Opinions on thunder racing's T-rex cam...
 

:drive: T-ReX v.2 - 242/248 - .608/.612 - 110 This thing throws down some mad dyno numbers.. But i was jus currious if it would be a streetable cam? I want to shoot for 450+ rwhp out of my car, but it is my daily driver :devil:

Youll definately get your ass kicked down low with that cam. But at the TRACK around 6.5k-7K it would be killer. has anyone besides Thunder been able to reproduce those numbers?

Streetable? :lol: Not in any way in a 346.

Check out the CFM by RPM cam discussion for some other insights.

Hmm so that particular cam is all in the higher rpm range huh? Thats pretty :gay: I'll keep looking and try to find a cam thats gonne give me the best all around power curve. Besides if I'm stabbing for 11's i cant have it all at the top end thats for sure.

streetable is like asking someone if a girl is hot. it just depends on how despirate you are and what you will put up with! no way is a T-rex a good street cam. now if the car is a mostly strip and some weekend warrior time street car, sure, if you can handle it. dont get caught up in the dyno numbers. there are so many other factors in the powercurve. if you are not totally race setup, then cam will suck. if you are on a 28" tire, 4.30 gearing, 4000+ stall, and the valvetrane and bottom end setup to turn 7200 rpms, sure, go for it.

IMO, 450 rwhp without dyno tricks and daily driver are not going to work unless you dont mind driving around a full out race car all the time. and yea, there are MAJOR issues with that.

If you want a dyno queen go for the trex, for streetablility get something smaller.

hahahahahahhaah You people make me laugh. First off I'd like to know many of you guys saying this cam isnt streetable actually have this cam, if not; you should leave this alone. I see alot of people commenting on how they THINK it is based upon the specs.

I have the cam, it makes more power than my stock cam across the ENTIRE range, it wont get "whooped" in lower rpms. I have physical proof of that in my rear view mirror. The cam is awesome, plenty streetable with 4.10 gears. I wouldnt second doubt my decision if I had it all over again. I drive my car in the rain, around the city (Boston), on highway trips and through whatever else I have to.

Find out from people who have the cam.

BTW, power for me cam in like a raging bull around 4,000 rpm. Not exactly a top end car if you ask me.

Yeah I guess your right. :cry: I've spent all day looking at diffrent cam specs, this and that and all I want it a very reliable daily driver that could possibly turn out some mid to hig 11 sec pass's all motor. Without going with a bore, or a stroker kit.. its kinda hard.

It isn't that hard to build a high 11 sec daily driver. It is done fairly frequently these days. Heads, cam, mild gears, and a sticky tire will get you there. A few suspension mods along the way will help as well.

Throw out all the HP numbers, they mean diddly-shit. For what you're doing, look for a broad, flat torque curve with high average horsepower.

Set your expected power band at 2500 rpm - 6000 rpm, shift around 6200 rpm. That will make a fine daily driver and a very quick car.

but can it be done with a bone stock LS1 build up? I cant afford a bore, I cant affored a stroker kit.. So all I can basically spend my 10K loan on is forged pistons, ported stock heads, a nice cam, 12-bolt with gears, new clutch, and some long tubes with true duals.

Is something wrong with your stock shortblock?

http://www.geocities.com/danwade@pac...et/DanZ28.html
(click on trex dyno overlay)

here is an interesting graph overlay. it's of the tr230 vs. the trex. the trex dosn't make any more power until 5400rpms. in fact, it makes less. if you don't have a car that is setup to allways be above 5400rpm (i doubt many of us do) then this is definetly not the cam for you. you could get a cam that makes a much more usable power band (for a street car at least) and not have to put up with the bad drivability.

IMO, the trex is nothing other than good marketing. make a cam that makes killer peak numbers, has the biggest specs, call it some sort of nickname (ie. trex), and people will buy it in masses.

Thunder Racing TR224/114 cam, TEA 1.5 heads, MAC headers, Nittto drag radials, Vig 3200 stall. In full street trim the car runs mid 11s all day long. This is a very streetable combo.
You can do it for way less than $10K


John

the trex makes good low rpm power as well. what i am most concerned with in daily drivers is idle, stumbling and hunting idles, and where it makes power. sure you can shift a trex cam at 6400 rpms (the max i would recomend a daily driver) but you wont take advantage of it. to teh guy that is hardcore and doesnt mind the thought of loosing a rodbolt (losing the motor) then bingo. if you are going with a balanced forged motor, another good deal. but daily drivers are usually high milage motors. possibly 15-20K miles a year is expected out fo them. you want to go how long between changing valve springs? lol

Well It does burn 3 quarts of oil every 3K miles, and i very seriously doubt that all that is going through the PCV SO I'm gonna take it next week to a shop and do a compression test, before i take out that big of a loan. If it does happin to be the rings (which I'm almost positive it is), I'll go ahead and break into the motor while i'm in there and do some "other" mods to help it quit burning oil.. Well thats what I'm gonna tell my girlfriend anyways :devil:

My car is an M6, which in turn means.. I'll have to buy a new 12-bolt with some gears, and a new clutch :cry: Ohh well I'll be glad I did once i get it all together. Its better to build a car that can handel the power vs. one that wont handel it.

I would hope that it MAKES more power everywhere compared to your STOCK cam. That cam is like a fuggin mountain compared to an anthill if you want a comparison. the dyno graph show 270 ft/lbs of torque at 3500 tell me how you wont get that ass spanked off the line with a cam that is more geared towards street racing. I can prolly give you a few that come on way earlier than the TREX. FM11, FM13, 231/237, 224 and the list goes on. All of these cams start pulling 2500-6800 rpm which is where a STREET motor lives at. Boasting about how big and friendly the trex cam is sounds like a my dick is bigger than yours sales pitch.

:judge:

and did i hear you are getting a LOAN to mod? oh boy, dont want to sound like an old man, but think about it first. cars like this are money pits. once you start moding, it will cost more and more to MAINTAIN it. forged and built do NOT mean indestructable.

OKAY old man :jest: heh just kidding.. I definatly know where your coming from. I'm 20 years old, live on my own, and I'll probably be married to my current girlfriend in the next 4-5 years. SO once we get married that means absolutly no $$ left at all. :cry: I dont have any credit because they wanted to charge me to much on a first time buyers plan :guns: So now I'm gonna try to get this loan and start some credit, fix my oil consumption problems, and get it all done before I plan on having a wife, OR kids. :drive: