A turbo grind is generally a short duration, high lift profile which has an aggressive ramp rate as well. For longevity the move should be to roller cams.
I agree Paul, a roller cam is the only way to go, I remove myself from any and all crappy out dated technology flat tappit cam debates. I'm out! From now on my response will be "just put a roller cam in it".(period) For a sbb roller cam I do not believe there are any off the shelf grinds available so they all need to be custom.:Brow: Derek
Undoubtedly an excellent technology for sure that's why the Formula 1 guys have been using that tech for years. Just change programs and you just did a cam change, easy peasy. Derek
Derek I haven't replied to any flat tappet discussions for a long while either. Aside from the performance difference, the reports on flat tappet lobe failure seem to be increasing. Our shop will not use a flat tappet cam unless the rules for a racing class dictates it. As soon as the automotive industry changes over to a 48 Volt system (56 volts actual) you will see a lot more mechanical components being replaced with electrical. Electric turbochargers assisting regular turbochargers will be next. Audi and/or Volvo will be first in a year or 2. We're looking at nearly 3 hp per cu in. without any turbo lag with great fuel economy and low emissions. Paul
lets see 350 * 3 carry the 1 ... 1050hp! That should be more than enough for Saturday night sprints past dairy queen.
I have the same Crower cam as your old car has, runs well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Slaw2d9ChVo
You miss my points and then state the obvious. I'm not sure what you're trying to accomplish here. Edit: nevermind, I get it. You want to advertise someone's custom cam grinding services. Gary
Refer to post #316 final answer. Just put a roller cam in it. F those flat tappit scrap metal waste of time and $$$. Derek
I think this has been stated already many times by myself and others (including you). Flat tappet designs are surely outdated technology, but then so is the Buick 350 itself... I have several roller cam designs in my archives that I created myself, ranging from mild to wild. With the increasing demand for more power, larger camshafts must go to roller or suffer unprecedented failure rates, custom or otherwise. I thought all this went without saying (or rather, it has been said so many times already but hasn't been said in a while so that I guess some people here on these forums, including veteran members, have forgotten). Gary
Yes it has been said many times but there are always new readers and it doesn't hurt to have reruns. It doesn't mean that anyone has forgotten. Sometimes it's good to bring old material that has been buried back to the top. The other side of this is there are still so many discussions about which flat tappet cam to use that it makes you wonder if any one remembers all the reasons for going to a roller. Paul
That's a copout Derek. You should at least admit you brainfarted on my points only to rechew some old 10 month old gum. Yeah we all know, roller cams are the way of the future. I've been an advocate of rollers for a long time now, and the only time I ever recommend a flat tappet is either stock or very mild. The points were custom vs off the shelf, and the pros and cons for each. We all know them now with the points stated previously by myself and others (including you). You keep going on about the $19 dollar difference, which was never the point. You only keep using it to make your point seem more valid, when it's already a fabricated one. I know you have a boner for this custom cam stuff now, but why not step back and see the larger picture? Telling everyone to 'just put a roller cam in it' is like the mechanic who tells you 'just put another engine in it' (pull that crappy 350 and put in a real engine, as we have all heard) instead of trying to work with the existing technology/engineering. There's more than one way of going about something, and yes rollers are the better technology. Not everyone wants this though. This is one of my points. For those who do, fine. But don't leave out the little guys who just want something small and simple. If we all wanted the latest and greatest technology, why are we even messing around with these old cars in the first place??? Give people a choice and explain each choice with fairness instead of telling everyone they have to listen to your ideas or you refuse to play. Custom is something I used to advocate almost exclusively myself some time back, but there are times when it's not the way to go. Gary
Not to jump into an argument, but.... There's no question as to why the roller is better. When it's my $$, I still use flat tappets under the range of let's say ...250-260* @ .050". (Cross my fingers) I've not had a break in failure yet. I've seen lifter bore problems, but stay with quality parts. If there's a question of valve action, plot it out with a degree wheel and let me know what you find out. I'll gladly give up some snap from the seat and a bit of lift for a non-competitive build. In that range, a couple degrees here and there and .030" lift is not that big of deal because the intake port probably isn't tapped out yet. For mine, I can always take the head further. When it's someone else's $$, there's no question the roller is pushed. The benefits far outweigh the costs when you are talking about shop rates or even the idea of tearing it down again for cleaning. If budget wasn't a concern these threads wouldn't drag out so long.
No argument here. The best we can do here is to inform the person asking for help of all the possibilities and outcomes and let them decide based on budget, risk and gains. What often drags out a thread is when there is a disagreement between those giving advice and a contest begins. Then the good info gets buried between the many pages of the contest. We installed 2 flat tappet cams last year. One was because of class rules and the other was lack of roller availability. Paul
Your point went in a long winded circle, wasn't sure what your point was. LOL And again refer to post #316, it is a valid copout because I mentioned with a sbb roller there are no off the shelf grinds so they all have to be custom.(see the last word twice is custom) I no longer have an opinion on flat tappit cams except that they're junk. And I would like to add at no time writing any of this have I had a "boner" for anything. "work with the existing technology/engineering" I'm pretty sure roller cams exist. LOL Derek
Derek saying someone is long winded. That's rich. I already know about roller cams and that there are no off the shelf grinds. This was never the point and I don't see how your saying it is a valid argument makes any sense. There never was any debate about roller cams being custom or off the shelf. Are you confused? I'm not surprised you don't understand, I've come to expect this from you. I'll try to use smaller words and shorter messages next time when addressing you. Not much point in arguing with you about anything, since all you seem to do is misconstrue things and take petty jabs about imagined points that were never made. I'm afraid the competitive spirit in drag racing and engine building sometimes spills over into threads against fellow board members, which is a shame. Try not to browbeat your opinions and be more open minded. Gary
We have some really great stuff going on at Valley Machine but I shouldn't have used the word WE in reference to electric turbo driving regular turbo for 3 hp/cid. That will be an effort by Audi and Volvo. The present equivalent is using a supercharger being fed by a turbocharger. Super wide power band with no power lag. Paul
