Stock 304, Guide to choosing a camshaft

[Aussiepride5L]

You hit the nail on the head with the first line. The stock manifold just won't make power to 6000rpm. A dual plane high rise TP manifold will breathe better then the standard manifold at high rpm and isn't to much of a slouch at low rpm either. Also upping the compression to 10:1 will get you back a fair bit of the low rpm torque.

Running a stock holden 304 with any decent kind of cam is just a huge compromise, especially when sticking with the standard banana's manifold.

LOL.... On crack....?? Only when she opens her legs...!!! XD

Yeah, sorry, I meant the difference at the lower RPM of the two cams... ie 1800 and 2200 start of power. With a manual transmission it should still be pretty good.

Im talking the CraneCam model number...eg Crane H276. The only reason why a Crane 276 would start at 3000rpm instead of 1800rpm would be either not enough velocity or the compression ratio being too low. They state to build an engine around the cam. If you dont, the cam will dictate the engine how it wants to, not how its description states. Its kind of odd how it reflected in that manner.

Compucam H276 HYDRAULIC - Good idle with lope, mid-upper
rev range improvements while maintaining
strong bottom end torque, best in twin throttle
body vehicles. Use with all normal modifications
or as GROUP A replacement.
BASIC RPM 1800-4500, Deg @ .050” Cam Lift Int./Exh. =214/214

Compucam H284 HYDRAULIC - Fair idle, strong mid-upper rev
range performance. Ideal in well developed
engines for street or moderate competition use.
BASIC RPM 2200-5500, Deg @ .050” Cam Lift Int./Exh. =222/222

Compucam H286 HYDRAULIC - Fair idle, strong mid range-top
end street and strip performance. Needs 9.5-
10:1 comp. 3.08-3.5 gears, hi-stall converter etc.
for best results.
BASIC RPM 2500-6000, Deg @ .050” Cam Lift Int./Exh. =230/230

 

[drewVHSS]

I've been doing research from articles written by Isky last night and 2nite, to come up with more of an idea of what to talk to crane about.

Thanks Aussie and Ari for the "food for though" Am looking at custom LSA but also have come round to a few concepts Isky has in his articles such as not needing longer duration on the exhaust side. I'm hoping that I can get a close match to what i'm looking for and if it's a smidgeon on the wilder side than i need, i can always advance the cam a frac to reign it in within limits.
Will post what crane say's in their response to my specs.

 

[Aussiepride5L]

No drama's Drew.. is why I love CompCams so much out of them all...they do split durations as standard and their grinds are spot on...!! My cam will be @ 0.050" 242 in/ 248 ex 13 LSA. Wade also is like that with grind variations. At least you're onto what you want mate. Cheers.

 

[PaRaDoX]

My cam was a wade 276 with 0.50 lift, I did have stock CR (8.4:1) and std stallie (1800rpm,auto)

When i purchased my cam i was told by the manufacturer the power band is 2500rpm -> 6000rpm on a stock 304 v8 manual.
I see your point but even with a higher CR it wouldn't make great power at these rpm's.

The stock banana manifold will sturggle to make power over 4800rpm, It has nice & long 19" runners great for low down torque. With the DP manifold it has around 9" long runners which yeilds more torque at higher rpm but does not give the same low rpm air velocity that the banana manifold gives.

The point im trying to make is simply claiming the cam makes power from X rpm is null and void. There are too many determining factors such as final ratio, transmission type, stall convertor lockup rpm, tune etc.
which is why i decided to compare my more or less stock auto v8 ss with a 3.08 final drive, let's face it this is the same as %90 of readers.

 

[Mattrat]

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[V85000i]

What cam would work best with a decent 4 barrel manifold and 1000cfm throttle body on an otherwise stock motor with full twin system twin cats. 3.9's and a 2500ish stall

 

[Immortality]

The problem with a stock engine, even with a better manifold is the fact that you only have 8.4:1 compression. Fitting a big cam will make it a slouch at low rpm. Ideally you would want to fit some flat top pistons to improve the CR which will open up the cam options a lot.

Otherwise err on the small size with a cam.

At the end of the day, all the grinds mentioned above are fairly old school. Your best bet would be to contact a cam supplier/manufacturer like Camtech and get some good solid advice from them.

 

[Muso4u]

Hi all, I'm going to do my first engine build and would like some advice on a cam and anything else that comes to mind that I might have not thought about. I'm doing a 304 to 355 stroker with a bit of head work, I don't know what the final CR is going to be, I'm hoping around 10s. Because of my budget restraints I have to stick with standard inlet manifold for now. I'd love to be able to make big HP and torque so is there a cam to do this on a budget. The build is costing me $5500 and that leaves me $1500, and that's for a stall and a tune. Cheers

 

[vrsprspt]

Read the previous 137 posts and do your own research.....that's my advice

 

[mfraser86]

can I run that crow 4503 cam without touching anything else like ecu, intake etc? my 304 has a manual g/box also. basically I just wanna purchase a cam without touching the ecu