Cam question 5.0l 302 cid

[danwaters]

So I have the 5.0 in my 97 explorer. I have a set of GT-40x turbo swirl heads and am looking at the Torque Moster headers but have heard in the desert application they fry plug wires...my real question is what is a good mild cam set up that some of you guys would recomend.

The truck is a faster pace so cal desert truck...no crawling or anything. Its spends most of its time reving over 3k. All I have done so far is full custom exaust headers back with an intake and a programmer. I also will be getting a chromoly roller rocker kit for my heads. I am looking a a good mix of torque and HP while still using the stock upper intake manifold. I havent found anyone who makes a Throttle body for it yet.

 

[Dan Whitaker]

I suggest talking to Comp Cams for a custom ground cam. An off the shelf is not going to work your application.

Make sure you stay away from any of the Ford letter cams.

 

[danwaters]

I suggest talking to Comp Cams for a custom ground cam. An off the shelf is not going to work your application.

Make sure you stay away from any of the Ford letter cams.

Note taken...anyone else have a suggest based on experience...?

 

[CDW6212R]

Do a custom cam definitely, that extra $100 or so is big power for the cost. Skip the big name companies, they will try hard to sell you an off the shelf cam.

There are several great Ford cam designers, I suggest Camshaft Innovations. He will suggest that you junk whatever springs are on those heads. A custom cam is great for anything, but matching it with specific springs they recommend is also worth good power.

If you go up to roller rockers, have the heads cut for studs, and use Comp Gold rockers. Those are the current standard, about $290, shown below.

 

[Turdle]

I suggest talking to Comp Cams for a custom ground cam. An off the shelf is not going to work your application.

Make sure you stay away from any of the Ford letter cams.

Do a custom cam definitely, that extra $100 or so is big power for the cost. Skip the big name companies, they will try hard to sell you an off the shelf cam.

There are several great Ford cam designers, I suggest Camshaft Innovations. He will suggest that you junk whatever springs are on those heads. A custom cam is great for anything, but matching it with specific springs they recommend is also worth good power.

If you go up to roller rockers, have the heads cut for studs, and use Comp Gold rockers. Those are the current standard, about $290, shown below.

Why would you say that? Do you have experience, or are you going by what you have read?

 

[CDW6212R]

I trust the people that I have learned from, they are experts with tons of experience. I have learned who the experts are, and I know how to tell the difference between truth and myths. That is valuable knowledge, and I try to share it.

Trust me, contact the experts and ask them. Jay at CI will teach you more in one conversation that you have ever read before. Night,

 

[Dan Whitaker]

Why would you say that? Do you have experience, or are you going by what you have read?

Look at some of the tuning issues you had running the letter cam and the low end torque issues. It's designed for Rustangs. Since the OP is looking at a desert truck why scrimp on an off the shelf cam?

 

[techieman33]

Look at some of the tuning issues you had running the letter cam and the low end torque issues. It's designed for Rustangs. Since the OP is looking at a desert truck why scrimp on an off the shelf cam?

Most mustang guys won't even suggest a letter cam anymore.

 

[Turdle]

Look at some of the tuning issues you had running the letter cam and the low end torque issues. It's designed for Rustangs. Since the OP is looking at a desert truck why scrimp on an off the shelf cam?

Any cam will create tuning issues, if you also install the supporting Maf -fuel pump and injectors. Duh

Most mustang guys won't even suggest a letter cam anymore.

If I remember right, he's building a truck.

To the OP

I'd get some advice from people who actually live with a camshaft choice. I am not saying to choose a FMS letter cam, but do look for good advice. Not " what I heard" advice.

I would do as Don suggested and talk with a few camshaft experts. They are all human, and will have their own opinions based on experience. Prepare to be confused.

 

[CDW6212R]

The expert I recommended will flat out cuss every off the shelf cam, and the fools who buy them. He does not mince words, and he has been a part of building hundreds of cams, for not stock engines, but very high performance and street vehicles.

This is not brain surgery. Every single OTS cam is a compromise piece of junk made with poor quality metal, inaccurate cam lobes, and for weaker springs than possible. No two cam lobes of an OTS cam are the same, they are not made that well.

Most serious engine failures will break a cheap SADI core cam. A billet cam almost never breaks, the cam lobes all match, and they are made for stronger springs than complete heads come with. A custom cam takes advantage of every possible attribute of the heads, the whole engine and vehicle, and springs strong enough to handle the design.

The result is much better vacuum, idle rpm, and most importantly, the rpm acceleration curve. So why skimp on a cheap $250 or so cam when for a little more money, you can have the best? If an engine cost $500 complete, sure get the junk OTS cam, but for what they do cost now, an extra $100 or so is nothing.

 

[Turdle]

The expert I recommended will flat out cuss every off the shelf cam, and the fools who buy them. He does not mince words, and he has been a part of building hundreds of cams, for not stock engines, but very high performance and street vehicles.

This is not brain surgery. Every single OTS cam is a compromise piece of junk made with poor quality metal, inaccurate cam lobes, and for weaker springs than possible. No two cam lobes of an OTS cam are the same, they are not made that well.

Most serious engine failures will break a cheap SADI core cam. A billet cam almost never breaks, the cam lobes all match, and they are made for stronger springs than complete heads come with. A custom cam takes advantage of every possible attribute of the heads, the whole engine and vehicle, and springs strong enough to handle the design.

The result is much better vacuum, idle rpm, and most importantly, the rpm acceleration curve. So why skimp on a cheap $250 or so cam when for a little more money, you can have the best? If an engine cost $500 complete, sure get the junk OTS cam, but for what they do cost now, an extra $100 or so is nothing.

Yes I am a fool.
What I cannot understand though is why My truck has the fastest NA time slip posted so far, and has been thrashed under just about all conditions. It has never failed to get me home. It also pulls the "street legal class" requirement of 17 " vacuum at idle. There are better choices yes, but chooosing a ford racing camshaft for a ford engine is by no means foolish. WTF?

 

[CDW6212R]

No insult meant, but Ford simply sucks at designing camshafts, heads in general, and maximizing what parts they do have. Those are facts unfortunately. I love Ford, but they produce a whole lot of under achieving garbage for high performance purposes.

But back to the OP, he should simply speak to an actual expert cam designer, not me or us, or listen to various cam suggestions. The big cam companies want to sell their cams, not help a person to get the most out of their car. The actual cam designers like CI are in business to maximize a specific engine for a specific vehicle. Contact them and let them work for you, that's cheap horsepower. Night,

 

[turboexplorer]

Yes I am a fool.
What I cannot understand though is why My truck has the fastest NA time slip posted so far, and has been thrashed under just about all conditions. It has never failed to get me home. It also pulls the "street legal class" requirement of 17 " vacuum at idle. There are better choices yes, but chooosing a ford racing camshaft for a ford engine is by no means foolish. WTF?

I agree with Jon on this one, yes may be better options but if you are not wanting to deal with all the opinions and just want good comfortable power than like he said you wont be that far off. In the 4X4 world 10hp isnt worth the hassle anyways. And is the fastest NA truck on the forum with the "off the shelf" cam.

 

[CDW6212R]

I still love Fords, but that does not change the fact that Ford sucks at making camshafts. Never mind the cost of a cam swap for an OTS cam, and almost the same cost for a custom cam swap. The extra power and driveability is worth it, absolutely, and it'll be a hell of a lot more than 10hp.

 

[turboexplorer]

True if you have the money and time and means. But most of us now are occupied with work and trying to stay in our jobs and things. Also I don't recall James which has some of the fastest times ever putting cams in his either, Factory Ground Cams.

 

[CDW6212R]

Please let the subject lie. It's a huge topic that most people don't get or believe until they experience the result of custom cams.

In a stock engine the stock cam is fine for the stock usage. There isn't usually enough to gain to justify for a stock application. I hope we are only talking about high performance, I'm not interested in stock talk.

Check out the thread I posted to the results of a 347 built by my cam designer. He races some, but cams and heads are his expertise. He got 694hp out of his 347, at 7500rpm. There are not many engines you can find that make 2.0hp/CI in any given application. Most of the 347's you can find will be 300-450hp engines. Those at the upper end are almost all going to have custom cams and $1400+ heads. The 300hp versions are all going to have OTS cams and small heads and intakes.

For real performance, a custom cam is cheap for the large gains of power and driveability.

As for James' SOHC, I can tell you that it does get expensive to buy 2 or 4 custom cams for one engine. That's why most SOHC and DOHC owners stick with stock cams. It's part of the extra expense of those engines. Regards,