whats the biggest cam in a stock 302

[bigsexxy422]

i am trying to pull the trigger on a cam selection and i am wondering what the biggest cam is you can run on a stock 302 lower end. the car is carbed so i dont have to worry about messing around with a computer, and lets just say it is with the stock heads out of an 89 gt.

 

[jrichker]

Cam, intake and heads have to be matched to the type of driving and use of the car. Stick a hot cam in a stock engine with stock 2.73 gears and it will run so poorly that Honda Civics will outrun you. Without the supporting hardware, its a poor investment for performance.

What do you use the car for daily driver, street/strip or racetrack only?

 

[Noobz347]

In other words:

You're asking the wrong question. What you SHOULD be asking is:

What's the best cam to run in a motor setup with X combo (whatever that combo is).

 

[Rick 91GT]

so i have an 89 gt i have been working on for a while and it is time to redo the engine. i got a set of heads for it 2.05 intake valves with 210cc runners, 1.60 exhaust valves, and 60cc chambers. it has 1.6 roller rockers on 7/16 studs. the block has been punched .30 over with speed pro pistons with valve relives. it had a dual plane intake with a 650 cfm carb on it. it also has shorty headers with a 3" x pipe and free flowing exhaust. no cats. 5 speed tranny with 3.55 gears in the rear. i am looking for a cam for it. i want a pritty big one, that will give me pleanty of power. i was thinking the ford e or x cam. any advice you guys can give me would be great. thanks guys

COMP recommended .535 intake .565 exhaust 272 intake and 282 exhaust duration, on 110

I pulled this over from your 5.0 Tuning section post, so did this change? What is the new combo?

 

[bigsexxy422]

ok well here is the thing. that cam is for a roller set up. my block is a 1980, so it is not set up for a roller set up, i really dont want to spend all the money for new roller lifters with the tie bars, and i would rather not have to drill any holes in the block. so i am wondering if i can just get a flat tappet cam with the same size lift and everything, or i should get something else. or if anyone knows where i can get some roller lifters for a good price

 

[Rick 91GT]

You can get a nice hyd flat tappet cam and lifters for that combo with no issues at all....Lunati and COMP make a lot of grinds that would work. For Example : Lunati 61001

If you want roller.....Depending on the spring pressure you could get away with a $380 hyd linked bar lifter (72335LUN), instead of $450+

 

[NIKwoaC]

302s are so cheap, there is really no reason not to just ditch the flat tappet block and pick up a roller block. You could do it for much less than buying retro fit lifters. Unless you've already got a bunch of money tied up in machining the flat tappet block, in which case you're SOL, haha.

And no, you can't get the same lobe profiles for a flat that you can a roller. That is the beauty of a roller cam, you can do much more agressive ramp rates than you can with a flat tappet, which means more lift with less duration, which means better performance without sacrificing drivability. Not to mention that roller takes ZERO break in, while flat tappet cams require all sorts of garbage just to keep them from eating themselves.

 

[bigsexxy422]

i already have this block bored with new all new bottome end bearings, and new pistons in it, so i would rather not switch blocks. i was looking at the cams on summet and found this one Lunati 00061, what do you think, good for that combo? i have a cam in the car with 284 advertised duration on both and 484 lift on both. i wasnt really happy with that cam, thats why i am looking for a new one.