Cam Comparison

[66 Tiger]

I HOPE this dosen't come off as some lame cam question - but here it goes...

I'm trying to decide whether or not it would be worth it to install a new cam while I still have the timing cover off.

The cam that came in the car when purchased is a Crane hydraulic.

Advertised Duration: Intake 278
Exhaust 290

@ .050: Intake 222
Exhaust 234

Lift: Intake .498
Exhaust .527

http://www.cranecams.com/index.php?show=browseParts&action=partSpec&partNumber=363803&lvl=2&prt=5

The new cam is a Crower solid. ( surprise gift from dad! )

Advertised Duration: Intake 274
Exhaust 288

@ .050 Intake 242
Exhaust 254

Lift: Intake .542
Exhaust .528
Exhaust 254

http://www.crower.com/misc/m_cat.shtml Part # 15313

To me the specs don't look that different but then again, I'm completely ignorant when it comes to this subject.

Besides one being hydraulic & the other a solid, can anyone offer a run-down on what kind of performance differences I might find between the two?

Oh yeah - Motor is a 302 w/ 351 heads.

Thanks in advance.

If I left anything out please let me know - I'll update as necessary.

 

[bnickel]

the crower cam will give you more top end power and have a pretty nasty lope at idle, however with it being a soild cam occasional valve adjustments will be required and that's going to be a royal pain in that tiger!!!!!!.

 

[69gmachine]

20 more degrees of intake duration at .050 is a lot, especially for a 302. You already have a pretty healthy cam, so unless you intend to spend a lot of time on the track, you're going to be giving up quite a bit of driveability if you swap them out. It will idle rough and you will be giving up some bottom end torque.

I'm sure some people will mention the hassle of periodic lash adjustment, but unless this is truly your daily driver and you're racking up a lot of miles, it's really not much of an issue if you use good locking rocker arm nuts.

Solid lifters can rev higher than a flat tappet hydraulic because they don't bleed down, but again, unless you're in it for all out power, I would leave it for a race only motor.

Just my .02, I'm sure you'll get as many opinions as there are belly buttons.

 

[BIG-MAC]

That 20 additional degrees of duration is huge. That cam really needs some compression to maintain some low RPM cylinder pressure/torque. You might also need some steeper gears and a higher stall converter if you running an automatic.

 

[66 Tiger]

20 more degrees of intake duration at .050 is a lot, especially for a 302. You already have a pretty healthy cam, so unless you intend to spend a lot of time on the track, you're going to be giving up quite a bit of driveability if you swap them out. It will idle rough and you will be giving up some bottom end torque.

The car primarily will be used for Sunday drives on the Blue Ridge Hwy & other back roads with the wife but I definately plan on taking it to the track as well.

I'm a little concerned about the loss of bottom end torque though - the car allready has a pretty tall 1st gear ( good up to about 60mph ) which really makes it difficult to pull a good start without abusing the clutch...

bnickel
the crower cam will give you more top end power and have a pretty nasty lope at idle, however with it being a soild cam occasional valve adjustments will be required and that's going to be a royal pain in that tiger!!!!!!.

Nasty lope at idle!

Believe it or not adjusting the valves won't be that big of a PITA. Removing three bolts on each inner fender will allow the motor to tilt forward just far enough to remove the valve covers - unless your just refering to the whole process of adjusting the valves...

BIG-MAC
That 20 additional degrees of duration is huge.

I don't know what I'd do without the help of everyone on StangNet.:SNSign:

 

[D.Hearne]

I'm not 100% on this, but the duration figures in comparing a hydraulic to a solid are misleading. The Solid gives up some duration in the lash setting, so it's not as big a difference in comparison to the hydraulic.

 

[ashford]

it has a faster ramp rate which equates to more power for a similar advertised duration. also more noisy. i'd use it. that crane looks to be a gentle lobe pattern with a flat turdlike torque band. the solid will have a feel like torque keeps increasing up till about 6k, and put a smile on your face. just ran it on desktop dyno and it sees about 40 ft/lbs. the entire rpm band

 

[69gmachine]

it has a faster ramp rate which equates to more power for a similar advertised duration. also more noisy. i'd use it. that crane looks to be a gentle lobe pattern with a flat turdlike torque band. the solid will have a feel like torque keeps increasing up till about 6k, and put a smile on your face. just ran it on desktop dyno and it sees about 40 ft/lbs. the entire rpm band

He posted the duration at .050, not advertised, so while the comparsion may not be 100% apples to apples, it's much closer than comparing the advertised durations of the two. Also, when you say "the entire RPM band" what was the lower end? 2000? 3000? Idle is 600 to 800 (to me anyway), and if he has to rev to 2000 to leave a stop sign, he's going to get tired of that pretty quick. If he's already having trouble leaving a stop sign with his current cam and gears, it will only get worse with the Crower.

 

[65FBE2]

I would use the crower with the intake he has. the bottom end problem is as much due to the single plane intake as it is the cam. If having fun on the canyon road is your plan, go with the crane and switch out the intake for a daul plane

 

[66 Tiger]

Thanks everyone for your advice & recomendations!

I decided on the Crower & installed it yesterday. Being that this will be mainly & weekend car - why not? ( I'm also kind of excited about having a "pretty nasty lope at idle" as bnickel put it )

If it ends up being a problem I'll just replace it with the original Crane...

I do have one more question though inspired by 65FBE2's reply.

I would use the crower with the intake he has. the bottom end problem is as much due to the single plane intake as it is the cam. If having fun on the canyon road is your plan, go with the crane and switch out the intake for a daul plane

"the bottom end problem is as much due to the single plane intake as it is the cam."

Would replacing the intake help out with more lower end power? If so, does anyone have any recomendations?

Thanks again...

 

[SoCalCruising]

What heads are you running?

 

[1966conv]

The question about the heads is a great one. Did you check the valve to piston clearance? The extra lift may require some flycutting? What rockers & lifters did you go with?

 

[66 Tiger]

What heads are you running?

351 heads...

1966conv;The question about the heads is a great one. Did you check the valve to piston clearance? The extra lift may require some flycutting? What rockers & lifters did you go with?

I'm placing the lifter order today out of Jegs - I guess I planned to just go with what ever quality solid lifters had a good price. Ford Racing maybe?

I have 1.6 Crane Rockers.

And no - I HATE to admit it, but I didn't check valve to piston clearance. I assumed that with the pistons that I have I'd be ok.

View attachment 393735

 

[D.Hearne]

Good dual plane intakes: Edelbrock Performer RPM (reg and airgap), the older F4B, Fords A321, their older version of this is the C9OX, The 3x2 TriPower with 3 Holley 250's is also a fantastic choice, I run one on a stroker 331, these are available in repop form from Mustangs Unlimited (I bought mine second handand it was a year old $1100) Weiand's Stealth. The Shelby "Cobra" high rise dual plane too, this is the same intake as the F4B, A321, C9OX.

 

[brianj5600]

I ran a cam with 10* and .060" more lift with 2249 TRWs w/o cutting the pistons. Those look very similar to the TRWs, but if they hit it will be costly.