Cam Lobes
Cam Lobes Whats the deal with the different lobes from Comp, Thunder, Cammotion? How does a cam with say an XE-R lobe differ from another company's lobes on the same exact cam specs?
TECH Fanatic
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 1,979
Likes: 3
From: Upstate NY
Originally Posted by TchargedLS1TA
Whats the deal with the different lobes from Comp, Thunder, Cammotion? How does a cam with say an XE-R lobe differ from another company's lobes on the same exact cam specs?
Perhaps you mean that those other companies use Comp to grind their cams with Comp-developed lobes. In that case, if the exact same Comp lobe numbers are used, ground on the same centerlines ("LSA") and installed at the same Intake Centerline (ICL), yes the cams would be identical, except perhaps for the "name" on the cam.
By buying one of those cams, and "reverse engineering" it if the lobe numbers are not on the cam, you, too could have your own "custom" cam. Call it the "Lightning Bolt" or "Poetry in Motion", or whatever floats your boat.
Comp has literally hundreds of lobe profiles to choose from. If what they have doesn't cover the cam specifier's desires, Comp will engineer a new lobe profile specifically for the customer. Last I heard it was somewhere around a $2000 charge. With the cost of the software that is used, and the designer's time, that's just about right. I suspect the other major cam manufacturers (Crane, etc.) do about the same thing.
Originally Posted by Old SStroker
Unless you compare cam lobes every degree of rotation you really can't say they are exactly the same. Just comparing duration @ .050 and max lift doesn't tell you much. Even .020, .050 and .200 durations don't give you the exact profile, but that helps a lot.
Perhaps you mean that those other companies use Comp to grind their cams with Comp-developed lobes. In that case, if the exact same Comp lobe numbers are used, ground on the same centerlines ("LSA") and installed at the same Intake Centerline (ICL), yes the cams would be identical, except perhaps for the "name" on the cam.
By buying one of those cams, and "reverse engineering" it if the lobe numbers are not on the cam, you, too could have your own "custom" cam. Call it the "Lightning Bolt" or "Poetry in Motion", or whatever floats your boat.
Comp has literally hundreds of lobe profiles to choose from. If what they have doesn't cover the cam specifier's desires, Comp will engineer a new lobe profile specifically for the customer. Last I heard it was somewhere around a $2000 charge. With the cost of the software that is used, and the designer's time, that's just about right. I suspect the other major cam manufacturers (Crane, etc.) do about the same thing.
Perhaps you mean that those other companies use Comp to grind their cams with Comp-developed lobes. In that case, if the exact same Comp lobe numbers are used, ground on the same centerlines ("LSA") and installed at the same Intake Centerline (ICL), yes the cams would be identical, except perhaps for the "name" on the cam.
By buying one of those cams, and "reverse engineering" it if the lobe numbers are not on the cam, you, too could have your own "custom" cam. Call it the "Lightning Bolt" or "Poetry in Motion", or whatever floats your boat.
Comp has literally hundreds of lobe profiles to choose from. If what they have doesn't cover the cam specifier's desires, Comp will engineer a new lobe profile specifically for the customer. Last I heard it was somewhere around a $2000 charge. With the cost of the software that is used, and the designer's time, that's just about right. I suspect the other major cam manufacturers (Crane, etc.) do about the same thing.
You carack me up. Maybe you should take Floyd's job
Sorry for the
TECH Fanatic
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 1,979
Likes: 3
From: Upstate NY
Originally Posted by Stang's Bane
You carack me up. Maybe you should take Floyd's job
I sorta like "Mushroom Farm" for a family of custom cams. You know what a mushroom farm is, right? It where you "keep them in the dark and feed them horse s**t." Of course, they could be called "MF'rs" for short.
The mind wanders...
[edit]Additions:
SBD (Silent But Deadly) for a no-lope cheater cam (or emission cam?)
NDF (can't explain that here) for the guy who wants his otherwise stock engine to sound like a ProStocker when he cruises with the ricers.
Wham Bam (Thank You Ma'm) You've just been screwed!
Willie Sutton It knows where the power is!
Bambi Thumper's quieter, but faster friend
V-Rex (Vastatosaurus Rex) Bigger and stronger than a T-Rex
Santa Ana For turbocharged engines (a "hot wind" in meteorology talk)
Bandit "Doin' what they say can't be done."
Last edited by Old SStroker; Jul 18, 2007 at 04:16 PM. Reason: Additions:
Originally Posted by Old SStroker
I wondered who would get it. It's about time to get more creative with cam names.
I sorta like "Mushroom Farm" for a family of custom cams. You know what a mushroom farm is, right? It where you "keep them in the dark and feed them horse s**t." Of course, they could be called "MF'rs" for short.
The mind wanders...
I sorta like "Mushroom Farm" for a family of custom cams. You know what a mushroom farm is, right? It where you "keep them in the dark and feed them horse s**t." Of course, they could be called "MF'rs" for short.
The mind wanders...
As long as you keep shovelling, people will keep buying. 
Flavor of the week, our "proprietary lobes" 
I had a guy accuse me of getting caught up in the cam hoopla around here. I told him there was only one "Chuck Norris"
Jon, I wonder how you keep your mouth shut around here as much as you do. I am starting to myself. I am tired of beating people over the head with common sense and then it just being ignored.
No disrespect to the OP
