roller will easily tolerate an intensity in the lower 30 degrees or better. That means you can run 250 degrees at 0.050" and still only have an advertised duration in the very low 280's. Despite all the claims - trust me on this - I would NOT use Mobil One on that cam - go Royal Purple, Oil Extreme, or Redline, or a dinosaur performance mineral oil if you want to lose some hp. Mobil One lacks the film strength for fast ramps - I've seen engines wrecked trying it. Mobil One will however work great on the hydraulic roller cams.
Translated - that means in very simply terms - you'd get the power a cam at 250 degrees @ 0.050" can make with the driveability of a low 280's advertised duration cam = best of both worlds. That cam would like headers, head work, throttle bodies, tight quench and gears. It'll be driveable on stock gears, but not as good as stock from idle to 3000rpm (what do you expect - miracles?) - from then on it will rip your arms off.
Tighter lobe centers make more power, wider ones drop the power curve and flatten it but reduce overlap so provide more vacuum at idle etc. 108 degrees is the best average max power centerline but will have reversion at low speeds - which is why most compromise at 110 to 112 degrees. Anything more than 112 degrees is killing performance too much, you'd be better off going smaller and tighter.
As a side note - anything more than 230 degrees @ 0.050" should have headers and head work to get the benefit, and before you get to solid cams you'll need bigger throttle bodies. Putting in a big cam without exhaust and good heads is like wearing a tie and silk shirt with your swim trunks...
