I have a 350 bored .060 over, small tube headers from summit, 3 inch exhaust, flat top pistons so the compression will be around 10:1 or so, Performer intake with a Quadrajet, and the heads are stock 350 heads that have been ported. I'm going to be driving my car everyday so I want something reliable, but will give good throttle response and good all around power. I've read some not so good things about Comp cams and them going flat, so I'd rather not get a Comp.

 

Which 350 heads? What is the quench, and chamber volume of the heads? The larger the intake port volume, the larger the valves, and the smaller the chamber, the bigger cam you can use or in some cases the bigger cam you'll need.

Comp Cams are very popular, thats why you may hear more stories about them. That has a lot more to do with the fact that people dont know how to properly break in a flat tappet cam on modern (crappy) oils. You need to use special break in lubricant that;s high in zddp for the initial break in (20 minutes at 2000-3000 RPM) and I like to run half a bottle in my oil after that, although most people say that's unnecessary.

Also you'll need to be careful about spring pressures. you'll need to get springs that are the correct pressure for your cam and have enough coil bind clearance at the installed height in your cylinder heads, and for some larger cams, you'll need to use much weaker break in springs, and then switch over to your high performance springs after break in.

Breaking in a flat tappet cam is a very tricky thing, regardless of manufacturer, which is why roller cam blocks command a price premium. Roller cam technology is superior in pretty much every way, it's just more expensive. But given the formulation of modern oils it's a smart move to spend the extra money.

http://www.hotrod.com/techarticles/e...ech/index.html
http://www.ttalk.info/Zddp.htm
http://www.highperformancepontiac.co...oil/index.html

Theres plenty more if you'd like to search.

The springs you buy should be the same or very close to what the cam manufacturer lists for the cam you choose.

The Performer intake isnt all that great, so that will limit your power band to below 5000 probably, so you'll probably need to stick with a smaller cam in the 200-215 range on the intake and exhaust side. Maybe a comp xe256 or similar, err on the smaller side. Comp Cams XE256: 212/218 @.050 .447/.454 lift 110LSA. I wouldnt go bigger than that with that intake. That cam will give you a very snappy torquey power band on a 350 and it's way huge compared to any stock thirdgen cam. If you moved up to a Performer RPM intake you could get away with something closer to the 230/230 range @ .050 lift and when you get near that you start getting real nice idles and real crisp top end horsepower. 207/213 is the largest factory cam, and a LOT of the irocs came with a 179/194 cam - the peanut cam.

If you'd like a reliable cam you dont have to worry about rounding lobes on - go roller tappet and forego the mess altogether. you dont have to deal with special oils or break ins. You just crank it and drive.

By the way, I have a comp xe262 flat tappet cam that has been into 3 different engine builds, and it barely got broken in at all... I think I had something like 10 minutes of break in time on it and due to problems that kept cropping up, it just ended up being all it could get. But it's still going strong so far. There's a lot to be said for taking the proper precautions. Note - diesel oils used to be exempt form this and much better for break in, so you'll see a lot of references to using Shell's Rotella for break in - that's no longer the case. Your only safe bet is using Comp or Crane's break in additive, or GM's Engine Oil Supplement, or any number of other additives by various cam companies designed to add zinc back into modern oil. I also used special break in lubricant that you put directly onto the lifters. Each lifter got a coating of this also: http://www.compperformancegroupstore...Category_Code= Which is not an oil additive but actually an assembly lubricant especially for flat tappet cams.

https://www.thirdgen.org/mods3

 

That all sounds right to me. There's a good article in the new issue of Car Craft magazine, it really covers the break-in oils and procedure.
There's nothing wrong with Comp, but there's also nothing wrong with Crower, Lunati, etc. However, Comp offers nitriding, which the others don't.

 

I actually had the XE256 in my last 350 with the same heads and specs. I drove it to work the same day I broke it in, and it had very nice response on the low end. By the time I got back home that night the #2 exhaust lobe and lifter were totally worn out. I think it might have been an issue with the lifter bore, or maybe the spring was worn out. I'd like to get a cam kit from Comp because they have everything I need together except for the rocker arms. As far as getting a roller setup, I just can't afford it and don't have the time to save money for it. The vehicle I'm driving in the meantime is near falling apart.

As far as rocker arms go, would it be alright to use the stock-type rockers instead of roller rockers? Again, the issue here is money and time or else I would get the roller rockers.

 

Did you follow the break-in procedure and pay attention to the oil, exactly as outlined above? I installed an XE262 last year, and had an opportunity to examine a couple of lifters just recently. Looked perfect with the face radius intact, and lobes showed an even wear pattern.

 

I didn't realize that roller rockers had entered the discussion. Anyway, if you just use assembly lube on the pivot ***** and in the pushrod cups of the rockers, and on the tips of the valves, that's all it takes to use stock rockers. Assuming the slots are long enough.
If you can invest in grooved rocker *****, those might be worth it.

 

If you've gone through all the precautions I've listed and still had bad luck with Comp, go with another brand. I'd just stick to hydraulic lifters and stay around the same specs of the xe256. The xe series is one of the more modern Comp grinds, and the modern grinds have much faster ramp rates which are much better for performance, but they're also more vulnerable to break in problems. Lunati's voodoo is an excellent modern line also. If you'd feel more comfortable going with a Lunati setup then do it. But you'll still need to be very careful about what oils you use and assembly lubes.

 

Is the break in really that critical? I built my engine with a Comp XE-268 hydraulic flat tappet cam and never went through the break in or special oil... I have about 550 miles on the engine and engine wise, everything is ok.

To tell ya the truth ( :/ lol ) the only thing that ever touched grease on my engine when I assembled it was the cam and only because it came with a lil pack of grease in the box lol

Anyways, my 268 is great. I wish it had a bit more lower end, but could just be my tune and I still have a stock TCC, up top it really shows its power. I think I would go for something a lil bigger for your engine, we have similar configurations.