cam swap

[FatNasty231]

just wanted to test the waters with this ?. i want to do a cam swap on my 87 GN. what i'm looking for is a cam that will give me a very aggressive lope and killer idle but yet at the same time help my performance. mods are te-44,42.5 squirters,built TH350 trans.,3"downpipe right into a one chamber flowmaster dumping under pass. seat. (that alone makes it sound sweet). any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. thank you

 

[Blazer406]

IMHO... if your current flat tappet cam is not giving any issues..... leave it alone. A quick search will turn up post after post... of people having issues with wiped cam lobes after cam installation on these engines...... some say it is the zinc that the EPA has forced the manufacturers to remove from engine oil.... some say they will still wipe.....

FWIW... stay with what you have if it is not giving trouble..... unless you go roller... if you decide to go roller.... you won't have to worry about lobe wear...

 

[FatNasty231]

blazer406, well if thats the case then what would be a good roller cam that will giceme what i'm looking for?

 

[FatNasty231]

also blazer406, if i did stick with my flat tappet cam, then i guess it would be a good idea to swap out my factory rocker arms for aftermarket roller rockers with a higher ratio therefore resulting in a higher cam lift.

 

[Blazer406]

Something around 224 at .050 .... or maybe even bigger. 236 @ .050 would be more lopey.

Downside to big cams is loss of low speed torque... and less drivability on the street. I picked a 210/215 hyd roller for mine..... that cam is big enough to go 9's with the right combo.... but it doesn't lope..... or lopes very little...

If your car is just sees occasional street duty.... go for it.... 236 @ .050 ought to have plenty of lope....

IMHO... a smaller cam however will run better with an otherwise mild combo... looking at your turbo..... converter stall will also play a role in what works better....

 

[Blazer406]

also blazer406, if i did stick with my flat tappet cam, then i guess it would be a good idea to swap out my factory rocker arms for aftermarket roller rockers with a higher ratio therefore resulting in a higher cam lift.

You can do that. I got T&D shaft rockers for my motor.....

 

[FatNasty231]

blazer406, it's me dale again...whats going on. still touching base on our cam discussion, if i did go with the xr2 roller setup with 1.65 rollers, it should for sure give me a better lope and sound than the factory .384/.408 lift sholdnt it? thanks again.

 

[Blazer406]

blazer406, it's me dale again...whats going on. still touching base on our cam discussion, if i did go with the xr2 roller setup with 1.65 rollers, it should for sure give me a better lope and sound than the factory .384/.408 lift sholdnt it? thanks again.

Sorry... I don't know... I haven't fired mine up yet..... Maybe someone else can chime in. I would definately think you could notice some difference in the idle.... just don't know how much. I prefer mine to not have a lope if possible.... My last daily driver hot rod was a 400 HP old school SBC... and it loped pretty good.... it is sometimes hard to get a race if your motor sounds that stout.... I prefer to walk softly and carry a big stick...