i don't know which one to get, but if you're doing all that, hell yea put in a cam.

 

I already did all that, except for the intake manifold. I still have to put that in, but I figure it's not that much more work to take off the timing cover so....

 

I ran per comp cams reccomendation, the 35-512-8 on my speed density 94. I loved it. Another member here runs the same cam with MAF with great results. It's a white bronco, that's all I can remember.

I had the eddy truck intake, AFR heads, and long tubes with true dual flowmasters. Used slightly smaller dished pistons and about a 10.5 CR. Ran great

 

Take a look at the Lightening spec cam, that’s what I used. I’m running an older (‘86) with a carb and no emissions but the cam should be comparable in cut. With the roller valve train you could get a steeper lift but that’s going beyond what I know in terms of fuel mapping on an EFI engine.

Bottom line is the Lightening cams (similar to the early 5.8 HO motors) was a recipe that Ford already shook out so start there.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Take a look at the Lightening spec cam,

that's a good idea

 

the 412 is a retrofit cam and you dont need that since 96 is a roller block. retrofit cams are more limiting than regualr roller cams. the 512 cam is what i have in my F250s Explorer 5.0 and its great all around power with GT40P heads, long tubes. should be good in a 351 also but the P heads might be the limiting factor and possibly a custom ground cam might be better

i wouldn't go with a lightning spec cam, there flat tappet which means the ramp rates are alot more lazy then a roller cam. you can get a roller cam with lower duration spec than a flat tappet yet it actually flows the same because of the more aggressive ramps. aftermarket cams also have more aggressive ramp rates than factory roller cams

have the P heads been touched? might be a good idea to get a spring set from AlexsParts for them. the stock springs are known to be horrible and with a more aggressive cam you may experience valve float earlier.

 

The heads I got from some engine builder in Chicago. Windy City Engines I'm pretty sure is the name. They had the guides replaced, valves replaced, 3 angle grind, decked, new valve seals and springs. However I did not get the spring upgrade at 120$ :banghead. I'm sticking with the heads, I love them over stock. I feel like with the exhaust, and intake the power is nice. Running 4.10 gears now and I can do a standing burnout with the stock intake manifolds. As far as gains with the 512 comp cams, what am I realistically looking at 20-25 HP? What about MPG, is there any drop?

 

All of my research has lead me to cam# 35-510-8 with grind# XE258HR. I haven't called Comp with the specs yet but this is what CamQuest is suggesting.
35-510-8 - Xtreme Energy? Hydraulic Roller Camshafts, Computer compatible (E.F.I.) with O.E. hydraulic roller cams 1985-95

 

Thanks for the reply but for that cam it looks like I would need to have serious head work done. The rockers I have are pedestal and that cam says it requires studs. It's also higher on the lift than I'm looking for. I want to keep stock valve assemblies in place. That's the difficulty in trying to find a drop in cam that actually does something with a benefit.

 

The cam I am stuffing in my 5.0 is 35-510-8 but it’s going in a lighter vehicle and a stroker build. I have used that cam grind # in other vehicles with good results but might be a little hot for your taste. On cams my premice is less than more, the roller will definetly add torque and increase vacuume.

 

the 510 would defiantly require valve springs since we dont know what springs are in there. stock cant handle much more than .500 lift. but i think your reading that wrong it does not require studs mount rockers.

as for ho the 512 cam will be. i cant tell you how much HP it will raise but it will raise power pretty much throughout the board. idle will still be good and no lope. you may loose fuel mileage but more from wanting to floor it to feel the power. i feel it would give you the best cam for yuor selection if you choose to do one.

headers however i would recommend. need to get rid of those manifolds would give you probably more power cheaper and easier since you have dual 2.5" exhaust.

 

First, you will never realize the potential of your other parts without a cam upgrade.

Second, with the combo I posted above, including the 512 cam, desktop dyno rated my build at 340hp and 470 ft/lbs. Take 10% off that for DD optimism. No drop in mileage, but I was running 37s and 4.88s

 

I run the 512 in my 5.0 along with shorty headers and ported E7's, 4:10 gears. Def makes a big difference in a SD rig

 

Maybe check out the 35-349-8. I have a very similar setup as yours- 96 351w, Edelbrock Truck Performer intake, GT40P heads, 2.5" exhaust. The only difference is I have a MAF setup as I took the factor 302 out. I had 1.72 roller rockers on mine, which is essentially the same lift as the 35-512-8 but with the factory stock cam. I removed the rockers and put the stock 1.6 rockers back on and really didn't notice any difference (a dyno may reveal a slight increase with the 1.72).

One thing to keep in mind, especially if you get the 35-510-8, is you might go outside the limits of the stock fuel delivery system at higher RPM's. Of course, that can be rectified with higher volume pumps, bigger injectors, adjustable fuel pressure regulator, etc but might be more costly than its worth. And as others stated above, a spring upgrade is highly recommended if getting a cam with lift higher than .500. The 35-349-8 I think is a good compromise for your setup where you'll actually feel a difference without modifying your fuel delivery system.

Good luck with your build.

 

think you need to recheck your specs. that 349 cam has 0.321/0.321 lobes for 0.512/0.512 lift. the 512 cam only has 0.300/0.300 lobes for 0.480/0.480 lift. the 349 has more lift and with 1.72 was at 0.552/0.552. P heads dont really gain anything over 0.450 lift so you just put excess load on the valvetrain with practically no gain other than slight more duration

im still gonna stick with the 512 cam as best option. but a custom grind is about the same cost and you could possibly get a better cam than anything else avalible. the P heads with the smaller exhaust valve may not gian much in lift so more duration may help it

 

So how would I go about getting a custom grind cam for my application? I can't see something custom made to be the same price as something off the shelf but I'm new to cams. Also, are you saying by adding roller rockers I can increase the valve lift without the cam? Can they be installed on the gt40p heads? I thought the rollers needed studs from what I read. This is confusing and I'm not usually confused. Who thinks the 512 cam would be worth it for me to drop in with the stock rockers? This is what I'm leaning on but if it's more of a 50/50 take it or leave it then I might just leave it. If it was you, would you do it?

 

I ran 1.7s with my 512 cam.

You don't need roller rockers, You can get a 1.7 standard stamped rocker arm. Yes this will increase lift, but it doesn't change the valve timing any, which is the true advantage of a performance camshaft.

Don't bother with a custom cam. Contact comp cams, and fill out their cam recommendation form. They will email you a couple cam spec sheets that will give you a great cam for your individual needs. That's how I came across the 512 cam.

COMP Cams® - Cam Recommendation Form

 

Yes, you can add 1.7 rockers on your stock F4TE roller cam which is roughly equivalent to having the 35-512-8 cam with stock 1.6 rollers. They do not need to be stud mounted, just buy pedestal mounted ones like these: https://www.summitracing.com/parts/scc-scp1022

About the same cost as a cam but a lot easier to install. I had these on my 351 and GT40P heads and used the stock pushrods.

 

Awsome, thank you. Sometimes researching all of this stuff just makes it worse. I'm glad I got some good recommendations and I'll hit up comp cams and post what they have to say. Maybe I can get this figured out so I can start the install.

 

When I rebuilt the engine in my mustang back in the day, I took the specs of the Edelbrock performer cam to a custom shop and had the guy grind a can to those specs. I had it in a couple days, I think? I paid something stupid like $40 for it compared to whatever Edelbrock wanted. I think that counts as getting a custom ground cam and it was cheap.

 

ive given up with CompCams recommendation page. last 3 recommendations ive sent it i never heard back from. im not sure how much CompCams wants for there custom grinds. most roller cams are around almost 300$. you can get custom ground cams for all sorts of prices. i know on one of the mustang forums, alot of people talked about custom grind cams from Ed at FlowTechInduction and there not much more.
Custom Camshafts - Ford - Small Block Windsor - FlowTech Induction

yes you can get 1.7 or probably even 1.72 pedestal mount rockers. they do add a bit of durration along with the lift. they open and close quicker meaning they open to 0.050 sooner and end later. however it really will not compare to a aftermarket cam

 

I'm running the the 35-512-8 cam in my F250 with a factory roller block 351W. Works really well with SD EFI and has good low end torque. I also am running the Truck Performer manifold on this engine. They both compliment each other pretty well. I did other modifications to the cylinder heads, but I'll leave it at that for now.

 

I filled out the comp cams form and this is what I got back. It's important to realize that I specified everything they asked for including typing a note saying I was using the factory GT40P heads.

The recommendation initially was for:

31-600-8 so I called the guy out on it and he sent another e-mail that said it was a typo and proceeded to recommend 35-600-8 which has over .500 valve lift. So needless to say that was absolutely useless customer service. I think I'm going to look at other brands of cams.

 

Wow what a joker. The 31 series is retrofit for a non-roller block. 35 series is what you needed.

Shame their CS has gone downhill. When I did it, it was spot on, including full spec sheets.

Erson and Iskandarian (isky) make wonderful cams and both have been around since the dawn of time. Call them up and have a chat.

 

Wow what a joker. The 31 series is retrofit for a non-roller block. 35 series is what you needed.

31 series is 302 firing order. 35 is 302HO/351 firing order. both of them are retrofit cams so neither are recommended.

not only is it over the .500 lift but its only 107* lobe separation which makes it idle like crap which is the reason its called the Thumpr cam series. even the 512 has 114* of separation which is good

 

I've done almost everything you have done. I put a new 94 roller engine in my 93, I have the edelbrock performer and the comp cam 512-8. Before I did that MAF upgrade, it ran like CRAP. It had a weird idle and wouldn't start the first time sometimes, I would have to start it again to get it going. I got the MAF upgrade from fiveology and it's running like a top now. I would recommend the 512-8, but if you're going to go the GT40 route, you might could do something slightly more aggressive.

 

If you want to contact Competition Cams for a recommendation, PM me. I will put you in touch with a good friend of mine that works there and specs cams as well as tunes aftermarket fuel injection (FAST). One of the nicest guys you will ever talk to, and has been doing this forever. I can't give you his cell number, but I will call him and get his business number at Comp.

 

Call James and tell him what your doing.
Comp Cams
1.800.999.0853
James Fry

Stop the madness

 

Hehe, I know James....

 

opc1:

 

I did both the online form and gave them a call. Seems calling them is a lot easier. I gave Lunati a call and their customer service was very helpful. The Lunati cam had less lift and longer duration versus the Comp cam having more lift and shorter duration.

 

which cam did they recommend