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Topic: Opinions on a new cam..... (Read 6651 times) previous topic - next topic

Opinions on a new cam.....

OK....the story.....

I have a custom Ed Curtis cam. Made for my car. Since the cam was installed a few years ago, I changed the following....

3.55 to 3.73 gears
Shorty headers to long tubes
GT40 intake to Trick Flow R
70mm tbody to a 75

My thoughts are the cam isn't as optimal as it was because it was made for a certain combo.

I have a new Anderson N41 cam on my work bench, has anyone ever had an experience with them?

Also, do you think a Trick Flow R intake is actually more for racing and I'd be better off with a Track Heat or Street Heat style intake/
'88 Sport--T-5,MGW shifter,Trick Flow R intake,Ed Curtis cam,Trick Flow heads,Scorpion rockers,75mm Accufab t-body,3G,mini starter,Taurus fan,BBK long tube headers,O/R H-Pipe, Flowamaster Super 44's, deep and deeper Cobra R wheels, Mass Air and 24's,8.8 with 3.73's,140 mph speedo,Mach 1 chin spoiler,SN-95 springs,CHE control arms,aluminum drive shaft and a lot more..

Opinions on a new cam.....

Reply #1
Get ahold of Ed. Since he ground it, he may have a better sugestion than what you'll get here. Have you thought about 1.7rrs providing you have clearance? Maybe a simple solution. I know they woke up my stock H.O. Cam
84 COUGAR/90 HO, 1.7RRs, performer RPM,700DP, equal length shorties, stainless EXH ,T-5,Hurst pro-billet, KC clutch, 8.8/ 4.10s, line-lok, bla ,bla, bla.
71 COMET/289,351w heads, 12.5 TRWs, 750DP, Liberty TL, 9"/6.00s, 11.9x @112 , bla,bla,bla.

Never shoot your mouth off, unless your brain is loaded! ....I may get older, but I'll never grow up!....If you're not laughing, you're not living!  :laughing:

Opinions on a new cam.....

Reply #2
X2 on the call to Ed.
'84 Mustang
'98 Explorer 5.0
'03 Focus, dropped a valve seat. yay. freakin' split port engines...
'06 Explorer EB 4.6

Opinions on a new cam.....

Reply #3
Vinnie you should definitely contact Ed, I will say that the Anderson cams are good cams (I know someone running the N71 in a 347 stroker that runs 10 0's), but a custom ground cam is the way to go! I know Ed from racing in the NMRA, he is a good guy and will take care of you.
Donnie
10 Second NA TBird
Fredericksburg Va

Opinions on a new cam.....

Reply #4
I havent used the N41 myself, so cant comment on it, although the specs seem in line with a mixed-use HCI combo on a 302/306. As stated, get Ed's feedback on whether a cam change is worth it, hard to compare without knowing your driving/perf expectations or the specs on the custom.

  The R is a capable intake but it will certainly be less punchy if you swapped from a ported Cobra or something similar. Its an aggressive intake for a low-rpm 302. If the car is 97% street driven at moderate rpm levels the driver's impression will probably be a negative one. Or they'll be looking to swap to deeper gears.

As a point of reference, fully optioned/nothing removed 5 speed fox Mustang vert, comparable weight to your Bird. 3.73 gears, full length 1 3/4 headers, engine is a little healthier, a 331ci, 10:1 comp, AFR 185's with upgrades, custom cam, fully ported Edel RPM 1 intake with 75 T/b, 36lb inj, stock EEC, shifted at 6K. Switched to an intake similar to the TFS R, the Holley. On dyno, car lost TQ and HP from 3400-5200.  The gains above 5200 were single digits until close to 6K where it might have held a 14-15rwhp advantage. Tuned it on 3 dyno pulls and took it out on weekend. Car felt softer at anything less than 5K rpms but was an animal above it and ran close to same as before against known closely matched competitors.

All of that to say that its important to be brutally honest with what you want out of a combo. Lots of guys, on and off the internet, just chasing a number. An ET, a dyno #, etc.. Changing an intake (or gears, or cam, or heads, etc) may help for that, but the street driven experience may suffer. And it may take other changes to bring the cam or intake swap into its own. Those further mods or changes can have upsides/downsides associated with them, as well. 

In the example above, the owner went back to the modified Edelbrock intake.

Opinions on a new cam.....

Reply #5
I'd ask the cam grinder what he thinks before swapping cams. He may suggest an intake swap. You might need more cam than you'd be comfortable with on the street to get the most out of that Trick Flow R.

I did swap from a GT40 intake to an Edelbrock Performer RPM I intake about 3 years ago. Felt like I lost nothing on the low end but gained a bunch above 5000. Highway pulls are much better than with the GT40. The Performer RPM I is kinda in between a GT40 and Trick Flow R.
88 Thunderbird LX: 306, Edelbrock Performer heads, Comp 266HR cam, Edelbrock Performer RPM intake, bunch of other stuff.

Opinions on a new cam.....

Reply #6
E-mail Ed.  He doesn't do phones.
-- 05 Mustang GT-Whipplecharged !!
--87 5.0 Trick Flow Heads & Intake - Custom Cam - Many other goodies...3100Lbs...Low12's!

Opinions on a new cam.....

Reply #7
I messaged him. He has seen it, but no reply yet.
'88 Sport--T-5,MGW shifter,Trick Flow R intake,Ed Curtis cam,Trick Flow heads,Scorpion rockers,75mm Accufab t-body,3G,mini starter,Taurus fan,BBK long tube headers,O/R H-Pipe, Flowamaster Super 44's, deep and deeper Cobra R wheels, Mass Air and 24's,8.8 with 3.73's,140 mph speedo,Mach 1 chin spoiler,SN-95 springs,CHE control arms,aluminum drive shaft and a lot more..

Opinions on a new cam.....

Reply #8
Quote from: vinnietbird;468830
I messaged him. He has seen it, but no reply yet.

Par for Ed Curtis from what I've seen over the last 15 years! :p

Opinions on a new cam.....

Reply #9
Vinnie,

I have one of Ed's cams in the 331 that is in my Mustang and any changes to the combo will net an email to him.  Hands down the best combo I have had so far.  If I wasn't so lazy I would get one ordered for the Bird but I just hate to open up that motor...

83 351W TKO'd T-Bird on the bottle


93 331 Mustang Coupe - 368 rwhp

Opinions on a new cam.....

Reply #10
Did you like the way the car ran with the GT40 intake vs. the R long runner? Is there something about the R you don't like? With a T5 and 3.73 gears I can't imagine that your spending so much time low in the rev range that the car feels sluggish.
88 Thunderbird LX: 306, Edelbrock Performer heads, Comp 266HR cam, Edelbrock Performer RPM intake, bunch of other stuff.

Re: Opinions on a new cam.....

Reply #11
I can imagine it. A balanced combo is critical with any motor. Even more so with a 302 thats being kept under 6K rpms.  You change something that throws the combo off, it WILL let you know.

OP most likely has an intake problem, not a cam problem. As in, the intake has a good bit more plenum volume and runner cross sectional area than what is optimal given the small displacement and low revs. The per-runner charge velocity and cylinder filling has been effected by the R intake. Changing cams is not going to substantively alter that.

Re: Opinions on a new cam.....

Reply #12
What he said.  My little 306 was more aggressive with the TMoss ported Cobra upper and lower than with the Edelbrock Performer RPM II upper and lower.  When I built the 331 the additional cubes took advantage of the Edelbrock intakes.

83 351W TKO'd T-Bird on the bottle


93 331 Mustang Coupe - 368 rwhp

Re: Opinions on a new cam.....

Reply #13
I'm going to install the Track Heat intake and shelve the Trick Flow R and see how it works out. Updates as they happen.
'88 Sport--T-5,MGW shifter,Trick Flow R intake,Ed Curtis cam,Trick Flow heads,Scorpion rockers,75mm Accufab t-body,3G,mini starter,Taurus fan,BBK long tube headers,O/R H-Pipe, Flowamaster Super 44's, deep and deeper Cobra R wheels, Mass Air and 24's,8.8 with 3.73's,140 mph speedo,Mach 1 chin spoiler,SN-95 springs,CHE control arms,aluminum drive shaft and a lot more..

 

Re: Opinions on a new cam.....

Reply #14
Sounds good, look forward to your impressions after driving it again.