Is the 224r cam outdated?
Is the 224r cam outdated? I picked up a used 224r for a project I'm working on with trick flow heads. I've read online that it's an old dinosaur and would leave too much hp/tq on the table if compared to the newer dual pattern cams. Should I sell it and pick up something more current. The engine is an LQ4 6.0 with the truck intake
I wouldn't consider it outdated, it is used very often and popular. The design is a bit older tho and you will gain more with a custom split pattern cam. It is the go to cam for a Daily driver LS1/LS6 that is easy on the valve train, it is proven and works well. I do not know if TSP updated the lobes when they stopped using COMP cam cores.
I recently had a custom spec'd cam for a customer LQ4. He used it for towing and daily driver. It was basically stock other than an intake kit, longtubes, and a tune. The cam was a 224/230 .598/.598 on a 112 LSA using BTR .660 Platinum Springs. Customer will be dynoing the truck soon so we will see how much power it makes. Truck runs great and pulls hard from 2,400 up.
With Trickflow heads, I would go with a split pattern cam, just my opinion.
I recently had a custom spec'd cam for a customer LQ4. He used it for towing and daily driver. It was basically stock other than an intake kit, longtubes, and a tune. The cam was a 224/230 .598/.598 on a 112 LSA using BTR .660 Platinum Springs. Customer will be dynoing the truck soon so we will see how much power it makes. Truck runs great and pulls hard from 2,400 up.
With Trickflow heads, I would go with a split pattern cam, just my opinion.
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TSP redesigned their cams so to answer your question no it is not outdated. Also depends how new your used one is.
That said I seem to remember the Trick Flow heads liking something weird (I want to say they like the close intake/exhaust durations). For those heads I would definitely call and speak to someone and get something optimized for the heads.
No point running a set of killer aftermarket castings and then sticking a used cam in the engine without making sure it will be close to optimal IMO.
If you were just popping a cam in a junkyard motor with stock heads or some 243s I would say go for it.
That said I seem to remember the Trick Flow heads liking something weird (I want to say they like the close intake/exhaust durations). For those heads I would definitely call and speak to someone and get something optimized for the heads.
No point running a set of killer aftermarket castings and then sticking a used cam in the engine without making sure it will be close to optimal IMO.
If you were just popping a cam in a junkyard motor with stock heads or some 243s I would say go for it.
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Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 403
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From: Dundee, MI
You may really like that 224 cam in a heavy truck. It'll provide a lot more low end torque than some bigger options out there, and will still carry some great HP up top. Very well balanced cam, especially for heavier vehicles.
yea the 224 is a really nice well rounded cam. I have one in the tbss and drive it daily. Still using it with the stock 80e converter without any issues. Drives like stock with plenty power. The plus benefit is the torque a smaller cam makes which a truck or suv needs. I like it!
If you have the money to spend you can do better (by getting a cam spec'd to your specific setup), but in no way is it a "bad" cam. Better than the OE cam, and with more money you can do better. Up to you where you want to land in that.
The cam is outdated if its rusty from sitting in a humid garage. Otherwise, a piece of steel doesn't become outdated. It isn't software. It's the optimal cam for some combination of engine hardware and RPM requirements, the question is does your engine have that combination of hardware? If an arbitrary cam profile is considered outdated compared to something more modern in the same engine with same requirements, then either they got it wrong with the old cam or they got it wrong with the new cam. But neither one becomes outdated. They're just more optimized or less optimized for a given engine.