346 vs 408
TECH Enthusiast
Joined: Feb 2005
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It takes a pretty nasty head/cam combo to get 450+rwhp on a 346. You can get around that with a pretty tame head/cam combo on a 408. Add any somewhat radical head/cam packages to a 408 and youll see some pretty impressive numbers.
The biggest difference will be area under the curve. While the 408s may peak the around the same area as the 346, it'll make more power throughout the curve and of course, more torque.
I'd say an aggressive came for a 408 would be 260 duration, .620+" lift.
I'd say an aggressive came for a 408 would be 260 duration, .620+" lift.
Yup, your just looking at peak numbers. A heads cam 346 can make 500 rwhp but thats few and far between, and thats with a really big cam (for a 346) and some killer heads and every other bolt-on imaginable. 500 rwhp can be done easily with a 408 and a good sized cam. The curves are gonna be totally diff. too.
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the other thing no one has mentioned that i just thought of is most of the 408's are running lower compression than most 346's as most people end up running some type of power adder (SC, turbo, nitrous). If you were to look at the compression levels on the 346's making 500 rwhp NA im sure the heads were milled to increase compression and hence the hp levels.
A 450RWHP 346ci motor will drive similar to a 525rwhp 408 motor. You have to compare apples to apples. You are talking about like a 232/234 cam and a pretty nice set of heads to get 450rwhp out of stock cubes. That cam in a 408 would drive like a 224/224 in a 346. Don't be confused, a 408 will make a good deal more than a 346 not to mention the large amount of under the curve torque. That's the biggest difference. Drive a 450rwhp 408 and a 450rwhp 346 and tell me what you think, it won't even be near the same driving experience.
