Hey guys, I got a few questions about changing the cams on my truck. I'm thinking about buying some performance cams from Comp Cams. Anybody know what kind of advantages and disadvantages there are to changing up my cams with more lift?
I'm thinking about changing the lift to around .500 or maybe less depending on what you guys think.
I want something that can get me more horses, a more agressive sound without switching over to a stall converter.
I would appreciate yalls opinions.
By the way, how difficult is changing cams on the 4.6L?
Also, how much lift do the stock cams com with?

Thanks,
Chris

 

Got an idea Chris, howabout some funny gas. For about $400 you can put a Nitrous kit on the old gal and have some real fun. Changing cams is not only costly, but it will only give you 20 to 25 hp at best and it's not a fun job changing them. The funny gas won't hurt your motor if you use the jets that come with the kit and you can make over 100 hp or more. Let's face it Chris, this truck is too heavy and the motor is too small to be a real fast rig, so why not have some fun with a nitrous kit that you can use on this truck and the next one. They can be removed and used again.
I have used nitrous on motors (snowmobiles, cycles, go karts, trucks, cars, golf carts and boats) for the last thirty years and have had a lot of fun doing it --- never lost a motor using it. It's great fun and they idle like a taxi-cab and go like hell.

 

Billet 4.6 cams $1700-$1800. A big waste of money imo as said above.

 

nascartruckdude these are some of the options that you may want to look at. Now all of these mod that i have had done are
all from bbk timing adjustor 25-30 hp,75mm throttle bodie 8-15 hp,1-5/8 ceramic headers not sure on hp rating on this mod?
underdrive pulley kit 10-15 hp,cold-air induction kit 7-12 hp all of these mods were done at one time on my 98 expedition 5.4
all i can say is it feels like an animal now flowmaster 3 chamber true duals all of this has been done under 1.600$
good luck turbo ted
p.s. after i do some dino runs i will ley you know.

 

It might just be me but the last thing I want to do is put nitrous in my motor. Every time I think of putting nitrous in my truck I have an image of my truck sitting in my garage with a blown motor. Basically, I'm just afraid of the stuff because of all the bad things I hear it can do to a motor.
As for the Cams I too saw those Xtreme Energy Cams from Comp Cams. I think they are like $579 or $549 for the pair.
As for all the under the hood bolt-on mods, I'm really skeptical about those. I know they say they offer "UP TO" such and such horsepower but I've seen other guys try out these parts and they were really disappointed in the Dyno results. I think it was an episode of Horspower TV I was watching and one of the guys had an Impala SS. After he installed a throttle body spacer, full catback exhaust, and cold air intake he only gained about 20 something HP. It blew my mind away! He spent probably near $1000 or more on bolt ons and didn't even get wat the comapanies said they would.
But anyways that's just me bein' skeptical about bolt-ons, I don't believe that they are all that they are cracked up to be. BUT, I would like to see your Dyno results maybe they may change my mind.
Back to the cams though. How hard are they really to switch, I would love to have some kind of serious mod done to my engine besides installing a SC or a Turbo. I just thought that since the cams are on top of the heads they might be easier to replace than a pushrod cam.

Chris

 

I'm with Chris on the nitrous thing. I personally want to make more low end and midrange horsepower...the power that I will notice... Nitrous is only good for power with the throttle floored... How much time do I spend with the throttle wide open? not as much as with it 1/2 to 3/4....
Peas out.

 

Guys, -- the only way that you are going to make any power with a little 4.6 motor is to spin the hell out of it. With a 4500+lbs truck how fast do you think that you can make it go. You don't need 20 or 40hp --- you need 100 or 200hp to make any real differance.
You can spend a few thousand to get that power and you will have to feed it every day -- with the price of fuel it's something to think about nowadays. This is why I mentioned nitrous -- you already have the exhuast system and that is important if you are going to pump more air into the motor -- with a s-charger, turbo or nitrous. A 4.6 isn't ever going to have any real pulling power -- it's just to small of an engine. That is what the 460's and V10's are for. There isn't any differance between nitrous or a blower or a turbo except price --- the nitrous being the cheaper to install. They all pump more air into the engine and that is what makes the HP. The nice part about the nitrous is the motor can stay stock and you can still get some gas mileage in your everyday travels. You only use more fuel when you light it off -- that is when the fun starts. If you do buy a nitrous unit, please don't buy something with water hose nozzels for jets -- you for sure will be walking home! Just get a kit that adds about 100 to 150 HP. It won't hurt anything and you will have a lot of fun. Take it from one of the old guys -- it's more HP for the money than these fancy air cleaners, pulleys, and gofast oil treatments!!

 

okay, well, what am I going to use all those full throttle horses for, exactly? Smokey burnouts? Cause I can do those... Top end horses really don't benefit me that much if I want to do some trailering and hauling and stuff. With nitrous I basically have a truck thats as sluggish as stock until I punch it... not my style.
Peas out.

 

OK, I see your point on nitrous, but how many times can I shoot this stuff in my motor before one of my pistons shoots through my hood. My truck has 86,000 miles on it and I don't think nitrous would help the situation any.
In my opinion I see nitrous as steroids for a truck or car. Yes, it has immediate and incredible results but what about the long term affects?
I know these motors are puny but what the heck. I want something that can surprise people at the light, something that can take a Lightning or possibly something that can take those Chevy @$$wipes with their 350's.
By the way, isn't nitrous illegal? I think it is over here in Texas but I here it's only illegal when you use it. heh

Chris

 

It's OK to use in Michigan - has been for years. You mentioned stop lights -- it's great for that type of racing. You get into it and out in about 10 seconds and you get lots of races out of a bottle.
Again, this isn't any different than a turbo or a blower - they all pump air into the motor. Nitrous enters the manifold at -129F (real cold) and under compression it expands to fill the cylinders.
As long as you add the right amount of fuel with it you start making lots of power -- right now!! The jets in the kit are all figured out for you and everything should work fine. Sometimes with the larger kits you have to run an extra fuel pump so you won't lean out the engine, but with a small kit (100 to 150hp) you should be fine. I don't know if you are ever going to be able to beat a Lightning -- they are pretty quick. More cubes,valves and lots of HP. You should be able to get some of the old Chevys at the light with your 3.73 gears - 4.11 would be even better! You mentioned the long term effects on the engine. No matter how you get 100 HP more from your engine it is going to put more load on everything -- bearings, rods, pistons, crank and etc. Again, s-charger, turbo or nitrous is the same thing - just more air and fuel that make more HP which equals more internal load. Figure it out -- 300 HP divided by 8 cyl's equals 37.5 HP per piston/rod -- that is not too much for a stock motor. When you go past 50 HP then you might want to start looking at better rods and crank shafts and-and-and-just a whole lot more money. Another thing -- nitrous is good for you stop light guys - don't go out and make your bets for three mile runs - the bottle will run out and you will come in last!!

 

And who sells these kits?

 

Click on the highlighted "nitrous" in my post and/or try Jegs online. I'm sure there are more if you look around - try google. Most of the small kits go for $300 to $500 and are easy to install. Have fun at the stop lights!!

 

Okay, so if I don't want just "Saturday nite" horses, what's my option for the 4.6? should I have bought a used super duty instead?

 

I know one thing is for sure, NOS isn't the best choice for towing. I'd say a turbo would work just fine see is how they run off the exhaust. I mean why do they turbo big rigs? Cuz they offer power while towing.
Plus turbos cost about the same as Superchargers.
But all in all SC's and Turbos are basically the same. I just don't like how the SC runs off your serpentine belt.

Chris

 

Your right, Nitrous isn't for towing. The bottle will not last on a steady draw of gases. Nitrous is a cheap setup for the stop light crowd -- as I said before, your on the bottle for 10 to 20 seconds and you can get several runs from a 20lb. bottle. To answer "Pass the Peas"--- you don't want a Super Duty if you want to go fast! It's the same old game that we have played for years -- weight to horsepower -- all the horsepower that you can afford bolted into the lightest truck. I'm not saying that nitrous is for everyone -- it is clearly not. If you like stop light racing then it is a very easy and a cheap way to make horsepower and you still have a mild engine to go back and forth to work. You haven't lost your mileage and it starts every morning. If someone really wants to have some fun then buy a old Lightning and put nitrous and a good set of rubber on the back and go out "stoplight'in!!