Cam Lobe Centers?

AzCoupe

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Departed Member
I get a lot of e-mails requesting cam recommendations. The biggest confusion is selecting the right lobe center, as most do not understand it. Last night, I typed a response and it actually read pretty well, so I decided to post it here. Hopefully it will help explain lobe centers, why they are changed, and will assist some of you when the time comes for making your own cam selection.

Hopefully I can explain this well enough to help you out. Based on what you have told me, I would recommend a cam in the neighborhood of 270-274* of advertised duration. But your question of which lobe center to use, is a good one, and asked often.

The 274 is an excellent street cam and an excellent choice for your application. The power curve of this cam is approximately 3500 RPM. In other words, it will give the best performance within a range of 3500 RPM.

The lobe center controls where the power curve is applied. This cam with a 112* lobe center will come on around 3500 RPM (not to be confused with the power curve - which happens to be the same RPM). Changing the lobe center to 110* will lower the point where the cam starts working (kicks in) to about 3000 RPM. And changing it to 108* will lower it to approximately 2500 RPM.

Therefore, this cam with a 112* lobe center will perform best from 3500 RPM to 7000 RPM. Most of our sixes will never see 7000 RPM, so in my opinion it is too much. The same cam with a 110* lobe center, will perform best from 3000 RPM to 6500 RPM, which is where most prefer. The cam with a 108* lobe center, will perform best from 2500 RPM to 6000 RPM, which is great for a street/track motor where low end power is desired.

But keep in mind, a cam with a 112 lobe center will idle better than one with a 110* lobe center. And a 110* better than one with 108* lobe centers. A 112* will give a smooth idle, 110* will be a bit lopey, and 108* will be choppy. The 108* cam is fine with a manual tranny, but an automatic may require a matched stall converter (2400-2500 RPM stall) for ultimate performance.

Inches of vacuum may also be of concern if you have vacuum assisted accessories, such as power bakes. This cam with a 112* lobe center will pull 16-20" of vacuum (good for power brakes). With a 110* approximately 14-18" of vacuum (still OK for power brakes), and with 108* about 12-16" (which may be borderline for power assisted accessories). This can vary a few inches one way or another, depending on other factors, and your individual engine specs. But this will give you some idea of the manifold vacuum they pull, which needs to be considered if using power assist accessories.

You just need to decide which will work best for your application. If you want a smooth idle and do highway driving where passing power is of concern, the 112* might be best. If you do a lot of light-to-light driving, and like a lopey idle, the 110* would be better. But if you want to eat V8's off the line, and don’t mind a choppy idle, the 108* is far better suited. Basically, it comes down to a compromise between performance and idle quality, base on your specific driving requirements.

You asked about a cam with a 114* lobe center, which I would not recommend. It would put the power curve high up in an RPM range where you would minimize the benefits of installing such a cam.

I hope this was clear and assist you in choosing the right lobe center for your application.

A last word of advise. Once you get your cam and are ready to install it, be sure to pick up a Cam Degree Kit and degree the cam to the manufacturers specs when installing. Many manufacturers suggest installing the cam three or four degrees advanced. This also lowers the power curve of the cam and increases low-end torque. At the same time, it sacrifices top end power, but more is gained on the bottom end, than is lost on the top end. It should also be noted that some manufacturers, such as Comp Cams, grind their cams with a 4-degree advance automatically included. So you need to verify this prior to degreeing the cam. All Clay Smith Cams (FSPP's supplier) are ground straight up with no advance.

:wink:
 
A silly question..... but what is a 'choppey idle' and what are the advantages of it? Maybe somebody a soudnclip?
I would say I go for the 108.
 
Great info Mike!

Are your cams degreed already?

108 is interesting, but having the 110 here already I'll stay with that. Maybe I have to advance it a few degrees though?

108 = choppy idle = heads turning factor raised: "Wow, what a big cam there is..."
 
I went with Mike's suggestion and did the 110 lobe center. The idle is a little choppy, but gives my stang a set of balls that it didn't have before. He is also right on the range that the power comes in to play, right about 3200-3500...When you hit 4000 it really shows off.

My cam is the 264.....
 
Marley, did you install the cam straight up, or degree it in? If straight up, you might want to advance it three or four degrees. This will make the cam kick in about 400RPM's lower (around 2800-3200) giving you more bottom end, without sacraficing the current idle quality. But if you drive two lane roads often and need the passing power, leave it where it is. :wink:
 
Looks fine to me! I'm kinda curious as to what the 108 cam is going to sound like... :wink:

Later,

Doug
 
Ben, A whole new set of rules apply when you add a turbo or S/C. I can't explain why as I'm not that infomed on them, but maybe someone who is will jump in. :?:

Or you can call George at Clay Smith and talk to him. Make sure you let him know you bought a cam from me (them) and he will be happy to help. He's spent a lot of time on the phone with me and really explains it well, in terms that are easy to understand. If you do, you need to call on his tech line late in the afternoon (3-6pm). They also offer a video on "How To Degree A Cam" that is really easy to comprehend.
 
Ben & Mike, the reason for lower lobe centers in a naturally asipired engine is the benifit of the overlap to scavange the cylinders using the exhaust as a vacuum to pull the intake charge into the cylinder.
I would check with George at clay smith, but i believe he will recommended a cam with a 114 or 116 lobe center. With the blower you don't need the overlap to pull in the intake charge & with a low lobe center the intake charge will blow into the cylinder & out the exhaust during the overlap.
He would be the expert for advice in this area. William
Mike by the way that was a very informative article on lobe centers. You should show it as a link on you website at FSPP
 
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