problems with really high lift cams in cold weather?
 

I was wondering if its a bad idea to run a high lift cam around .600 in really cold weather like between 32 degrees and 0 degrees? If I had double valve springs would these be too brittle with the cold weather to be considered safe? I would of course let the car warm up before I move it as I have a remote start on it. Just want to know as I currently will be driving my camaro pretty much every day in the near future as im losing my daily beater because my little brother needs a car for school.

Just be sure to get the engine up to full operating temperature before beating on it. My S1 cam had a .612 lift and I never had any trouble operating in freezing temps.

I don't know the exact answer to your question, but I do know that I would not drive it based on my experience....

I dropped a valve due to a snapped valve spring on a cold morning. It was about 15 degrees out when it happened. It may be due to me not warming the car long enough though. I only let it warm for about 10 minutes before driving. I had dual springs with only about 8,000 miles on them with a TR224 cam. I snapped the spring at only about 1700 rpms. If I were you and forced to drive a high lift cam in cold weather, I would make sure your motor is warmed up completely first...unlike what I did.

Now I am forced to fix my heads and replace a shortblock....

Should be fine as long as you don't hammer on the car. I would be more worried about losing traction while driving on tires hard as hockey pucks on hard, cold roads, especially if you drive with DR's (which I wouldn't do in winter).

I run mine no problem.5 degree's out right now.. .600 lift Cam

Dude,

Just make sure that your operating oil temps are up to 180 b/f you start to drive it and of course make sure oil temps are at least at 180 b/f romping it as the COLONEL has suggested. To play it really safe, i wouldn't move it until you see the 180 oil temps.

What cam you going with? The G5X3?

X2 or maybe X3 im not too concerned with idle quality or revving it up since ive got 3.73s and a Vig 3800 stall. Just need to find out which one likes the spray better.

They're both gonna like the spray the same because they are both split duration cams....

FWIW it's 28 degrees here right now and i'm having no problems. As stated before, it's crucial to let the engine warm up to operating temps before brining up the rpm's. While cold, I do not shift over 2300 rpms...

Josh

Your going to have a nice killer set-up!!! Make sure you let me know when your done so i can check it out neighbor!!!:D

Lurking (it's been below freezing for a week now, and I still drive the vette from time-to-time...)

-Jake

It was -6*F in Massachusetts this morning... I had my truck running for 20 minutes, and when I hopped in to drive off, the thing was still only at 160*F (coolant). It took about 5 miles to fully bring it up to temp.

This cold weather thing has become a major concern as far as cam selection for me goes. When I fire up the truck, the RPM's immediately jump up to about 1500. I'm not sure if the cars are like this too, but, this talk I read about brittle springs has me worried. Just hearing about one horror story is about enough for me. I can't afford any downtime in the winter here.

What I should probably ask, is it the spring design itself (918 vs dual, etc), or just the amount of lift the cam throws at the springs that's the problem with a cold-spring-breakage?

I wonder if I should really sweat it, too. I'm either going with a .525-ish lift, or a TR grind at .558. Is .033" all that much? Not really...

Isn't that impossible to do if you have a A4 with a high stall converter? Just wondering? :confused: