I drove it around a bit without the trailer and it does seem peppier. The biggest change is i doesn't run out of steam at 3500RPM anymore. I'm towing my car to SF for a race this sunday. I will know alot more after that.

Vince

 

I can't say enough good about this camshaft.
My test hill is the beginning of the Sierra Nevada’s. My load is an open car trailer with a total combined weight of about 9400 Lbs.
Before the cam change the fastest I could pull the hill was 55 MPH in fifth gear. After the cam change 60 MPH.
The rolling hills leading into the SF bay area on highway 80, I could leave the truck in fifth and cruise control set at 64 MPH and the truck would dip down to 60 ish and climb back up to 64 MPH while going up the hill.
That was my biggest complaint before. Heading from Auburn CA to Topeka KS every medium sized rolling hill would bog the truck down. So I had to be on constant alert getting a run on each and every hill we came to. That might not seem like a big deal but when you drive 800 miles a day for two days straight, it's a major pain in the butt and really contributes a whole lot to driver fatigue when you have to be on constant alert watching for hills.
Fuel mileage seems better as well. I will have more data as I collect it.
Overall the truck and trailer is much easier to drive around town because it doesn’t get bogged down any more.
If you want more power for your 4.9 EFI I highly recommend this camshaft.
I have the truck set at the stock 10 degrees BTDC right now and will set it to 14 degrees for my next experiment.

More later.

Vince

 

One more thing, I don't feel any loss of power below 1200 RPM. That was one of my other concerns, I was worried a little about losing low end grunt. The truck is far easier to drive in all situations. It picked up power everywhere.

Vince

 

The low end you would have lost was probably made back plus a little by advancing the cam back to straight up.

 

These are the kinds of posts we need more of. Thanks for the info

 

Told ya!!! Now add some long tube headers and it'll be an animal!

did u go with new steel timing gears???

 

All works great! I went with a new composite gear for the quiet thing. I don't know about the long tube headers.. My truck lives at 2200-2400 RPM so I was thinking that timing might be worth a few extra foot LBs. I'll more than likely stop after that!
Next comes paint...

Vince

 

I was wondering compaddict and Silver Streak.... Based on the years that your trucks are I'm guessing that you're fuel injected but I wanted to make sure. I have a '94 with fuel injection, and I want to keep the injection, and I've been trying to figure out which cam to put in it when I get a chance to.

 

If you're going to leave the head stock I would run the Crane. If you are planning other mods, particularly porting the head, it might be better to run something else. It all depends on what the rest of the engine does.

 

Good info, thanks a lot! I've ported other heads before and so I was thinking I may try getting another head and playing with it and then do a head swap too. I guess I'm not sure how far I can go with the factory EFI though before I start having problems. I'm planning on keeping the factory EFI exhaust manifold and running a single 2 1/2" exhaust without a cat and a Flowmaster muffler (because I have it sitting around). I've already made a Y pipe that is in place of the cat that has 2" primaries and a 2 1/2" outlet. I tow a 4400lb tractor on a dual axle trailer so I'm pretty sure I'm pushing 10,000lbs loaded, but I'm kinda disappointed with the torque, even with just a light load it doesn't seem to pull as I expected. If I could do the exhaust and a cam and pick up some more torque I'd be happy with that. I have 3.36 gears and 31" BFGs. I think the gears are a little tall, but I like the rpm in third gear. It's the drop from 1st to 2nd that kills me (I have an E4OD). So I guess I don't have a specific question, but if anyone has any suggestions I'm open to them. Oh, I just did a tune up in July (air filter, plugs, wires, cap, rotor, injectors cleaned), so that isn't holding me back.

 

the E4OD has a horrible 1-2 shift schedule, its so soft and slow.

if ur towing with ur truck and it has an E4OD (or any automatic for that matter) an external cooler is a GREAT addition. also a trans temp guage wouldnt be a bad idea.

and quite honestly, i would install a mild shift kit in ur E4OD. its not hard or expensive and will DRASTICALLY improve the unit. the shifts will be firmer (good for clutch apply and cut down on heat) and quicker (reduce that soft spot between the 1-2 shift).

the cam will help ur torque but the biggest drag is that pig of a tranny. i went through mine and threw the book at it and now it shifts like a race car (which i love) and its great. no more soft 1-2 shift...

 

I bought the truck as a wrecked 2 wheeler and I put it together as a 4 wheeler, so I went through the tranny while it was out. I put a new heavy duty torque converter, new solenoid pack and a Factory Tech valve body in it and it shifts HARD! It's harder than any transmission I've ever put a shift kit in. It's borderline abusive. It was funny though driving my mom to Seattle and back (from Michigan) this summer though! So my transmission isn't a problem. I'm going to make my 2-1/2 and Flowmaster cat-back and see if that gives me the torque I'm missing. Also.... it feels like it's laboring too hard on the highway. On that trip across country with the cruise set at 65 I was only getting around 15mpg, with only my mom and about a 300lb load in the back. I was disappointed. So I guess that would also tell me that I've got something not quite right with my setup. So like I said, I'll try the exhaust and see if maybe I have a clogged muffler.

 

I tow a 2000LBs car on a new wood deck 16' trailer with I'm guessing 400LBs of gear in the bed and my total weight full of gas and two people is 9600LBS.

I'm guessing your combo weighs quite a bit more. Add tall tires to the mix and I think you go from way over loaded to way over loaded and way under geared.

If you tow a lot I think you need to change your rear end gears to match your load at the least.

Vince

 

Yeah, I'd like to weigh my combo to see where I'm at. What gears are you running in yours? I like my rpm at 60 in drive, it's around 2300 if I remember correctly. I do have the original front axle with 3.55 gears that I kept so I could get a little more gearing someday, but I have to get a matching front gear first.

But bigger issue though is how it drives unloaded, it just doesn't feel right on the highway and I'm only getting 14 to 15 mpg, so I don't think something's quite right. What I need to do is just shut up and do the exhaust and see what I get. The problem there is all the stupid projects I have lined up at the moment. I know I'm the only one with that problem though, right?

 

I think my RPM at 64MPH is around 2300 but I haven't had the need to check my ratio. Your ratio seems like a good match.

One of the first things you need to do is to get your truck running tip top and then start modifiying to make it better. Mine had a vacuum canister that was leaking air making it stumble and behave bad. Before that the PO changed out most everything else over a period of two years trying to fix the problem.

I would start by pulling all your vacuum lines and seeing if they hold vacuum first, then pull your codes and do all the maintanence items.

When you weigh your combo at a truck scale, bring a long stick so you can hit the button!

Good luck!

Vince