All this recent talk about cams, and my visit to the dyno has got me wanting one bad. I am confused though (nothing new) the 302 block in 95 is a roller block, but it has a hydraulic cam not a roller cam? Or since it is Mass Air and has the sequential firing order, does it have a roller cam? I mean what cam should I go with. I do tow on occassion, (5 times a year at most), but I want something that will make good power. I have heard talk about the Crane 2030, is this what I want to go with? Or do I want an E303? I just want a cam that will allow me to pull hard all the way through the rpm range, since I can see that the stock cam just makes the truck run out of power at 4600 rpms. I can get my chip rebuned for whatever I do, but I just wanted ot see what cam I need, and if I should ru na roller (if I dont already have one) and what other stuff I should buy to go along with a cam change? Thanks for the help guys!

 

BEASTIE
Hey I did some seroius thought on this also. My recomendation is not to go with an off the shelf cam. Get a custom cam. PM JerryK. He went with a "Buddy" Buddy Rawls cam and loves it. He can give you the contact info on it

 

Your truck has a hydraulic roller cam. The lifters are hydraulic with a roller on the bottom of them. Same setup that all 85-up 5.0 mustangs, and all post 91 trucks have.

 

Here is Buddy's email Buddy Rawls

 

The 2030 has WAY more mid-range than the E303 (which is the same as a 2040.)
On my Mustang with ported GT-40X small chamber heads, GT-40 intake and T/B, 24# injectors and reflashed processor, headers, 2.5" x-pipe and cat-back, underdrive pulleys, crane ignition, etc, etc. the 2030 makes 330 ft-lbs rear wheel torque @ 4100 and 290 RWHP@ 5200. The torque curve is very flat it has 260 ft-lbs @ 2000 and is above 300 ft-lbs from 3200-5000. I autocross the car and it just plain pulls from anywhere in the RPM range.

Don't ask about fuel economy.

 

That sounds just like what I want. Did you look at my dyno pull? Did you gas mileage really get that bad after the swap?

 

I've never run enough miles through it without an auto-x or an open track day intervening to tell you exactly how bad it is, but it's not good. I get about 4 MPG on track days, like I care.

 

So would this be bad on a daily driver like in my truck?

 

Only you can answer that. It depends on several things: How much you're willing to spend on gasoline and how willing you are to keep your foot out of it would be the primary issues.

HP costs gasoline. Increase the HP output of the engine by 50% and you can count on a proportional decrease in gas mileage. With Sunoco 94 chipping hard on $2 per gallon, you have to consider whether you want it as a daily driver.

The other issue is that the Mustang just naturally wants to settle in at about 80 MPH in 5th. As a daily driver, can you exercise the necessary self-restraint to keep from getting busted?

I also don't know what kind of performance the 2030 will generate with the stock heads. The GT40X heads are optimized for about 4000 RPM, GT40 iron heads for about 3600 and the stock heads for about 3300. Unless you swap the heads, the 2030 may be a bit of a mis-match. Talk to the techs at Crane, tell them what you're planning on and that you're torn between the 2030 and the 2020. The 2020 is a good mid-range cam and is Crane's usual recommendation for trucks, it will NOT produce the 4000-5000 RPM performance of the 2030. It will provide substantialy better fuel mileage though.

2 things you've got to remember:

1) Everything's a compromise, you always give up one thing you want for something you want more. If there were a perfect camshaft. we;'d all be driving them instead of discussing them.

2) The engine is a system, everything has to be chosen to compliment everything else. The trick camshaft, heads, intake, ect. that doesn't match the rest of your stuff may end up giving you less performance than a milder part that matched the rest of your engine.

 

Alright I have been thinking about it, and if I get the 2030, would it make a big difference, or would the stock intake be restricting it? I am trying to decide if I should get:

- Crane 2030 cam

or

- Edelbrock or GT-40 Intake
- 1.7RR

The second option would be more expensive, but would it be better in the long run, so that I could just add a cam later on? Or should I go with cam by itself? I think I had read somewhere that the stock truck manifold jsut doesnt flow alot once the rpms get up. What should I do? Maybe I will do both if I can, but for right now, which option would yall go with? And what would be a better manifold for the truck?

 

Beastie,

If you did a cam swap, would you put it in or would you have a shop/friend do it? Cam swaps are relatively time consuming and cost more money in labor to install than they do for the actual cam. I would wait until you do an engine rebuild before you did a cam swap. I know you want a fast truck, but what's the rush? These things are very costly and I would hate to see you spend at least $400 on labor and $200 on a cam just to get 10-15 extra hp when there are other options available. If you're going to do anything, start with your exhaust and induction systems and slowly work your way in. Free flowing heads and a beefy cam won't do much for you in the way of top end power if you've got stock exhaust/intake manifolds.

 

I would do the cam swap, with my dad's help, but you bring up a good point about the exhaust and intake. I guess I will just hold off on the cam. I think for now I will just get some 1.7 RR, Edelbrock Truck Intake, Shorty Headers, maybe a bigger TB, then I will put it back on the dyn oand see what I can get. After that I think I will have every bolt on there is, other than E-Fans, and then I will proabbly do gears, or get into the engine.

 

I would do gears first. They make the most of power you already have then some 1.7 rr's. If your interested I will be looking at trading in my truck for a power stroke probably when I get back from the middle east (6months). If I do I will put my truck back to stock most likely and sell everything I got. If your interested send me an email and I will give you some prices on everything
JOE

 

this is what i am doind with my truck, I am doing all bolt on's. and i am putting together a 331 stoker for this next winter, i am saving the cam swap tell then. i think i will go with just ported stock heads do to the price and maybe a extrude honed intakes. i am building a spirited towing motor not a race truck.

 

Gears do make a difference, and you do have the huge advantage that you drive a 2wd vehicle instead of a 4wd. It will cost you less than half as much to do a gear swap as it would for me, so a gear swap might not be such a bad idea. However, since you do run relatively short tires (approx. 28"), I wouldn't think your gears are what is holding you back right now. I guess it just depends on how far you wanna go with this. If you get lower gears, expect worse gas mileage, a sooner engine overhaul, increased acceleration times, and a lower top speed. The reason for the quicker engine overhaul is that on average, you're working your engine harder by a few hundred rpm at any given speed. Conversely, it might help your tranny longevity though. It's a tradeoff.

If you haven't gotten headers by now, I say what are you waiting for? The intake manifold and the rr aren't a bad idea either, but you're not gonna see the full potential of any of those mods. until you've got your entire system in place (cam, heads, intake manifold, headers, cat. back exhaust, t.b., air filter, rr arms, ignition mods., etc.). The advantage to starting with the bolt-ons is that it will save you a lot of money in the long run.