I'm in the buildup process (finally) on my 416 stroker, and the time to pick a cam is fast approaching. I've gotten a lot of advice elsewhere on this board (thanks, all), and I plugged it all into Desktop Dyno with all the other specs for my motor to see what happens. Though y'all might be interested in the results....

FYI, the motor is a 69 FE 360 block that's been bored .030 and stroked with a 428 crank for a total of 416 cid. I'm using Sterling 390 truck pistons with a relatively low compression height and slight dish. With a .041" head gasket and 69 cc heads (C8AE-H), my static CR will be 9.6:1. Induction is a Holley Street Avenger 570 through an Edelbrock Performer. Exhaust is Stan's tri-y headers into 2.25" duals with a crossover.

The specific cam recommendations I got elsewhere on this board were for the Crane 343801 (used by both ratsmoker and dinosaurfan), Comp Cams 255DEH (6t6merc), and the Crower 292H (I can't remember who uses that one). FEina52F1 recommended a custom grind with 214/226 duration at .050 on 108 LCA and 2 deg advance (I assumed gross valve lift of .548/.580, which is what the Crane uses). I compared all of those recommendations, along with the specs for the factory Ford cam in my 360, and several other choices from Lunati, Edelbrock, Comp Cams, and Crower.

Drum roll please....

The highest HP figures resulted from the custom grind recommended by FEina52F1 -- 328 ponies at 4500 rpm. The Crane 343801 was a close second, with 327 at 4500. Lowest HP output came from the Crower 246HDP, with 273 ponies at 3500 rpm, and the Comp Cams 252H, with 277 at 3500 rpm.

Not surprisingly, the most twist was produced by the cam with the lowest HP output, the Crower 246HDP. It produced 475 lb-ft at 2000 rpm. The Comp Cams 252H was right behind, with 473 lb-ft at 2000 rpm. Lowest torque came from the Crower 292H, which managed only 372 lb-ft at 4000 rpm. No other cam had peak torque less than 400 lb-ft or occurring above 2500 rpm. Scratch the Crower 292H from my list, both because of its poor torque showing and it lack of compensating HP (307 HP is only average, and the 5000 rpm peak point is the highest of any cam tested).

The FEina52F1 custom grind produced 430 lb-ft of torque @ 2500, and the Crane 343801 produced 409 lb-ft @ 2500. Scratch the Crane, as it was beat on both HP and torque by the FEina52F1 custom grind.

The Comp Cams 255DEH used by 6t6merc seems to be a good hp/torque compromise. It resulted in 296 HP @ 4000 rpm, and 464 lb-ft @ 2000.

I'm leaning toward the 255DEH, but I'm tempted by that custom grind offered up by FEina52F1. Besides the 10% power gain (for a fairly modest torque loss below 3000 rpm), the tight separation angle and fairly long duration makes me think it'll be friendly to low-test in my 9.6:1 motor.

What do y'all think? Keep in mind that this engine is for a 2wd F100 that will primarily be used for light hauling and towing, with a little cruising thrown in. It's backed by a C6 with a stock converter, and 3.25:1 gears. It turns roughly 2600-2700 rpm at 70 mph. I also have AC, power brakes, etc., so a decent idle is necessary.

karlsd a/k/a "ksd"
69 F100 Explorer 360/C6

 

Gotta love desktop dyno for those purposes. Have you used the iterator function yet? It has options to pick the best cam for either peak HP or TQ. For peak HP it chose a cam with .560/.580 lift and a 275/310 duration on a 108.8 LCA. I guess that would go to anybody who says FE's don't need a dual pattern cam. I haven't done one for peak torque. This cam is for my setup also with flow test results from the edel heads and all other info. Mine shows 414HP@5500 rpm and over 450 ft lbs of torque from 2500 - 4500 rpm. The iterators cam put out 429HP@5500 rpms and between 430 - 445Ft. Lbs. from 2500 - 5000. I expect my HP outputs to be just slightly higher than the program says due to the RPM intake. I doubt they figure on an intake that high for their dual plane option. Your 416 is going to put a good bit more "twist" out than my .060 over 390. One thing I do like about the 343801 cam is the 114 LCA. It gives exactly 0 degrees overlap at .050 spec. That is good for torque and power brakes should not be a problem. I think you are pointed in the right direction as far as cams go though. You obviously understand the consequences of overcamming.

 

No, I'm pretty new to DD, so I haven't quite figured out all of the functions. FYI, I used the "low performance" heads selection. I'm hoping that my C8AE-H heads will flow a little better than the DD assumptions, and that means that the DD figures will be conservative. Changing to "small block" heads shows a peak of 308 HP on the Comp 255DEH (vs. 296 with "low performance" heads). I think I'd be satisfied with 300+ peak HP at 4000 rpm and 450-475 lb-ft of torque available from 1500-3500 rpm.

I also discovered that I can get 5-7 lb-ft of additional torque and 2-4 more HP from 2000-3500 rpm with 4 degrees of cam advance, but the numbers start dropping at anything over 4 degrees. This is some way cool software. I can't wait to get it all together and buy some chassis dyno time to see how accurate the predictions were (yes, I know to expect 15-20% driveline losses).

karlsd a/k/a "ksd"
69 F100 Explorer 360/C6

 

The head choices are kind of funny on that program. With the stock low performance I get about 350 horse and with the low perf. pocket porting I get about 440HP. I would like to see someone get 90HP out of a head with a little pocket porting. You should be able to add about 30 horse to the low performance setting. Flow numbers I aquired from a stock set or 428CJ heads got me about 395HP. Don't expect your heads to flow like the Stock Small Block Heads. Those must be stock cleveland heads or something. They are the same flow as the low perf. pocket port heads. I'll post the flow numbers again. I got these from another website. I do not know the guy that flow tested them.
-------428CJ 30deg.seat--------Stock Ebok 30 deg.seat--
-lift--intake-----exhaust--------intake-----exhaust----
0.050---34.0-------20.8-----------34.8--------20.8-----
0.100---75.7-------46.0-----------69.9--------47.3-----
0.200--150.0-------84.8----------143.4--------91.2-----
0.300--202.0------118.1----------193.3-------123.8-----
0.400--228.1------145.3----------230.4-------153.6-----
0.500--235.8------162.7----------252.5-------182.2-----
0.600--242.9------173.9----------249.5-------197.8-----
0.650----------------------------252.5-----------------
0.700-------------181.2----------------------205.1-----
0.800----------------------------------------208.9-----
The pressure used was 28 in H2O.

 

I'm running a Crane H-260-2 in my 1969 F100 4x2. It has a 390 bored .030 over, 9.6:1 compression, Edelbrock aluminum heads, Performer RPM intake, C6 automatic with a stock TC, and hooker headers with a 2.5 inch exhaust. Very happy with the low end torque and smooth idle.

Reggie

 

the 214/226 cam I mentioned is TQ20/TQ30

A combination of old and reliable sig erson grinds
It was reasonably hi lift (you - but it was "soft" on the vavle train

I had 10.50 on pump gas in a 390 68 galaxie 4pseed 2 headers 3.5 gears 26 inch tires 13.5 1/4 mile. It gave good power nice idle etc


I tried 226/234 on 112 lobe centre it was the WORST !!! cam I've every seen no power no idle YUKKY.





In OZ and seeking 427block /428crank

 

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 05-Nov-01 AT 00:19 AM (EST)[/font][p]What kind of heads were you running with that YUKKY cam? I would think it would be a great performer with CJ, 427 or edel heads. Definitely would lack low end power. What was the lobe center it was degreed to? I don't look for power below 2500 rpm because I have a 2500 stall.

 

OOPS that was 15.3 (98 mph) - no traction big top end



In OZ and seeking 427block /428crank

 

Seriously ported 2V (small port) post 67 ie an air injection boss - which means under the exhaust valve is well constructed and good flowing. The earlier exhaust with the sharp lip under the seat are a tradegy on the flow bench. CJ valves 2 degrees advanced. I got figures some where.

In my experience I've never see a cam over 110 lobe sep worth its weight in water.


In OZ and seeking 427block /428crank

 

Well i need to qualify the statement
lobe sep greater than 110 works well in super/turbo charge applications. juz the way I've seen things


In OZ and seeking 427block /428crank

 

I don't know man. The greater the LCA the more low end you should get. That cam you said was worthless would be worthless for pulling or driving around the city as a daily driver. It would also be worthless if you didn't have a decent intake and exaust. Did you dial it in?