Camshafts: a departure from the ordinary
Camshafts: a departure from the ordinary
It seems that a lot of people like to stick to the generic camshafts from Ford or one of the larger camshaft manufacturers. This route works fine for some people, but for those who have their car "where they want it" in terms of the heads and intake, or are building a completely new motor and want to get the best performance possible, there is another option..........
A custom camshaft.
There are a number of cam grinders in the US that do nothing but custom camshafts exclusively, and to say that the products they produce yield impressive results......well that would be putting it mildly.
I have personally dealt with one of these cam grinders, though I have talked with the other two as well. Jay Allen, of Camshaft Innovations is a great guy, and knows his stuff, so when I found that my TFS Stage 1 didn't really match my induction package, I started asking questions, and Jay gave me answers.
Basically, my heads are ported, and I have a toilet for an intake. This combo doesn't work well with a standard exhaust-biased Ford camshaft (IE, the TFS #1) because the flow differential between the intake and exhaust on my heads is not normal, so using a "normal" camshaft in this application is preventing me achieving optimal results.
After talking with Jay, he said he would design me a cam, and a few days later, he got back to me. According to his data, my power will go from 270/300 to 321/340 with just this cam swap..........otherwise all the same parts, that's a pretty impressive increase for $400.00!!!!!
Jay also does what is called "Cam Doctoring", basically, a device called a "Cam Doctor" is used on the camshaft when it arrives at his place from the grinder, and he checks all the specs on each lobe, as well as confirming the cam was ground with the correct amount of advance (or the lack thereof) into it. If the cam is spot-on but the advance is off, he will advise you to purchase a 9-way keyway so that you can install the camshaft in the correct location in your engine. To put this into perspective, when you buy a retail camshaft, unless you actually check it, there is a VERY high degree of probability that some of the specs on that cam are off, as is the nature of a mass-produced camshaft.
Another great guy is Ed Curtis, from FTI (FlowTech Induction), he also does custom camshafts.
And then the third option is Buddy Rawls, who performs similar services to Jay and Ed.
Anyways, if you are thinking about doing a cam swap, or already have a combo put together and just want to get the most power you can out of it, this might be worth looking into.
Jay's site:
http://www.camshaftinnovations.com
Ed's site:
http://www.flowtechinduction.com
Buddy's site:
http://www.wighat.com/fcr3/
Oh, and for the record, the reason I chose Jay is what he accomplished last year. That is, his own car (91 LX hatchback) has stock GT40 irons on it with new valves (stock size) and upgraded springs (unported), a Systemax II intake, longtubes and 3.73 gears (this car is full weight) with one of his custom cams (that is in about the .600 lift range) and the car ran an 11.47!!!!!! Pretty impressive times for a car that is basically stock with H/C/I and gears. The car also gets driven almost every day by either himself or his wife, pretty crazy stuff if you ask me.
Anyways, the ultimate test will be when my cam gets here and we put her on the dyno and then take it to the track. The proof is in the pudding, or so the saying goes.
A custom camshaft.
There are a number of cam grinders in the US that do nothing but custom camshafts exclusively, and to say that the products they produce yield impressive results......well that would be putting it mildly.
I have personally dealt with one of these cam grinders, though I have talked with the other two as well. Jay Allen, of Camshaft Innovations is a great guy, and knows his stuff, so when I found that my TFS Stage 1 didn't really match my induction package, I started asking questions, and Jay gave me answers.
Basically, my heads are ported, and I have a toilet for an intake. This combo doesn't work well with a standard exhaust-biased Ford camshaft (IE, the TFS #1) because the flow differential between the intake and exhaust on my heads is not normal, so using a "normal" camshaft in this application is preventing me achieving optimal results.
After talking with Jay, he said he would design me a cam, and a few days later, he got back to me. According to his data, my power will go from 270/300 to 321/340 with just this cam swap..........otherwise all the same parts, that's a pretty impressive increase for $400.00!!!!!
Jay also does what is called "Cam Doctoring", basically, a device called a "Cam Doctor" is used on the camshaft when it arrives at his place from the grinder, and he checks all the specs on each lobe, as well as confirming the cam was ground with the correct amount of advance (or the lack thereof) into it. If the cam is spot-on but the advance is off, he will advise you to purchase a 9-way keyway so that you can install the camshaft in the correct location in your engine. To put this into perspective, when you buy a retail camshaft, unless you actually check it, there is a VERY high degree of probability that some of the specs on that cam are off, as is the nature of a mass-produced camshaft.
Another great guy is Ed Curtis, from FTI (FlowTech Induction), he also does custom camshafts.
And then the third option is Buddy Rawls, who performs similar services to Jay and Ed.
Anyways, if you are thinking about doing a cam swap, or already have a combo put together and just want to get the most power you can out of it, this might be worth looking into.
Jay's site:
http://www.camshaftinnovations.com
Ed's site:
http://www.flowtechinduction.com
Buddy's site:
http://www.wighat.com/fcr3/
Oh, and for the record, the reason I chose Jay is what he accomplished last year. That is, his own car (91 LX hatchback) has stock GT40 irons on it with new valves (stock size) and upgraded springs (unported), a Systemax II intake, longtubes and 3.73 gears (this car is full weight) with one of his custom cams (that is in about the .600 lift range) and the car ran an 11.47!!!!!! Pretty impressive times for a car that is basically stock with H/C/I and gears. The car also gets driven almost every day by either himself or his wife, pretty crazy stuff if you ask me.
Anyways, the ultimate test will be when my cam gets here and we put her on the dyno and then take it to the track. The proof is in the pudding, or so the saying goes.
