Hughes STL5460AS-8 vs Lunati 40200913LUN cam

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Jax

Jax

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How much of a difference performance wise would each cam have? Besides that the Lunati is a solid roller vs Hughes solid flat tapped?

Hughes Engines

Drag Race Solid Roller Cam - Chrysler 273-360 288/296

They seems pretty equal on the intake duration @ .050, however the Lunati has 3 degrees more duration @ .050 at the exhaust.

How much of a difference shall the extra 3 degrees make??? From my perspective, it will provide more top end power vs Hughes.....

I like the Hughes cam profile, but would prefer a solid roller cam going forward.
 
It would help if we knew how you were gonna drive it, and the intentions, all out performer or warm street driver.
I am NOT a small block guy, but obviously each has pluses and minuses, in any engine family. The roller costs a bunch more, probably triple the flat tappet. It will probably make 25-30 more hp, simply because a roller profile can be more aggressive with more lift at almost all points on the curve.
But if this is primarily intended to be a street, fun, engine, I would lean toward the flat tappet. If you can get it broken in properly, it won't have the potential of broken roller tappets in extended street use that can happen with an aggressive roller.
So, in my opinion..... frequent drag strip visitor, occasional street use (1500mi/yr), roller. (If budget allows). Mostly street use, with a visit or two a year to a strip, 5-10,000mi a year, flat tappet.
Again, MY opinion only.
 
Get a custom grind. Leave the off-the-shelf cams in the past for anything racecar wise
 
Gettin' the popcorn bucket for this one.... I did'nt think rollers and flat tappets compared apples-to-apples well?? Besides the fact that rollers welcome more aggressive profiles without severe wear and tear.
 
If not going with a custom, the Lunasty will come out on top.
 
33IMP said:
It would help if we knew how you were gonna drive it, and the intentions, all out performer or warm street driver.
I am NOT a small block guy, but obviously each has pluses and minuses, in any engine family. The roller costs a bunch more, probably triple the flat tappet. It will probably make 25-30 more hp, simply because a roller profile can be more aggressive with more lift at almost all points on the curve.
But if this is primarily intended to be a street, fun, engine, I would lean toward the flat tappet. If you can get it broken in properly, it won't have the potential of broken roller tappets in extended street use that can happen with an aggressive roller.
So, in my opinion..... frequent drag strip visitor, occasional street use (1500mi/yr), roller. (If budget allows). Mostly street use, with a visit or two a year to a strip, 5-10,000mi a year, flat tappet.
Again, MY opinion only.
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It is a strip and street car.... but I think the whole process of break in a cam with pretty much of a drag car is kind of difficult, and seeing a solid roller is available.
 
Jax said:
How much of a difference will 3 degrees make?
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Very little. But it’s more of the lobe and style cam that is going to show more of a difference. I’d follow 33Imp’s advice. Power wise, there similar with the roller making more power IMO.

Diving deeper into this is just trying to split a hair.
Solid grind for the street, the roller for the track.
The roller’s description even says “Drag Race” while the Hughes description says street strip/race. The roller will be a more aggressive cam. The Hughes cam is stout for sure. I’d run that with 1.6 rockers on the street.
 
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I'd agree, the three degrees exhaust duration won't mean much, but the rollers area under the curve will. The roller should have more duration at .200, .300 .400 lift, and make more power as a result
Engine masters did a similar test on a stout Steve Dulcich built 408 Mopar, and the roller made about 25hp more on the top end than a very similar flat tappet. Still something of an apples/oranges test.
 
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You don’t need a custom cam. It’s all the rave now a days but not necessarily.it’s mainly so people can say it’s a custom grind.

Get the hughes
 
If you know the specs you’re after for what you’re trying to do you first look to see if a cam with a part number is readily available, such as listed in a cam companies catalog. Contrary to what many may say, it actually can be done.
All cams come off a rack, a bin, a box, a tote, a shelf. Makes no difference.
If you don’t see anything listed that suits then you call and order what you need.
If you don’t know what you need you call, they may have a cam with a part number already or they may select certain lobes they have and use a specific lobe separation angle.
Many companies have to grind your cam after you order whether it is listed in their catalog, or if they select the lobes etc.
That’s how it actually works in a lot of cases.
That someone calls it a custom cam or an off the shelf/catalog cam is irrelevant.
 
9secRR said:
You don’t need a custom cam. It’s all the rave now a days but not necessarily.it’s mainly so people can say it’s a custom grind.

Get the hughes
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Agree to disagree. Where I don't hate off-the-shelf cams because I'm an avid collector of the mopar Purple Shaft cams I still believe that in the long run a custom tailored cam will out-perform the prior. I run both but I'd say the cam custom made by Racer Brown for my 3,800 pound 4 speed pickup will outperform the Mopar 620 purple shaft of the same power band all day long because the Racer Brown one is built to breath for 7,500 rpm and build low end torque at the same time
 
So....

If it was me, given all the commonplace failure I've seen with flat tappets. And given the choice between a flat tappet or a roller. I'd pick the roller. I don't understand how there's even a consideration.

In the topic of custom vs. off the shelf. Seriously guys, what's the difference. Be practical. Given similar duration numbers, off the shelf vs. custom. What power difference are we talking for a serious build? 10hp? 20hp? I'd say 10hp difference on a 550+ hp engine is negligible.
 
gagembassett said:
Agree to disagree. Where I don't hate off-the-shelf cams because I'm an avid collector of the mopar Purple Shaft cams I still believe that in the long run a custom tailored cam will out-perform the prior. I run both but I'd say the cam custom made by Racer Brown for my 3,800 pound 4 speed pickup will outperform the Mopar 620 purple shaft of the same power band all day long because the Racer Brown one is built to breath for 7,500 rpm and build low end torque at the same time
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Sorry but I call BS. Something that performs well at 7500. We're talking 260+. @50. That cam is not making good low end power.
 
gagembassett said:
Agree to disagree. Where I don't hate off-the-shelf cams because I'm an avid collector of the mopar Purple Shaft cams I still believe that in the long run a custom tailored cam will out-perform the prior. I run both but I'd say the cam custom made by Racer Brown for my 3,800 pound 4 speed pickup will outperform the Mopar 620 purple shaft of the same power band all day long because the Racer Brown one is built to breath for 7,500 rpm and build low end torque at the same time
Click to expand...

There are so many shelf grind cams in catalogs it’s pretty hard( unless you have something super exotic) to not find something extremely close to what you need.
Mopar cams are 50 year old grinds, lots of way more current stuff out there, suitable for 95% of the builds I have seen people have on here.
 
Mean416 said:
Sorry but I call BS. Something that performs well at 7500. We're talking 260+. @50. That cam is not making good low end power.
Click to expand...

260@50 in going to run WAY out of steam long before 7500 rpm, certainly in a stroker, depending on the head, probably even stock stroke.
260@50 isn’t big.
 
B3422w5 said:
260@50 in going to run WAY out of steam long before 7500 rpm, certainly in a stroker, depending on the head, probably even stock stroke.
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In your opinion, where do you think it’ll run out of steam in a 340? (Yes I know that’s a semi loaded question.)
B3422w5 said:
260@50 isn’t big.
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It is in a low compression 318 from 1979!

:rofl:
 
This is cam I actually use. It’s done at about 6500-6600 on my 418 with pretty darn decent heads.
Howards says its good to 7400 on a stock stroke deal. I have no clue what head they use as a baseline to say that ..lol

Year:
 1964 - 2003
Make:
 Chrysler

Engine:
 273, 340, 360

Camshaft Type:
 Mechanical Flat Tappet
Basic RPM Range:
 3600 to 7400
Valve Lift Intake:
 .565
Valve Lift Exhaust:
 .565
Duration Intake:
 295
Duration Exhaust:
 299
Duration at 050 Intake:
 260
Duration at 050 Exhaust:
 264
Lobe Separation:
 106
Intake Centerline:
 102
Firing Order:
 1-8-4-3-6-5-7-2
























Quantity:
 1 Each
Country Of Origin:
United States
 
No.
Have kinda wondered if 8 HS intake rockers in 1.6 would be worth enough to make worthwhile.
Dwayne, whose opinion I respect a ton, says he has rarely seen anything when that swap is done.
 
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Mean416 said:
Sorry but I call BS. Something that performs well at 7500. We're talking 260+. @50. That cam is not making good low end power.
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Your mistake that you're thinking is that I mean low end as in the commonplace cruising rpm when I really mean low end torque for getting off the line. Do you really think in a 3,700 pound pickup with a 4 speed and 5.30 gears that I'm going to be leaving the line at even 3,000 rpm? No the 2 step is set at 5,000 so as low as I have torque when the engine finally has the load put on it then I'll call it low end. It's a full blown race pickup and that's why I went custom grind
 
B3422w5 said:
There are so many shelf grind cams in catalogs it’s pretty hard( unless you have something super exotic) to not find something extremely close to what you need.
Mopar cams are 50 year old grinds, lots of way more current stuff out there, suitable for 95% of the builds I have seen people have on here.
Click to expand...
I'm not disagreeing. I live both styles of cams. I collect cams and off the shelf definitely have potential that's for sure. However I just feel more comfortable knowing that it doesn't cost a penny more to have a cam company take time and find something that is best suited for me. Hell Jim at Racer Brown made a custom hydraulic roller for my stock piston, 500 cfm 2 barrel diet track figure 8 engine. Lots of lift but not too much duration so I could make the short stroke 318 breath and have torque coming out of the corners, .565 lift with 232 @ 050 on 106 lsa. It's basically and incredibly low budget high effort 318 that was very competitive against 400 sbc with 12k into their engines. Point being is that I was originally looking at very generic cams and just couldn't find something that would give me the top rpm I needed but torque for coming out of a sharp corner. I support all cams that's just my 2 cents
 
B3422w5 said:
260@50 in going to run WAY out of steam long before 7500 rpm, certainly in a stroker, depending on the head, probably even stock stroke.
260@50 isn’t big.
Click to expand...
And the cam for my pickup is a .738/.712, 270/274 @ 050 and 107 lsa. W9 headed factory 360 block with stock stroke. A833 4 speed with 5.30s in the Dana 60 outback. 3,500 to 7,500 powerband
 
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