i have an 87 firebird 350 tpi mass air with a 5speed and 3.73 gears. i just bought the holley stealth ram, ford racing 24# injectors, 1 3/4 hooker supercomp shorties, and a chip burner. I also already have a full 3 inch cat back and a homeade ram air. with 9:5 to 1 comp and stock heads for now but plan on the afr 190 or 195's. i called summit and asked them what cam they recommended and they recommended a crane hyd roller cam the specs are 214 int/ 220 ext at .050 and 452 int/ 465 ext dur and a 112 centerline they said that was biggest cam anyone sold for my car and that if i wanted anything bigger it had to be custom grinded they also said if i went bigger that i would never get my car to run right even with extensive computer tuning is this true and what cam would u recommend for my application.

 

What is your intended use of the car? What kind of power do you want? Do you want a cam to work with the stock heads or aftermarket? What about lift? Your cam selection should be based on new heads, not the old ones. You should change the cam and heads at the same time.

 

89warbird is right about buying a cam that matches the new heads. Visit http://www.sealthram.com It is a very informational website. Then read the two threads that are going on right now about Mini ram vs Stealth ram and Stealth Ram for cheap power. Excelent threads. They will help you understand what kind of breathing ability the HSR is capable of.

As for selection now: Stay at a 112 LCA and it will be a little easier to tune than a 110. With the 112 you will be able to run a higher duration and still have it be more civilized for the street (I am assuming this is daily driven now). Yes with the 112 the intake valve will open a little bit latter down on the intake stroke than with a 110. If it was a higher RPM and not a daily driven car then a 110 LCA might be OK for you.

With the HSR you really would benefit from a little more duration and a lot more lift than that. HSR makes power over TPI around 4,000-5,000. So, don't buy a cam that is said to have valve float around 6,000 RPM when you could be making gobs of power.

Also call the cam manufacturers and debate the cam choices with them. Make sure you get their reasons, if they can't argue for their choice, ask to speak with someone else that can.

 

Crane 888-432-2381
Crower 619-422-1191
Comp 901-795-2400
Tibo.

 

it is a daily driver but i do want the power there when i want it.
and as far as the afr's go i could but them right now but i would raather spend my money on a paint job and new wheels and tires i am trying to fix up my car to go on the power tour this year so i want it to look good and sound good plus i am getting tired of the 4800 rpm bog with the tpi. i just want a cam with some thump and makes power 2500 to 5500 rpm. i will be getting the afr's i just dont know if i will have enough money before or after the tour.

 

OK, I am not sure but the HSR might have a vaccum port for a MAP sensor you may need to plug. You will also have to get around or rid of your EGR. There will be a few other details you will learn of. If you want a power band of 1,500-5,500 you might be able to make more power and torque in that range with a super Ram or a ported and siamesed aftermarket base and runners. Super Ram being a best choice. I say that only because The HSR is able to keep making power in the 6,000 RPM range. It will still work for your application though. So, you might want to consider a bigger cam.

Although a bigger cam with those stock heads might be too big and a big mismatch. With the cam you will need some bigger gears to match. 3.42-3.73. Make sure you read an visit the threads and websites, that information is soooooo usefull it is not even funny.

 

If you get the AFRs, Id say your best comprimise would be a Comp XR276HR-112, p/n 08-503-8. I wouldnt go any smaller than that or you may be leaving power on the table, especially with an HSR.

 

i also wanted to know how long factory roller lifter usually last?

 

Inspect the lifters very carefully. If there are no cracks, chips or other things that might be wrong, than you will be OK to reuse them. They are different from other lifters in that they have a circle that will "Roll" over the lobe instead of scrape. Reduced friction.

 

If you are going to upgrade to a better cam with much faster ramps then get some good new roller lifters. The faster ramp rates really work the lifters and springs, so you want good high quality parts.