How did you learn,to tame big cams on the street?....

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Abodybomber

Abodybomber

Breaking street machines , since 1983.....:)
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Someone posted a first timer's cam ,recommendation thread. I didn't really agree,with some of the posts(you decide). I threw the biggest cam(Crane/Summit hydraulic 238/248 @ .050,.540 lift) in my 396 . Idled awful,fouled plugs. Was a smog tech at the time. It kicked my ***. Someone threw me Rhoades lifters,showed me how to curve a distibutor. Damn,it became a pussycat! Big ramps can work. Share yours.
 
I run vintage Rhodes lifters in my 340 and they work awesome....I have a Isky .505 lift cam (have to check the other specs lol) :prayer:
 
I think the key is in the timing. That's the biggest factor that made all of mine doable. It always ended up that when I THOUGHT I had enough timing in it, I never did. Once I got it straightened out, all was well.
 
txstang84 said:
Geez bomber, just come out and say it-my recommendations suck lol
Click to expand...

He did. lol

Well hell, I made a kick *** recommendation on that "other" thread and it got totally ignored. lol
 
Comedy, awesome,! Lol.Seriously ,as a 22 year old,never dealt with this before.,look at it as a learning experience ,for others.(lol!). Serious,here(sorta).
 
Ok. Yall be serious then. I've had a lifetime way too full of that. ;)
 
RustyRatRod said:
I think the key is in the timing. That's the biggest factor that made all of mine doable. It always ended up that when I THOUGHT I had enough timing in it, I never did. Once I got it straightened out, all was well.
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That and not "over" camming the thing in the first place

I think a LOT of us tried to run too much advance curve and not enough initial. "Back when" I ran a dual point, I ran for quite awhile with NO springs, the points would "drag" the advance back to start. But it still had a "factory" (HP hemi tach drive) curve, so it was still to long to allow enough initial advance.
 
Other side of the coin,and I saw no copyright's . I'm a enterprising fellow.
 
Abodybomber said:
Other side of the coin,and I saw no copyright's . I'm a enterprising fellow.
Click to expand...

I'm claiming a 'violation'.

Much like Khloe Kardashian claiming she's attractive, and thin.

th
 
See Tim, this is where those that have some better ideas of how to get stuff to work can run things that are way outside the realm of most when it comes to streetable combinations.

Like, putting a 292/508 cam in an 8:1 360 engine that most everyone says it won't work and having it run real strong.

Ignition timing adjustments is one of the best at calming the beast... :)
 
RustyRatRod said:
I think the key is in the timing. That's the biggest factor that made all of mine doable. It always ended up that when I THOUGHT I had enough timing in it, I never did. Once I got it straightened out, all was well.
Click to expand...

I know what you mean there. Still trying to get the timing set on my 318 soon as I get a yoke I will finish tuning it.
 
I wouldn't consider a 238/248 to be a particularly big cam for a 396.
with the right tuning I'd 100% expect it to be decent around town.

I'm in the process of swapping a 254/254 on 108 solid into my 318 for a drag meet in december.

I expect it will be on the ragged edge of streetable, but it cost me nearly nothing and it's temporary.
 
High bleed lifters: Rhoads or Crane Max velocity? (clones)
 
Cool thread here. In my early days (early/mid 70's) i grew up with guys that cammed their street cars like race cars. Pump gas still allowed big compression in those days and however it idled and cruised was part of doing business. Many of the "hot" cars idled at 1200+ rpms...and who cared.

I understand how things over the years have changed. Our own "Crackedback" has taught me about pushing the envelope as far as timing is concerned. I still think that any street car even with today's pump fuel that needs 20+ initial timing is over cammed, or under compressioned, and lacking serious doable cylinder pressure. A lower compression, big cam, big breather can work, i'm not disputing that, but as a hot street engine, it's just too soft imo and throwing a bunch of timing at it is just a band-aid.

I think the best case scenario to maximize your combo is to "duration/int close" your cam for whatever static compression your running vs pump gas, and use the proper lift for your cylinder head breathing. Could end up being a shorter duration/high lift deal? With all the many off the shelf grinds available today, they may get you there. If not, a custom grind is not out of the question as far as pricing these days.

Maybe the large cam/big timing way is better on the street these days? I'm just going on my older experience. And i'm always willing to learn new ways of doing things.:thumbrig:
 
I saw quite a few 'Twist & Wild' Camshafts get their lobes 'wiped' out by street driving,
and many were unable to start their cars when the Engine's were hot.

But a 'good' Timing and Ignition 'man' can do wonders with an Engine with a
'Wild Cam' nowadays.

Back-in-the-Day, General Casting developed a 'dial-in' Distributor Adjuster, that
was designed for 'wild' Street Machines.
 
So, I don't understand. Are you trying to say high initial timing is some kinda "new fangled" thing? You mean yall couldn't figure that out back then? I got a timing light from the 60s, so I know they were around. Did you and all your guys just not know how to use um or what?
 
OldmanRick said:
Cool thread here. In my early days (early/mid 70's) i grew up with guys that cammed their street cars like race cars. Pump gas still allowed big compression in those days and however it idled and cruised was part of doing business. Many of the "hot" cars idled at 1200+ rpms...and who cared.

I understand how things over the years have changed. Our own "Crackedback" has taught me about pushing the envelope as far as timing is concerned. I still think that any street car even with today's pump fuel that needs 20+ initial timing is over cammed, or under compressioned, and lacking serious doable cylinder pressure. A lower compression, big cam, big breather can work, i'm not disputing that, but as a hot street engine, it's just too soft imo and throwing a bunch of timing at it is just a band-aid.

I think the best case scenario to maximize your combo is to "duration/int close" your cam for whatever static compression your running vs pump gas, and use the proper lift for your cylinder head breathing. Could end up being a shorter duration/high lift deal? With all the many off the shelf grinds available today, they may get you there. If not, a custom grind is not out of the question as far as pricing these days.

Maybe the large cam/big timing way is better on the street these days? I'm just going on my older experience. And i'm always willing to learn new ways of doing things.:thumbrig:
Click to expand...

haha i dont know if you jumped in on the "max ramp" thread i posted a while back, rusty and tim will remember. but apparently dynamic compression plays no outcome on HP... LOL...

but im the same boat, you should run enough static to run the needed cam, not the other way around. if your building a motor for a drag car and you want to shift at 6 grand you can make alot of progress on everything else after the cam is decided, vs throwing an engine together, compromising between a couple cams, and making it work with timing!

this is what i learned on my slant. when i break it down for rod bolts (here comes rusty) im going to up the compression again (3rd time) to maximize my cam for DCR(about .6 of a pt more) live and learn!

and the shortest duration, highest lift cam for a given build will always be the best. had an old super stock racer tell me run minimum duration and maximum lift. now granted thats a hemi with all the flow in the world but the pt still stands.
 
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