Maximum rpm for SB

mean318 said

Okay now I got to tell you all that my little 318 that has been running for the last ten years has regularly seen 6500 rpm and on a few occasions over 7000. it has gasket matched heads with bowl work, 280 dur .480 lift comp cams cam w/springs, hypereutic pistons, ballanced and she still runs great, this winter I will be tearing her down for the first time to see what the damage is.

Click to expand...

I dont quite understand why? I'm running the exact same cam in my 318 and it runs out of steam at about 5,700rpm. I have 2.02 J-heads. I see no reason for you to twist it up to 6500/7000, thats great it can. but i doubt you are making more power than around 5,800rpm...thats just the characteristics of a cam with those specs. So why twist it so high? i bet your power is dipping, ever run it down the 1/4 or on a dyno? i bet you'll see better results around ~5,700rpm as a redline/shiftpoint. just my .02cents.

You don't have a cam to support and make power at that high of rpm. And with what sounds like very basic head work, I doubt you have the heads that are made to flow decently at that rpm. Just because it will rev higher, doesnt mean its best to :scratch: