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-   -   Builder used different cam than specified. (https://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/general-q/333822-builder-used-different-cam-than-specified.html)

phughes69 01-19-2016 12:55 PM

just a thought knowing this is a blower motor but do you know what he set the ring gap at?

79formula 01-19-2016 01:04 PM

I don't know offhand. The motor was never going to be anything but a blower motor so I would like to think he set up the bottom for it.

Originally Posted by phughes69 (Post 4395171)
just a thought knowing this is a blower motor but do you know what he set the ring gap at?


phughes69 01-19-2016 01:29 PM

I just question it because the little blowers create a lot of heat and if he forgot that you were adding a blower to it and he obviously did not know what cam should be in a blower engine, I wonder if he set the ring gap up for a supercharged application. I hate to rain on your parade but better safe than sorry. The guy may have a bunch of marine motors in his shop but are they HP motors of stock replacement motors for cruisers.

79formula 01-19-2016 02:31 PM


Originally Posted by phughes69 (Post 4395182)
I just question it because the little blowers create a lot of heat and if he forgot that you were adding a blower to it and he obviously did not know what cam should be in a blower engine, I wonder if he set the ring gap up for a supercharged application. I hate to rain on your parade but better safe than sorry. The guy may have a bunch of marine motors in his shop but are they HP motors of stock replacement motors for cruisers.

My 575-600hp motor was the lowest hp motor in there.

stimleck 01-19-2016 04:56 PM


Originally Posted by 79formula (Post 4395168)
I really did not want to slander the builder. I started this thread just to see if I could actually run the cam he installed. After multiple "NO" answers with both Comp Cams and Eddie Marine also saying no. I had to ask him to swap it.

As far as the extras go, I still feel the price was fair for what I got. I have heard what other people pay for motors and mine was not that bad.

For $3200 I got the following:

Machine work on the block- Align hone mains, bore/hone with torque plate, cam bearings/soft plugs, decked.
Machine work on rods- resized big ends with new ARP bolts.
Machine work on crank- crankshaft ground
Rotating assembly balanced
forged 2399 pistons
cam
cam bearings
main bearings
rings
rear main seal
timing cover gasket
oil pan gasket
timing set with torrington bearing
timing cover
balancer and bolt
timing cover bolts
oil pan studs
oil pump stud
timing tab
cam button
lifters
I supplied the new oil pump.

Costs are the shortblock at 3200, the heads running me $1496, the blower was $1676, and $500 in gaskets, oil system stuff. I have a total of $6872 in my motor. I also sold off my old intake for $600 and old pistons for $200. Leaving a $6072 net cost.

The only thing I would have tried to have done different is heads. At $1496 to get and go through a set of iron heads, I should have just got AFRs. However I am out of money for this seasons boat upgrades.


The only thing I would have tried to have done different is heads. At $1496 to get and go through a set of iron heads, I should have just got AFRs. However I am out of money for this seasons boat upgrades.

lol i get to post the same thing twice in one week
"never heard that before" lmao

79formula 01-19-2016 05:07 PM


Originally Posted by stimleck (Post 4395255)
The only thing I would have tried to have done different is heads. At $1496 to get and go through a set of iron heads, I should have just got AFRs. However I am out of money for this seasons boat upgrades.

lol i get to post the same thing twice in one week
"never heard that before" lmao

It sucks. I could have went Aftermarket for about $2500. But that would be another thousand ......AGAIN. lol

Craney 01-19-2016 05:16 PM

You said you supplied the oil pump, just double check with the builder that the pickup tube is welded on.

79formula 01-19-2016 06:48 PM


Originally Posted by Craney (Post 4395261)
You said you supplied the oil pump, just double check with the builder that the pickup tube is welded on.

I peeked inside. Its welded!

MILD THUNDER 01-19-2016 06:54 PM


Originally Posted by 79formula (Post 4395259)
It sucks. I could have went Aftermarket for about $2500. But that would be another thousand ......AGAIN. lol


Originally Posted by 79formula (Post 4395168)

The only thing I would have tried to have done different is heads. At $1496 to get and go through a set of iron heads, I should have just got AFRs. However I am out of money for this seasons boat upgrades.

You could have got into a set of Dart Iron Eagle 308's, or Brodix complete with inconel valves, for around 2300 bucks.

79formula 01-19-2016 06:59 PM


Originally Posted by MILD THUNDER (Post 4395295)
You could have got into a set of Dart Iron Eagle 308's, or Brodix complete with inconel valves, for around 2300 bucks.

Yup. But again thats $800 more than fixing stock junk. $800 more than I have. For sure more bang for the buck though.

MILD THUNDER 01-19-2016 07:10 PM

While I do stand behind my original cam recommendation to 79 for his build, I am not going to go as far as saying the cam the builder chose was simply WRONG, because it has a blower.

We have all been taught, even some of the phone operators at cam companies, that a supercharger cam should be 114 or wider LSA. That just isn't always the case. There are many guys out there running roots/screw blowers, on pump gas, with 110/112 LSA's, and making excellent power.

BDS blowers recommends 110 LSA cams, and back in the early days of supercharger development at B&M, they also found 110 LSA cam in a big block to make the most power on the combos they worked with. Harold Brookshire who started ultradyne cams, designed the Voodoo series of cams for lunati, and revamped many of their cams, and generally in the camshaft design business for a lifetime had this to say


Blown engines are quite different from unblown ones; clean air and fuel starts entering the combustion chamber as soon as the intake valve cracks off the seat, generally around .001" of valve lift. Unblown engines don't start putting clean air and fuel into an engine until a little while AFTER TFC. Before TDC, the piston is moving upwards and pushing the exhaust gases out the exhaust port, there is no air/fuel intake until after TFC and the piston starting down on the intake stroke.
This is just for blown gas engine, as blown alcohol engines require different cams, as do turbo-charged engines.
Because gas burns HOT, pumping a lot of fuel into the combustion chamber causes a very hot cylinder head, and detonation problems. The more racier blown gas cams are on 108-110 LSA, and use the intake overlap to COOL the combustion chamber down. Needless to say, they don't make that good of a gas mileage. They also have all of the normal actions of tighter LSAs, plus a lot of torque. Tight LSAs don't make good street engines, too snappy.
Wider LSAs make flatter torque curves and deliver better mileage, particularly at lower boosts---6-8 lbs. The blower will add lots of power.
When you get up in real racing blown gas engines, 36 lbs of boost lets you accomplish with 116 LSAs what you used to do at 110 with 8 lbs of boost.
I generally go with wide LSAs on the street with low(6-8 lbs) boost, moving to tighter LSAs (108-110) with higher boosts and racing use, then back to very wide LSAs with very high (24-39 lbs) boosts.
I also tend to pay lots of attention to those who make this their field of expertise.

UDHarold


Every combo is different, and I don't believe there is a one size fits all cam for all applications. The cam a guy might run in his weekend cruiser chevelle, might not be the came the guy who trailer his car to the track runs in his engine, or the offshore engine, etc. I also don't think just because a cam has a 110 LSA, it will revert, and a 114LSA wont revert. Theres more to it than that.

Years back a friend of a friend ordered some blower cams from Tommy at Cheif engines. Once he got the cams, he noticed they were 110 LSA . All the guys said he must have made a mistake, so he called tommy. Nope, he reassured him thats the cam he runs in his stuff. Still, his friends told him that cam was wrong, until it came to dyno time.

Things like cylinder head style, blower style, boost levels, RPM range, operating range, compression ratios, all play a part in the cam selection. I know the original cam I suggested worked well in this combo at hand, but it would be ignorant of me to say, that something else, may not have worked better, without trying it.

79formula 01-19-2016 07:34 PM

I absolutely agree that the builders cam may make more power. If I had money to play, I would have dynoed it. I also would have tried it in the boat had the dyno runs been impressive. At this point, I gotta go with a cam that many on OSO have successfully used. I could not find one person on OSO that used his cam at all. I don't have the money to gamble.

BillK 01-19-2016 08:59 PM

79,
I only read a few pages so this may have already been mentioned. Why don't you call Comp and ask their opinion on the cam based on your application ? Call them and tell them what you have with the blower etc. and ask for their recommendation. Don't tell them anything else and see what they say. I bet they will spec a cam with a lot more lobe separation for the blower.

I would personally never change a cam request without talking to the customer first. If I thought that the cam they chose was wrong I would explain my reasons and let them make the decision if they insist. I would never change it without talking to them first.

buck35 01-19-2016 09:06 PM

Gamble on his money and tell him if its great he'll get the best advertising money cant buy , just guarantee it.

79formula 01-20-2016 05:44 AM


Originally Posted by BillK (Post 4395339)
79,
I only read a few pages so this may have already been mentioned. Why don't you call Comp and ask their opinion on the cam based on your application ? Call them and tell them what you have with the blower etc. and ask for their recommendation. Don't tell them anything else and see what they say. I bet they will spec a cam with a lot more lobe separation for the blower.

I would personally never change a cam request without talking to the customer first. If I thought that the cam they chose was wrong I would explain my reasons and let them make the decision if they insist. I would never change it without talking to them first.

I did call both Comp Cams and EMI exhaust. Both said the cam was a no go.

SB 01-20-2016 06:55 AM

Quick snipit on LSA;s, including marine and SC'd:

http://www.enginelabs.com/engine-tec...-relationship/

horsepower1 01-20-2016 07:31 AM

LSA should not be a design criteria for any cam in any application. LSA is simply the result of proper intake and ex valve events.

79formula 01-22-2016 04:17 PM

I swapped the cam myself. I had the gaskets and a degree wheel. It was faster than taking the motor back and picking it up a few days later. He will still credit me the cam.

Keith Atlanta 01-22-2016 05:28 PM


Originally Posted by 79formula (Post 4396318)
I swapped the cam myself. I had the gaskets and a degree wheel. It was faster than taking the motor back and picking it up a few days later. He will still credit me the cam.

You touched the engine = Warranty Void?

79formula 01-22-2016 05:32 PM


Originally Posted by Keith Atlanta (Post 4396341)
You touched the engine = Warranty Void?

The builder only did the shortblock. I assumed I had no warranty anyways.


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