Newbomb Turk
Well-Known Member
His explanation is why I don’t buy cams from him.
LSA Question
- Thread starter Dan the man
- Start date
-
His explanation is why I don’t buy cams from him.
B3422w5
Well-Known Member
I thought pro stock engines, which have great heads, are light, and have lots of compression have ultra wide LSA cams which would tend to markedly decrease overlap.
Maybe/probably so, now on the other engines????
Dan the man
Well-Known Member
How in the world did my post turn into pro stock engines, 128 formulas of which I have no idea of what it all means and probably doesn't apply to my particular set of goals. I thought that I had asked a simple question concerning the lsa of cams for the street. I'm looking at Howard's cams and they have one that said it has very strong torque. I believe it's .479 / .494 x 255* / 261* duration at 0.050" is 204*/214*, lsa is 112*. I know that it's not much more than the factory 360, 318willrun did a 360 with similar specs and he got 12.80's from his 360. Any suggestions on a cam that's close to the 340 grind and that would help throttle response and low to midrange torque would be helpful and if a stall converter and gears are needed that's fine. I don't mean to sound disrespectful here or anything but my question blew up into something that I don't understand or even ever heard of. I hope that the rest of the comments will pertain to the question at hand. This is going to be nothing other than a street cruiser and no track time what so ever. I thank everyone for their help.
Newbomb Turk
Well-Known Member
It’s called a written conversation. I thought you wanted to learn?
Newbomb Turk
Well-Known Member
That’s the lie we were all told. Billy Godbold says differently.
Newbomb Turk
Well-Known Member
What other engines? They don’t know what names on the valve cover.
Darin Morgan addresses LSA vs cylinder head design in his Induction classes. The wedge head with non-canted inline valves has the worst cross flow during overlap because the air has to make two 90 degree turns to clean the chamber out. Thus a wedge head with headers can benefit from a tight LSA. A true hemi flows straight through during overlap and needs a wider LSA to reduce overlap. A twisted wedge head falls somewhere in between.
Newbomb Turk
Well-Known Member
And then you have to define what is a ”tight” LSA and what a “wide” LSA is. That’s like asking how long is a piece of rope.
Because some topics (sarcasm!!!) turn into racing threads even though you want a very small upgrade on your cam.
Congratulations Dan! You now have a Pro Stock cam for your stock 318!!!! Enjoy!!!
Dan the man
Well-Known Member
I do. But most what's been said doesn't pertain to what I'm trying to do.
Well, you can define rope….
Ask how deep the street corner hookers ……. Is!
The other problem here which you hit the nail on the head with in your reply is also a few here ether explain it well but in a major way way WAY over your understanding while others drop secret clues shrouded around mist in the dark.
The last problem is everyone’s opinion and bashing one another or others that aren’t here with there thoughts and experiences- real or not - in what works. It’s even worse when people post bad info and supposed facts from other people’s work without showing any of there own work or comparitive works with facts from dyno test or certified results from professional tracks and timing devices.
Some have slanted views of others and tarnish there name, insist they know, bash the other person and write a web of words that convince others there right when in fact, some of these people are just simply dead wrong.
So, how do you ever know who is right? Members can jump up and down and sometimes get nasty insisting there right. Are they?
Dan, you have a devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other shoulder. The problem is, both of these sweet talkers can’t be seen through the blind fold over your eyes.
I can only tell you what I did in the past and that was try out cam after cam after cam. Carb after carb after carb…..
And so on with all the parts of the engine, trans, rear, suspension, etc…
The same with Chevies, Fords, Pontiacs, Oldsmobile & MoPars.
Rinse and repeat.
The last issue is what I did may of fit what you want.
Dan - YOUR SCREWED!
Speak with one person who you think will steer you right and roll with that person. If something doesn’t work to your liking, work with the guy and swap the part(s).
Just enjoy the journey.
Some have slanted views of others and tarnish there name, insist they know, bash the other person and write a web of words that convince others there right when in fact, some of these people are just simply dead wrong.
So, how do you ever know who is right? Members can jump up and down and sometimes get nasty insisting there right. Are they?
Dan, you have a devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other shoulder. The problem is, both of these sweet talkers can’t be seen through the blind fold over your eyes.
I can only tell you what I did in the past and that was try out cam after cam after cam. Carb after carb after carb…..
And so on with all the parts of the engine, trans, rear, suspension, etc…
The same with Chevies, Fords, Pontiacs, Oldsmobile & MoPars.
Rinse and repeat.
The last issue is what I did may of fit what you want.
Dan - YOUR SCREWED!
Speak with one person who you think will steer you right and roll with that person. If something doesn’t work to your liking, work with the guy and swap the part(s).
Just enjoy the journey.
WELL SAID!
Your first step in 318 cam choice is probably going to be dealing with the exhaust rotators. Sometimes it’s not a problem with the valve locks being the same as the intakes and only needing to change the retainers, otherwise it is a problem. That’s a good choice on the Howard’s cam, though. Are you planning on running manifolds or using headers?
You asked pretty open ended question, no mention of 318 just 108 vs 112.
And for what you want do you need none of this. You trying to over science a very mild combo.
When you get a car pick a half dozen of mildest cams and ask which one peeps would go with.
Dan the man
Well-Known Member
Headers
I think you’d like this cam if you have 2.94 or 3.23 gears. From what I’ve seen lately, Isky still has a high success rate for cam and lifter break in if you get their lifters, although I hear Rhoades non leak down lifters are good, too. It’d work really well with a Holley Street Dominator intake, which has 318 size runners, or an edelbrock performer rpm.
Performance-Economy Supercams™ [390126] - $360.00 : ISKY Racing Cams, Do It Right
Performance-Economy Supercams™ [390126] - $360.00 : ISKY Racing Cams, Do It Right
Last edited:
There on line catalog drives me crazy
Easier to look them up from this listing, but still aggravating…
CHRYSLER 5.9L/360 Mopar small block LA Isky Racing Cams Camshafts - Free Shipping on Orders Over $109 at Summit Racing
CHRYSLER 5.9L/360 Mopar small block LA Isky Racing Cams Camshafts - Free Shipping on Orders Over $109 at Summit Racing
Dan the Man.
You have no idea what 128 means in relation to cams? That's ok, you are not alone.
But those who took the time to educate themselves on 128....& used the advice....now have stronger running engines & are making more hp.
Watch: The Cattledog Garage you tube video, 33 min version. Yes, it will be 33 min out of your life that you will not get back........... But the TIME & MONEY it will save you in selecting the correct cam for your engine, & in particular the correct LSA.....will be far in excess of 33min. Because removing the wrong cam to ft the right cam takes more than 33 min. The CDG author endorses & PROVES D. Vizard's 128 rule.
You have no idea what 128 means in relation to cams? That's ok, you are not alone.
But those who took the time to educate themselves on 128....& used the advice....now have stronger running engines & are making more hp.
Watch: The Cattledog Garage you tube video, 33 min version. Yes, it will be 33 min out of your life that you will not get back........... But the TIME & MONEY it will save you in selecting the correct cam for your engine, & in particular the correct LSA.....will be far in excess of 33min. Because removing the wrong cam to ft the right cam takes more than 33 min. The CDG author endorses & PROVES D. Vizard's 128 rule.
*Pentastar
Member
Tighter lsa makes more cylinder pressure because of earlier intake closing. Assuming all other specs are the same.
Dale Davies
Well-Known Member
It is not just low RPM torque, but performance across the rev range. It is not the LSA alone either. A long duration cam on a tight lobe center will lose low RPM torque fue to reversion into the intake and/or bleeding air/fuel out the exhaust, reducinng cylinder pressure.
The 112° LSA cam can have good torque at a higher RPM range. Thhe 112° will broaden and flatten the torque curve with probably slightly lower max torque as compared to a pretty much equal specs cam with 108°.
A good watch is David Vizard's Powertec 10 youtube video that describes his 128 cam selection video. Tbhe 128 is intended for SBC engines but is close for parrallel valve engines. For SBF 127 is used. When you have canted valve heads like BBC, Cleveland and Polysphere, use 132. These get you close for your engine build but if for racing the cam should be dyno tested against others ground with the same duration and lift. For street you will be close enough. LSA can be adjusted a bit for quick off the seat, cylinderhead airflow and compression ratio.
Our old cams were lift limited by spring technology. Port technology was lacking as compared to today. And then we have emissions to deal with. To get a longer duration past the emissions sniffers a wider LSA keeps idle misfire down on a carburetted engine, keeping unburned fuel out of the exhaust. Factory cams on the new engines that have good head flow are ground with LSA's between 115° up to 123°. This provides a smooth idle, but low RPM torque tends to be a bit soggy. When you go to accelerate it does not pull until about 3000 to 3500 RPM. From there to the rev limiter they tend to pull strong. The buying public has been indoctrinated to look at HP numbers, while for a street driven vehicle torque is the important spec to look at, and at what RPM. On the street a big power spec at 6500 RPM does not mean much as you do not spend much time driving at that RPM. Now strong torque at say 1500 to 2000 RPM is more valid for 90% of drivers on the street. This gets you moving easily off street lights and lets you cruise on the highway.
-
