Well i am kinda confused on the reason guys choose the cams they do. I do not know a lot about the technical stuff but i know the basics. But my question is i know everyone talks about power under the curve and how its important but then why do most guys go out and buy a huge cam that really only makes good peak power. What is more important? This might not make sense to some people but i would just like some feedback to help me better understand cam selections. I have read the sticky and have done a search also. Thanks

 

For race only applications, some people leave the line at like 5k. They don't care too much about the power they're making at 2k. When you're on the street and want that torquey feel of having great power down low, then you don't want to have a cam with huge amounts of duration.

You have to decide for yourself which is more important. If you have a race only car, get a huge cam. If you have a "street" cam, get something with less duration. A lot of people are trying to find a great compremise between the two.

 

some people are just caught up in peak numbers and dont know any better either.

 

torque is what is more important for the street and all that power under the curve, that means power before you get to the peak. and like xtnct00ws6 said for people that leave the line in those rpm's they dont car about what the car makes lower because they are never there.

 

Yeah thats what i figured a lot of guys do but i want to know that the cam i am putting in makes the power i want for the right reason. I mean i want to be able to feel the most power i can for the street but i also want the car to be fast in a 1/4 mile. So i guess what it comes down to is i need to find a medium. Thanks for the feedback. Anyone have anymore input. Thanks

 

Most of the big cams aren't going to work well with plastic intakes. Put a Victor or a sheetmetal intake on and rev it for big power. The torque style cams, if designed correctly, don't sacrifice much up top and work far better on the street. Watch that DCR.

 

Ok well i understand for the purpose of leaving the line but what about when you are shifting from second to third and third to fourth and so on?

 

You can gear the car so that you are in powerband after the shift. Thats why with medium/large cams you typically want steep gears.

 

I understand that but why not just get a medium size or smaller cam wouldnt it be the same thing? I am just trying to understand the guys that get these huge cams for the street, nothing against them i am just trying to figure out why for my knowledge. I mean if there is some advantage to running a huge cam on the street i would like to know what it is.

 

Its 'Little man syndrome", really.
Bud, I feel the same as you do. And most are running these cams on stock heads. There is a point where the heads cant flow what the cam is dishing out....So in actuallity, its a waste. Now match a big cam with aftermarket heads,,,,,,,thats a different ball game.
It all boils down to the proper combo.
I know a guy that ran low 12's with a 221/.566 cam. Put 1.8 rockers on...times dropped. Went back to 1.7's and bolted on some heads...he got into the 11's.........this is an '04 GTO.
But for the most part....its a dude thing..Gotta always have the biggest, baddest sounding toys.....

 

+ 1,000,000,000

 

A lot of people also are willing to give up some low end power since if you're racing someone you're gonna get beat 9/10 times if you aren't spinning the motor high. I've seen it too many times. Torque is nice, but torque at high rpm makes hp, which makes ya go fast. Nobody is impressed with your torque cammed car when it gets outran because your power band falls off too early.

Try to find a compromise if you want. Personally, I don't know that you can feel much at a low rpm. Even the so-called "torque cams" only come on at 3000 and up. Heck, my cam comes on at 3000 and comes totally awake at 3500. So you kinda gotta sift through all the bs and the theorists on here. There's a lot of guys whose info comes from sponsors' posts and advertising, and not from actually driving.