I need help buying a camshaft. I want to do a little upgrade on my car, T5 transmission with 3:55 rear gears. I want a cam that will give me the most power with a decent idle. I just got a pair of aluminum heads from a friend, I suspect they're comp-cams or patriots brand I don't know... I can't find any info about them all they have is a serial number sn5592-2 that i tried searching on the net but nothing comes up. all I know is that the valves are much bigger than the ones on an e7 head and they also have 1.6 ratio roller rockers. I can have an E-303 cam for cheap money but I seen a mustang running with one of these and the idle was unstable.
Call up Jon at Delta (800) 562-5500 http://deltacam.com/ His Prices are the lowest I've seem. Really cool dude to talk to also.
Unstable idle ? That's what's known as a nasty lope. If the car's not rockin' while idling, then you're missing out on something. Nothing like watching other people's reactions when you pull up to a redlite with a motor that idles like a radial engine crop duster.
Idle lope is fine for an engine that will be used above 3500 - 4000 rpm but on a street engine it just wastes gas and has no power until you get the engine above the speeds you would normally run a street engine. Delta Cams can get you a good cam that will idle smooth and still develope a lot more power than stock.
Another thing is that I would love to keep the car running with the speed density efi I've read on some mustangs forums that some people have had success.
There are many "off the shelf" cams but having Delta make one specifically for your car is a good way to get exactly what you need. they can also supply the springs and lifters. Most after market cams will need screw-in studs put in the heads so be sure to ask about that and whether you should use rail rockers or guide plates. For pure street use one "off the shelf" cam is the Performer cam from Edelbrock. It is available with a kit that has lifters and springs and their roller tip rockers are available in rail rocker types. the cam produces torque from off-idle to 3500 rpm and power from 3000 to 5500 rpm. It is not perfect but it is a decent choice but probably about the same cost as a custom grind from Delta.
Wrong as usual. My 331 has a healthy lope at idle and is fine running around town and out on the highway. Cam profile and the LSA has everything to do with it. Wide LSA EFI type cams can have both a healthy lope and give excellant street manners when used with a carbed setup. The B303 cam in a mildly built 302 does just as well around town as the Z303 in my 331. Neither wastes any fuel and both turn on just above 1000 rpms.
Different strokes..... I like the mileage I get with my setup and I have had cams with lope and they waste gas - that is what causes the lope.
Wasted fuel isn't what makes a cam lope at idle. The cams you ran had narrow LSA's which were intended to improve scavenging at higher rpms, only they didn't and don't. With an EFI grind, you can have your cake and eat it too.
Not meant to be interpreted as taking sides, by any stretch of the imagination, but... On narrower LSA cams (e.g. 106-110 deg.) the intake valve remains slightly open while the exhaust stroke of the piston is completed. Therefore, fresh a/f mixture is drawn into the combusiton chamber by the high-velocity spent fumes being forced out the exhaust valve prior to it fully closing for the intake stroke (scavenging effect). This would mean that a small amount of usable a/f mixture is expelled with the exhaust to ensure that no remaining spent fumes are present and occupying valuable combustion chamber volume during the compression stroke. This would repeat for every cycle, on every cylinder. So, maybe that's what is meant by "wasting gas?" Just my . I happen to be running a custom grind with a 110 lobe separation. I like a rough idle personally, but, I can understand wanting a more "streetable" cam. Those EFI cams run a wider LSA, though. Like a 112-114, right? Eric
