Anyone used oval track camshafts?

Does anyone have any experience with oval track cams? I am an amateur at this and could use some tips. I was thinking of putting this cam in my old chevy 350. This might be a crazy idea, but I thought I'd ask anyway. Here are some specs:

<table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td>Elgin, Hyd. Flat Tappet Cam & Lifter Kit, Chev SB, .450/.450</td></tr> <tr><td cl***="plaintext">Chev SB
Lift: .450/.450
Adv. Duration: 274/274
Duration @ .050": 218/218
Lobe Center: 106
2000-5200, Rough idle, Low & mid-range, Good lift rule</td></tr></tbody></table>
I was thinking that this cam might give me better acceleration over stock and have a real wicked sound, without moving the powerband up to crazy rpm ranges. But the engine is only 8:1 compression and I have a stock torque converter. Is this cam a bad choice for a street-driven car? Thanks!

 

I dont think that cam would be that great for you with a 106 centerline with a rough idle and low vacuum. A 110 centerline is a norm for most street cams unless it is a "thumper" cam. I could be wrong but if you own the cam then put it in and try it.

 

Ovaltrack cams are designed to scavenge as much air and fuel and air as possible ,so they are rough idle low centerline cams that dont work well in a street car,there limited to a certain lift Ex. .450" in your case. because the rules limit to make it a level playing field. Comp cams and other grinds have very good profiles now that have alot more lift ,hence more lift =more airflow=more power. And they can be
110 and 112 center line will give a broader power band and more power with good
drivability. I dont know your combo,so its hard for me to guess.

 

This cam is close to the old duntov solid lifter specs and not as hot as the 350 h.p., 327 cu in chevy hydralic cam of the 60's. With your compression, it may not be as rough sounding as you think. It probably won't be to good with a powerglide, but be okay with a 3 speed automatic and 3:30 or lower gears. As ridin dirty says, try and see, all you stand to lose is some time and gaskets if you don't like it. good luck

 

At first glance I would say yes bad cam.

BUT, need to know the rest of the combo and use of he car.

 

Those are made to run high RPM all the time and has a 106 center line . Way to much cam to try to drive in the street !
What are you looking for as in a cam for your engine . torque low end or high end or what are you using it for ? Daily driver , racing , toy or what .
Do you have a standard trans or auto and what rear end gears are you running . You need to consider all these thing plus many more .
If you are looking for a cam set up let use know a few things you want from it and the usage and we can help .

RetroJim

 

Thanks everyone for the input. The rest of the combo... a Turbo 350 w/ stock converter and currently 2.73 gears, but plan to go to 4.11 or 4.56. I thought the LSA of 106 was a little extreme... but the duration seems low enough that I thought it might be ok??? And rpm range of 2000-5200 seemed ok to me, but I have no experience with cams, other than what I have read about on the internet. The sound of a 106 LSA is tempting, but I see what you mean with regard to wider LSA's being more drivable.

 

The 106 number for the centerline will give you a short peak of Hp v/s the 110 to 112 centerline will give you a broader more useable Hp and torque curve.

 

By the way, intended use is mostly street, and occasional drag strip p***es. I am just looking for a more agressive power and sound, but without gong to crazy with high-rpm components such as valvetrain, headwork, etc. Thanks everyone for the input.

 

If you can live with the idle, you can drive it on the street no problem. Its not a big cam other than the lobe center. The tight centers will make the cam come on strong and help with your low compression and low flowing heads. It isnt a high RPM cam, Run it.

 

This is a cam made for 1/5 to 1/4 mile oval track,lots of torque off the corners.Have you chosen an intake yet? You can make this combo work if you know a few tricks.

 

I've got an Edelbrock Streetmaster on it right now. It's a single plane that looks like a torker but smaller. Not sure if it's a great intake, but its what I got for now.

I was kind of looking for a real aggressive idle, as long as its fairly drivable... I like the sound of engines that idle real rough. But when you say "live with the idle" do you mean that it will constantly want to die at traffic lights and that sort of thing? Do you think it will be real sluggish when I go full throttle off the line (with a stock torque converter)?

Thanks again for the advice. This is fun for me to think about.

 

The live with the idle means at 106 it will want to idle at 1200 1500 RPM and you will want a tight 2500 stall for the street. It will stink at lights or long periods of idle and you might have to clear it out on ocasion if you dont get the tune right. I say run it and you will get the sound you are looking for. Being a elgin cam it will be cheap enough to change out later if you dont like it.

 

I have run a lot of different oval track, street stock cams...but not in a street car. Your low compression will probably mean low horsepower and torque from idle to about 2500 rpm. That type can works good for a 10:1, heavy (3200 lb) car running 3000 - 5000 rpm. The lift and duration are not that extreme. It should pull like a mule in that rpm range, but will probably nose over after 5000 and be sluggish at low rpm. Most circle track cars, especially short track cars, have very low rear gears (5:50-6:50), so that kind of makes it hard to compare from the track to the street. Go for it, you ain't got nothing to lose.

 

rember on getting a camed engine to run streetable

you need a lot of timing advance and good curve on distributor
on old stock cars with a real bunch of cam we got full advance after engine started


also hook up a va***e gauge and tune the carb so your power valve or enrichemnt needls are doing the right thing for your available manifold va***e

caution CAMS may cause driveability problems and may need some tinkering to pull from the bottom

time ,money, and skill and a few of the right parts will aleviate many problems

 

How good would this cam be with a set of 10 to 1 slugs in a .040 over 283 with powerpack heads and an offy 6x2

 

My experience with low budget cams: you get what you pay for! Check lifts and durations (and Lobe Centers) on all lobes. You're going to find these numbers all over the map.They will not be as advertised.

 

Based on you description,

This is what you might expect.



looks like heaps of torque & reasonable power up to stock rev levels.

have Fun

 

The Edelbrock Streetmaster would not be a good intake with that Cam as it's RPM range is idle to 4500.They were made in the 70's as a fuel economy intake during the Jimmy Carter "gas crisis" hoax,if you want a mild cam for torque and MPG this intake isgood for that.

 

I myself like a tight lobe seperation, period. It will definately have more of a "seat of the pants" feel. This is not a big cam...and while it will probably want a stall convertor for better performance, it will probably idle ok with a stock one. As a comparison, I have personal experience with the thumpr cams, and they have 107 seperation (intake side) with 227 @.050 (intake side) and work ok with a stock convertor.

 

that cam is pretty tame. like "thequietwon" said it would prolly like a lil stall but should be just fine for street use and you'll get a tough sounding idle. as long as you know the basics of timing and adjusting the carb on a sbc you should have no problem getting this cam to be "streetable"

 

If you just want the sound and a decent cam then just go with a "Thumper Cam " from Comp Cams . They make 3 different grades or grinds to choose from . The first is a good street cam , the next one is a little stronger and the 3rd one is hard on a street driven daily driver ! They are in flat tap or roller . I have heard these cams before and they are wicked sounding plus they really do get up and go !

RetroJim

 

they're also twice the money

 

Yea but you get what you paid for . Cheap is Cheap .

You would do better with a dual plane intake too . Dual plane is better on the street and low RPM's .
Remember to watch your lift also because your valve springs won't make it . They will bind up on you and cause problems . When you start hitting .500 lift and up , you will need new springs . A safe lift is around .475-.485 lift . A good used cam can save you big money but buy new lifters no matter what the seller tell you he did with the old ones . Unless they are matched with each lobe you can get a different ware pattern and will not last you . There are some good buy out there for camshafts , just make sure the cam you buy is a good , well made cam . Flat taps are the cheapest and do very well on the street and track . Good choice with little service . Solid lift cams need adjusting from time to time . Roller cams are great but are very costly due to the roller lifters .

If you find a few grinds that you like , just post it here and we can help you make a good choice for your SBC !

RetroJim

 

That cam is WAY tamer than anything I've ever seen in even the lowest level stock car. Those guys twist stock rotating parts to huge RPM and if it was a real oval track cam the RPM range would be more like 4000-7500

I've run handfuls of similar cams (to yours) in street 350s and considered them to be one step above "RV" grinds. Those specs are totally fine for your app but would get ya slaughtered on a circle track! Good luck!

 

It will work.
A 30 x 30 would work fine also.

"Been in the cam business over 50 years"

 

Thanks. Lots of good info here.

I do not intend to run the oval tracks at all... the main reason I was looking at oval track cams is because they seem to have tighter LSA's, which I thought would cause a more aggressive sound. Also, as you guys have mentioned, my combo isn't very capable of winding up much past 5000 rpm, so I was just looking for a cam that would have strong mid range power with an aggressive idle. But I am trying to be cautious because I have heard that it's pretty easy to "over-cam" an engine with only 8:1 compression. The last thing I want to do is kill my bottom end torque to the point that I get smoked by Hondas at stoplights!

I am not really looking to spend a great deal of money here... just a cheap cam and lifters, maybe valvesprings lateron. This is just going in my clapped-out Nova that I use as a daily driver and race in the 1/8th occasionally. I am basically using it to experiment with. The plan is to learn on this. I've got a '57 Pontiac that I am spending a lot more money on and building up for the drags.

I looked at the cam that thequietwon mentioned, the Tumpr 279, which has more lift and duration, and Comp Cams says it is ok with a stock converter. So I am thinking that my original choice might work out decently. I also looked at the $99 cam an lifters from Summit, but they all have wider LSAs, which led me to believe they wouldn't sound as good, but maybe I am wrong, as I have no experience with cams.

 

What do you mean by 30 x 30? Is that 230 x 230 duration at 0.050"? Elgin also makes a cheapo cam with a tight LSA an this duration, but they say the powerband is 3000-6000.

 

The GM engineers were pretty stupid. I sure wouldn't try any old factory cams. My vote for a street SBC would be the 350-327 Hyd.Or for a solid the 3rd design 302. Course what do I know. Lippy

 

I would say that he is talking a Duntov cam from chevy high performance lash is 030 on solid lifters both intake and exhaust

they are pretty streetable and copies are made by other cam grinders

I used to run tham in stock cars but tightened up the lash to make them quieter which also raises the performance due to more lift and coming up the ramp on cam quicker