Been pondering idea of going with a bigger cam for my 96 150.
It's got the 302 in it.

First question--What cam is in there now? Hydraulic, Roller.
Even Summit guy wasn't sure when I asked.

Second--Is it correct what I've read that a cam over 220 at 1/2
duration will require a computer mod.

 

I got a custom cam for my truck. Its a 93' F150 5spd w/ 3:55 gears, slightly taller tires (30"), full dual exhaust and I tow with it. I told Buddy Rawls (Rawls1103@aol.com) how I use it and what I intended to modify. I used a stock short block w/ factory heads. The heads were slightly cleaned up on the exhaust side and have a 5 angle valve job. He cut me a cam that I LOVE! optimum shift point is right around 5K rpm on my stock tach. I did convert to Mass-Air using the FMS kit. I did have to rewire the injector harness in the kit since its for 302 not H.O firing order. After 93' I believe all trucks are H.O firing order: 1-3-7-2-6-5-4-8. Two benefits of this are more mustang cam blanks to choose from and SOUND! It also has the potential to improve bearing longevity but it won't matter in a low-revving truck. So, if you already have Mass-Air, you can go w/ a custom cam in reasonable lift/duration/LSA and keep it perfectly driveable. Haven't gone through emissions yet but I'm pretty certain it will pass. All my gains are from 2-5Krpm. Below 2Krpm, I can't tell much of a benefit. This will require Buddy to spec out the right valve springs for to match the cam and heads. Give him a shout and see what he can do for you. If I had to guess I'd say I gained around 15+lb/ft of torque. I intend to swap the intake manifold to a Edelbrock Performer at the end of the month. Hopefully that will help out as well, especially over 3Krpm.. I'll post more when that's done.

 

JerryK

Thanks for the call. I thought should be easy issue with
MAF system already. Your post about the cam you went with,
was that a grind already on market or was it really custom.

I was figuring any good "Mustang" cam would work, though I
had hoped for more response on the duration issue.

Thanks again

Cantpay

 

I have never heard a blanket statement like that about duration, but it's actually about right. Anymore duration than that will require a custom burned chip, at the least, to reprogram the fuel curve.

Take care,
-Chris

 

ive also been researching cams for my 302. i dont know if your year engine is different from mine, but in my year the cams were hydraulic cams. the mustangs of the same year used hydraulic roller cams, so i can't use a mustang cam in my truck. i believe it was dvldog458 who told me he is using crane's compucam part # 364112 in his truck with pretty good results. this is so far my first choice in cam when it comes time to do a swap.

 

I do not know what year it was during EFI 302 truck production that they went with hydraulic roller cams BUT all of us EFI 302 guys have blocks that accept hydraulic rollers. SO: Pick yourself up a set of HR lifters from the parts store or used in a salvage yard (they rarely go bad).. mine are off my buddy's 105K mile shortblock when we did a new top-end and cam on his car and he wanted new ones.. bud didn't need them. Get the pushrods for a mustang, the spider tray and 2 screws to retain the lifters, and the rocker arms and bolts. Mustang guys have these laying all OVER their garage because they upgrade to roller rockers all the time. Heck check with me in 4 weeks, I'm doing the same to the truck. Net is I upgraded to a full hydraulic roller cam setup to free some parasitic loss plus get that awesome firing order. I get compliments from EVERYONE (old and yound alike) when my truck starts up, they love the sound. You can keep your existing computer at that point just re-run the plug wires in teh correct firing order. There are a fair number of guys on the Corral who have cams in SD cars and don't complain too much about hunting idle. You could make it work maybe with an adjustable fuel pressure regulator and an Idle Air bypass plate.

Specs: My cam is similar to an E303 but has split duration favoring the exhaust and lift is opitmized for flow range that matters in a factory head. I hope that tells you enough. With the two things I mentioned above I bet you could get it to run pretty well w/ SD but the idle would not be perfect, that much is sure.

 

http://www.corral.net/forums/showthr...e303+cam+specs

 

https://www.f150online.com/forums/sh...1&goto=newpost

 

jerryK,
so my block is already set up to accept roller lifters? so i can get a set of roller lifters, a roller cam, some roller rockers, and new pushrods and it should work in my truck?

 

Don't forget the "spider" in the valley of the block that holds the lifters in. Spec everything from an 89 - 93 Mustang and you'll be set.

 

Be careful! Your 96 has the OBD-II diagnostics which take away a lot of the flexibility of MAF. Talk with your cam grinder and be very certain that your new camshaft is OBD-II compatible.

 

All 1985 and later 5.0 blocks can accept roller cams and lifters. Pre '85 5.0's require machine work or a special installation kit.

Take care,
-Chris

 

A 96' F150 that has a 302 is not OBDII. In 97 the F150 went OBDII w/ the 4.6 engines. In other words, you can cam it just fine w/ a reasonable cam. Chris, thanks for the clarification on roller blocks, I knew it was some earlier year than EFI 302 trucks but wasn't certain.

 

????????????????

From my understanding the '96 and up are OBDII, but this in itself isn't really the cause of the cam concerns.

The computers switched to "smarter" computers on most trucks in '95. These play tricks that the older systems didn't, like pulling out timing under load, etc. It may make it harder to tune in some cases, but shouldn't cause cam concerns any greater than the earlier trucks.

 

I have never seen a '95 that was OBD II, but every '96 that I've worked on was. However, they were all 4.9L engines.

Signmaster-
Your truck is OBD I, isn't it?

In any case, putting a cam in an OBD II vehicle can be more risky than it is in an OBD I vehicle, but for the purposes we are discussing, it wouldn't be any big deal. Now, if we were talking .550" lift with 310 duration, you would need alot more than just fly-cut pistons.

Take care,
-Chris