Grady,
I see your point big time. I'm not opposed to a tune at all. I figured the "kit" would be good because the kit has new parts that are proven to work together AND they will be replacing seriously old stuff. The additional kit parts won't net me more HP, however, it may net me more reliability.
Maybe the TF stage 1 cam will work fine and with a custom tune will allow the combo to pass the sniffer.
I've taken great car of my car over the years and will keep all the emissions equipment (which is in good shape). I'm not "very" worried about emissions, but the fact is it must be passed.
Gee Andy ... I would have to think it could do that.
The nice thing about this kit is so many have used it
You have a broad database to draw research from to help with decisions
From all things I've been able to find about idle issues which can be
tied to emissions because ... they test at idle ... is this ...........
Low lsa cams which are also cams with a good bit of duration ..........
they can be a cause for concern with these kinds of issues if one
is gonna try and build a combo without a tune.
The lsa on my cam is a good bit lower than on that TFS cam.
After I got my stuff together about what I trying to do
Things worked out fine with the help of tuning
So ... At least to me ... Logic would say that cam should be fine
with these issues if a tune is put in place.
Hey ... I don't try to hide it at all
When talking cams ... I just took the easy way out
I just paid a bit more and stressed to Ed Curtis this line of thinking ...
I would be able to tune around emissions and drivability issues
and
I wanted him to place my wishes for a broad torque curve .......
over drivability & emissions concerns.
The thing about all that is ... I had no self tuning experience at that time
however
I had did tons and tons of research ... but ... research ain't the same
as doing it
If I did it all over again ...
I'd tell Ed to step it up a notch or two with the specs for more power
I do really think if one places a focus on drivability issues when choosing
a cam they very well could be leaving power on the table.
Of course ... the flip side of that statement is .........
To do like I did and use a tune to kill any drivability issues ...
You gotta spend the dadgum cash for a chip or tuning equipment
I need my power to be in the idle to 5,500 rpm range. Not too many people bold enough to make that statement!
Hey ... Knowing what you want ... It critical to obtaining it
I said the same thing at first
but
I changed my game plan by a small amount after a bit of research
After looking at many sets of dyno pulls of mid length runner uppers
I felt I could get a bit more high end with shorter runners
and
Use other combo parts and tune to offset its softer low end
I guess I could simplify this by throwing out this question:
Would it be wise to just throw on a good set of heads and intake? OR would it be wiser to go for a kit that will replace a few more stock internal parts?
Here is what is included in the TF kit:
Kit Contents:
TFS-51402000 Hydraulic roller camshaft, each
TFS-51400510 Roller rocker arms, set of 16
TFS-21406700 Chromemoly pushrods, set of 16
TFS-51400904 Gasket kit, each
TFS-51400801 Silver valve covers, pair
TFS-51400004 Twisted Wedge aluminum cylinder heads, pair
TFS-51500001 EFI intake manifold, silver upper, kit
ARP-154-3601 Head bolts, kit
TFS-51400800 Oil fill kit
TFS-51478520 Billet timing chain, set
FEL-TCS45449 Timing cover, set
*** Lifters are not included, but I would get new ones.
Here are the stage 1 cam specs:
Duration@ .050" 221°/225°
Cam Lift .312/.319
Valve Lift with 1.6 Rocker Lobe .499/.510
Separation 112°
TF Notes:
Good idle, strong midrange power. Aftermarket intake, heads, and headers recommended. Requires modified mass airflow. Compression: 9:1 minimum
I just gotta say I believe my cam which was cut to be optimized with my
choice of heads and intake has a good bit to do with how things turned
out with my combo.
Would it be all that different to say the same about that kit as well
Again ... many peeps have used it with pretty good success
I did look at your original post above and would bring up this
If you do this kit now and go to a built short block later
I think the parts would be too small if going 347 stroker
of course
If going 306 ... All would be fine IMHO
About your Q of internal parts
You might look in that thread where we all were talking about h/c/i
or blowers for my thoughts about various options when building up
a new short block.
Hope I helped
or
At least caused you to think outside of the box a bit
Grady