I need a new cam. What I have now is a .495 .502 lift 218 220 duration 114lsa roller cam. To replace it, I've found a .495 .503 lift 218 224 duration 112 lsa cam. Is this close enough to where I won't need to retune the car?

Everything else is staying the same.

 

I'm assuming your cam wiped a lobe. Any reason not to put the same one back in?

 

SLP doesn't sell it anymore, and the cam I specified was one of the closest ones I found.

 

Call comp cams and see if they might have made the cam for SLP or can make you the same one. If not and you have to retune, let them pick you a winner. You can probably go a little bigger with your setup.

 

Plus I dont want to retune the car, and I'm already near the max of my valvesprings. I just want to fix the car "cheap" and not go through the list of "might as wells" when it comes to upgrading stuff.

 

Any change like a cam change is going to requirte re-tuning. I guess it depends on how well you want the motor to run.

 

Since this is an 89, if it is still a MAF setup, it should probably do well with the cam change. MAF is much more forgiving than SD.

 

Its not maf. its SD, but its running 2001 electronics and I have no idea how they react to things like cam changes.

 

There's really no mystery to an ECM and what it does. But don't think of it as a catch-all for a motor that itsn't tuned right. Our beloved Grumpy always said to give the motor what it wants and to tune in such a way as to require the minimal amount of ECM intervention as possible. The closer the calibration is to optimum at the start, the less manipulation needed and that's a good thing. "Close enough" is what the mail order tunes are all about

 

In this case why not look at the Comp XFI268HR-113 ?? Its the hot setup for TPI engines right now.

Otherwise, the cam you suggest is only slightly bigger than what you have now. It should be really close on the tune.

Get that myth out of your head right now and dont repeat it again. MAF is not "magical" that it will compensate for every change, and SD is not so limited it requires a new chip every time you sneeze on it. Both setups will require a custom chip to optimize the setup whenever you make major changes such as a cam swap.

 

Stong comment, but in this case you are wrong!!! This small of a change in cam will have little effect on timing requirements, so it is not an issue with SD or MAF. However, the cam change will have an effect on fueling, SD may or may not have a problem. However, MAF would almost certainly have NO issue with fueling with this small difference in cam. This statement comes from experience with having tuned both types of systems. I have no personnel preference, just a statement of fact. So, before you make a statement like "dont repeat it again", know your facts, look carefully at the question asked, and consider the appropriate response.

Al