Mild Cam vs BIG Cam?

[fastfreddie]

I've been reading and studying about CAM's and there seems to be alot of talk about Mild Cam's for DD's and then BIG Cam's for more HP. I've done some searching but haven't found an answer to what I'm looking for.

I'm assuming a Mild Cam is somewhere around 231/236. What is considered a BIG Cam? Also, what are the pros and cons to a BIG Cam?

Thanks for the help!

[steveo9043]

If i'm not mistaking a big cam will require a higher stall which will take away the street ability. I don't think that is the only pro/con. I'm subscribing to see tho as I am looking into a cam soon as well.

Did me beating you on the dyno make you want to do this? lol jk

[JEFF75645]

I have a 223/236 59X-60X. I'm not sure where the line is drawn for mild-wild. There was a thread a while back debating different size cams and what category that fall into. As far as stall I think the dyno graph kinda tells you what stall you will need.

[thahemp]

Originally Posted by fastfreddie

I've been reading and studying about CAM's and there seems to be alot of talk about Mild Cam's for DD's and then BIG Cam's for more HP. I've done some searching but haven't found an answer to what I'm looking for.

I'm assuming a Mild Cam is somewhere around 231/236. What is considered a BIG Cam? Also, what are the pros and cons to a BIG Cam?

Thanks for the help!

The TSP 231/236 isn't a mild cam if that's the one your talking about. A mild cam is just a cam that has less duration and less lift. Less duration means that it will idle better and drive better at low RPM. Less lift will be easier on your valvetrain. What you should buy all depends on what you're hoping to get out of the cam. The 231/236, G6X3, Night Fury, etc.. are all big cams.

I'm not the one to be answering from an auto tranny point of view as I have an LS3.

[MrBowTi3]

Check this out it will be informative at the least

http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=290089

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

[willhe64]

Lumpy idle is caused by low vacuum. Basically the engine want's to stall. This leads to drivability issues when putting around town.

[DrkPhx]

Lumpy idle is caused by overlap; low vaccum is a by product of overlap. I would define the cams listed in this thread (so far) as mild. Anything above 20 degrees of overlap at .50 is considered wilder in my book. Approaching 30 degrees is WILD. The cam in my last car (LS 402 stroker) had 26 degrees of overlap. It took a lot of tuning; but it idled and drove good considering the setup (11.7 cr, 5000 stall, 3.73 gears).

[KCS]

Originally Posted by fastfreddie

I've been reading and studying about CAM's and there seems to be alot of talk about Mild Cam's for DD's and then BIG Cam's for more HP. I've done some searching but haven't found an answer to what I'm looking for.

I'm assuming a Mild Cam is somewhere around 231/236. What is considered a BIG Cam? Also, what are the pros and cons to a BIG Cam?

Thanks for the help!

There is no black and white answer, it's all relative. Displacement, cylinder heads, operating range, etc all play a role in what cam is needed, and what would be "big" or "small".

Now if you were to narrow it down to say a 376ci LS with LS3 heads, then you can begin define what cams are too big or too small.

Generally speaking, a cam will "rock" the power curve with peak torque being a fulcrum if you will. More duration will hurt lower RPM power, while picking up higher RPM power.

[fastfreddie]

Originally Posted by steveo9043

Did me beating you on the dyno make you want to do this? lol jk

Absolutely....you really pissed me off!

[thahemp]

Originally Posted by KCS

Generally speaking, a cam will "rock" the power curve with peak torque being a fulcrum if you will. More duration will hurt lower RPM power, while picking up higher RPM power.

That's a good way to describe it.

[fastfreddie]

Thanks guys for the replies. Great reading APEX Chase's post. I hadn't run across that, not sure why. I think I'll eventually get a handle on this CAM thing. Guess I was misinterpreting what defines a Mild Cam and BIG Cam.

Now I just need to win the lottery!

[litle88]

Pros and cons are, when you get the mild cam after a few months or sooner your gonna wish you had the bigger one. Mark my words. Lol

[fastfreddie]

Originally Posted by litle88

Pros and cons are, when you get the mild cam after a few months or sooner your gonna wish you had the bigger one. Mark my words. Lol

Alex told me to never listen to your advice.

J/K

[MARINE1991]

Getting my cam and conversion done next week...