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383 SBC Cam Selection

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Old 11-19-2009, 12:32 PM
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383 SBC Cam Selection

Hey guys, need some cam selection help.

The motor is a 383 SBC, brodix T1 heads, Vr Jr. intake, 750 dbl pmper. 11:1 CR.

The car weights around 3,400 lbs with me in it.

The trans is a TH350 with a 4,500 RPM stall.

The rear end has 4:10 gears.

The rotating assembly is all forged.

I have everything already except for the cam.

The car will be a weekend warrior with occasional trips to the strip.

The car gets a max 500 miles per year.

I do not want to spin the motor past 7,500 RPM. If I can get away with less I will.

Using Comp Cams cam selector it came up with this cam...

XR292R

PART #12-773-8

http://www.compperformancegroupstore...ory_Code=SMRXE

What do you guys think?

I have manual brakes so vacuum is of no concern.

Any help would be apppreciated.

Thanks guys....
Old 11-19-2009, 12:43 PM
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Re: 383 SBC Cam Selection

At first glance I thougth xr288 so the xr292 is just the next step up. Everything should match up fairly well with the 292. I have the Xr282hr-12 with the combo in my sig. I love the xr grinds.
Old 11-19-2009, 12:43 PM
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Re: 383 SBC Cam Selection

Sorry I didnt add my sig.
Old 11-19-2009, 03:38 PM
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Re: 383 SBC Cam Selection

How much lift can you run?
With your setup I would be looking for more lift than the 292. Some are running .630+ on SR cams in hot 383 setups

I have a SR 252/252 630/630 w/1.5 to go in mine when it becomes less of a street car ( currently GM 847 ;234 / 242 )
Old 11-19-2009, 04:25 PM
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Re: 383 SBC Cam Selection

T1 heads will like some lift thats for sure. If its a 500 mile a year car, get some nasty solid roller lobes in there and good strong springs on those heads. I was thinking something in the low 250's duration, similar to the 292 cam but with more lift. Your looking at .622 with 1.6 rocker on that 292 cam but closer to .640-.650 would be nice to see. Anything over .600 is decent tho.

Something like that wont need to shift much over 7000 rpm
Old 11-19-2009, 09:07 PM
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Re: 383 SBC Cam Selection

Appreciate the advice guys,

The heads can go up to .700 lift.

I have no problem going to .650 etc.

The only issue I have with going to a higher lift is the valve spring / valve train life. The car will get very little usage but I do not want to have to **** around every couple rides to adjust / replace valve train components...

I would say this is my biggest requirement.....

I am going to make a couple calls to comp and voodoo, see what they have to say...

Thanks again guys, any more help would be appreciated.
Old 11-19-2009, 09:17 PM
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Re: 383 SBC Cam Selection

With alot of the solids, you only have to adjust rocker arms once every couple thousand miles, and its really not all that bad.

I suppose you could try a hydraulic roller but solid roller would be a bit better choice for you. A hydraulic would need lighter valvetrain components and good springs to handle some rpm. A decently streetable cam that would peak around 6500 rpm and shift by 6800-7000 rpm would be a 240/243 custom grind on a 108 lsa. I had this spec'd for my 383 when I was going to upgrade cams. You could go alittle bigger than that and take it higher rpm, but starts to get harder to do with hydraulic roller. Solid will pick up power over 6500 rpm
Old 11-19-2009, 09:45 PM
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Re: 383 SBC Cam Selection

Originally Posted by Orr89RocZ
With alot of the solids, you only have to adjust rocker arms once every couple thousand miles, and its really not all that bad.

Solid will pick up power over 6500 rpm
Yep, for this situation a solid roller would be the way to go. A solid roller will also make more power over the hydraulic throughout the entire power band not just up top.
Old 11-19-2009, 09:50 PM
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Re: 383 SBC Cam Selection

Ya, I have kind of ruled out hydraulic as an option for various reasons including the ones mention above.

Im set on the solid roller, I just have to decide which cam to go with.

By the way, my rocker arms are 1.5 ratio. They are full roller rockers.
Old 11-19-2009, 09:53 PM
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Re: 383 SBC Cam Selection

IF nothing on the shelf fits your needs, try a custom grinder like bullet cams, mike jones, etc.
Old 11-19-2009, 09:55 PM
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Re: 383 SBC Cam Selection

Ya, thought about it, but its so nice just to use a proven cam and not have to worry about having a bad cam grind.
Old 11-20-2009, 07:05 PM
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Re: 383 SBC Cam Selection

Alright so...just got off the phone with Mike from Comp Cams here's what he suggested...

Custom Grind Cam, said it was a blower cam, (not sure if this matters)

Solid Roller

.630 Lift W/ 1.5 Rockers
252 Intake @ .050" Lift
258 Exhaust @ .050" Lift
106 Lobe Separation

What do you guys think?
Old 11-20-2009, 07:14 PM
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Re: 383 SBC Cam Selection

doesnt look like much of a blower cam and not sure why they would even state that since you are not even doing a blower. Looks like a decent grind tho
Old 11-20-2009, 07:17 PM
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Re: 383 SBC Cam Selection

lol I was thinking the same thing. Ill give Voodoo a call on Monday and see what they say.
Old 11-23-2009, 03:20 PM
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Re: 383 SBC Cam Selection

Alright, spoke to Lunati / Voodoo today.

Shane from Lunati Recommended the 50124.

http://www.lunatipower.com/Product.aspx?id=1809

This is pretty much inline with Comp Cams.

So, which one would you guys pick? The one with a little less lift and more duration, or vise versa?

Comp Cams

.630 Lift W/ 1.5 Rockers
252 Intake @ .050" Lift
258 Exhaust @ .050" Lift
106 Lobe Separation

Lunati

.626 Lift W/ 1.5 Rockers
262 Intake @ .050" Lift
271 Exhaust @ .050" Lift
106 Lobe Separation

Any help would be appreciated!

Thanks again guys.
Old 11-23-2009, 03:31 PM
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Re: 383 SBC Cam Selection

I'd go comp cam, lunati looks a touch too big for what you need. 87TA on these boards has a fairly mild TPIS solid roller, i believe its 242/242 with mid high 500's lift on a 112 using 406 and AFR 195's. He shifts somewhere around 6300-6400 I think. On a 383 it would be around 6400-6500. For what its worth my 230/245 .603/.613 on a 109lsa hydraulic roller made peak at 6300 and held to 6500 and i shifted at 6600-6800 sometimes. That 252 cam with higher lift on better heads will see high 6000's rpm peak hp, so shift in the 6800-7000 range I am willing to bet. that should be well into the high 10's on motor alone

Lunati cam will like higher rpm and abit more compression...11.5-12 to 1 may be better suited for that larger cam.

Whats the next size down on the Lunati line up? I would look into whatever they have thats in the low 250's duration.
Old 11-23-2009, 03:45 PM
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Re: 383 SBC Cam Selection

Looking for it...their website is not real intuitive.

Gimme a few lol....

Hrmm, it seams anytime the duration comes down the lift comes down significantly.

From the 5 min. thats ive looked, doesn't really appear to be a step lower then this. Not until you get into another category of cams...

I got nothing. Unless I missed it, they don't have a cam that's right underneath that one.

Last edited by BadaPwned; 11-23-2009 at 04:19 PM.
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