Vic Jr spends alot of time making sure his cams work well with the total package. Get the right cam for your combination and you won't be disapointed. I'm a big fan of Edelbrock. They make it a point to make stuff for everybody, not just Chevvies. They make stuff for oddball **** like Pontiac, AMC, even 348/409 and they make it in the United States. -Abone.
I personally will NEVER EVER EVER buy an Edelbrock cam again ... Had a bad experience with TWO of their RPM SBC cams ... Edelbrock instantly claimed that their product was not the cause of my issues (and this is before they even heard what I had to say) ... I then purchased and installed a Comp Cams cam and problem solved. My advice ... by a cam from a cam company. As far as being made in the USA ... I wonder what exactly they mean by that. If a cam core (or blank) is cast in China or Mexico and then machined in the US does that mean the cam has been made in the US. I don't care where the machining operation is done, if the casting is made from **** metal/iron then you still end up with a junk product.
Check out any Summit racing catalog - Their cams are cheaper and have the same specs. I used one with no problems at all. I would bet Summit and Edelbrock buy from the same source.
I've been running a Edlebrock cam in the 340 MoPar in my street rod since 98, still works great. My engine builder told me to get the Edelbrock valve springs to use with the cam, that way if I had trouble they couldn't blame wrong parts. I'd use one again.
Though I have the greatest respect for abone, I'm taking the other road on this one. A lot of their cams have lobe designs & specs identical to Melling and/or Speed-Pro/Sealed Power cams...which have been available for many years. Melling & S/P are actual manufacturers, as opposed to re-boxers. (This is a whole 'nother can of worms. ) As noted, some of the Summit cams share the designs as well (although Summit is actually adding some new stuff as of late). That's not to say that these cams won't work; however, you may be leaving something on the table, compared to newer designs. This may not be an issue for you. Personally, I think the Edelbrock cams are a touch expensive for what they are- but, they do have nice matching spring/retainer packages which could be used with other equivalent cams. I also think that some of their recommended designs are mismatched to some of their manifolds. I like most of their products quite a bit, and prefer their intake manifolds in many cases...just not enamored with their cams. That's not to say that one won't work just fine for you.
My son bought an Edelbrock cam. I told him the same thing: Cam from a cam company. (just an old shop rule, deduced from 50 years' experience) Combo seemed to work, but problems developed. Sig Erson came to the rescue...BORNTOLOZE echoed my other popular choice, Comp Cams. What if Offenhauser offered...and nobody cammed? Sorry, HAMB brothers. I get incensed about this type of stuff. Hate to see young guys get 'hoodwinked' by corporate propaganda
I have the summit version of performer cam in my coupe.....nothing radical but makes power from idle to 5500..... now if you want something special, give a call to bullet.....great company to deal with and the right grind for you application....
Most domestic engine cam blanks are still made in the U.S., although some of the vintage cores are made elsewhere. Nearly all of the aftermarket cam companies are buying flat-tappet cam blanks from other sources and finish grinding them. For a while, virtually all the 8620 billet roller cam blanks were made by a company that was owned by Crane Cams. This led to the interesting situation of Crane supplying its direct compe***ors with product, albeit unfinished. A lot of the small custom cam companies use modern Comp or Lunati lobe profiles with their own LSA preferences, or a mixture of the two. Some of the equivalent Lunati Voodoo lobes seem to be quieter and easier on the valvetrain (quieter in terms of valvetrain noise, not the engine's idle sound).
Edelbrock makes everything in the USA including their cam blanks. I have had a Comp cam go bad with less than 100 miles on it. So you can get bad parts from everywhere. If you see a Edelbrock trailer at a car show they are usually real helpful with problems.
The Edelbrock cams are simply repack'd Blue Racer/Wolverine. Vic Jr. had one of his guys screw 'em into an engine and run it on a dyno, so now it's "dyno matched". PR/ad copy, pure and simple. If you think that it's what you want, then might as well buy the exact same part in another box for less $$$... I'm not up on where anybody is getting their cam cores currently; I know there was some issue with this. One of the big manufacturers here in the states quit casting 'em. I'd definitely want to go w/ someone reputable for the cam - and the lifters. For me, I'd go w/ any of the other brands mentioned in this thread. Or contact a cam designer (the guys who originate the lobe profiles) for something truly 'custom matched' to my app. -Bill
Edelbrock having their own camshaft line is a good marketing ploy.The "Power Package" approach makes sense because Edelbrock engineers the parts to compliment each other and provide predictable results. I liked the specs on their Performer + so thats what went into my recent 454 build. It makes good vacuum and has plenty of torque for a big block street cruiser. So far I'm happy with the combo in spite of performance being left on the table (questionable)...
Good deal- sincerely. It's your money, no one else's. All cams are a compromise by their nature; that's why OEs spend so much money on developing variable valve timing and other technology. That aside, it is certainly possible that your particular cam is the most "perfect" compromise possible for your combination; probably more likely that it isn't. That's not to say I'm stuck on some other brand as being "the best", because I'm not; there's too many factors involved. People tend to rationalize cam choices anyway, and it's their money. FWIW, some years ago I did dyno testing on a 460 Ford, developing "low-buck" combinations with basic bolt-ons (intakes/carbs/cams/ignition/headers. In my opinion (at that time) the best bang for the buck, based on dyno results and cost, was a Melling hydraulic grind. After I posted this on a forum and stated why, a fairly well-known engine builder took me to task, saying that "there's no way" and "I guarantee you that a Comp **x would make more power". My response was that I had actually dynoed that particular Comp cam, and yes, it did make more power...but not significantly more, and it was over twice the price. For that particular engine combination, as tested, the "generic" Melling worked very well as an overall compromise. If I had chosen to do some moderate cylinder head work (which was deliberately NOT part of my testing, because the avg. guy doesn't do it), the Comp stick would have shown a greater advantage. Also, again FWIW, I rarely recommend specific cams on here, exactly because of threads like this, where everyone is convinced whichever cam they chose is the best, and also because I have no control over the other parts they use with it. If ya really want to see controversy, read the Comp Cams "Thumper" threads...talk about corporate propaganda...because, after all, a cam that's deliberately designed with excessive overlap and early intake opening just to get a ***y idle must be just as good as a cam designed to make the best power...Comp says so...
X2,in fact if you look at the generic cams from Summit,Jegs and also Elgin and Sealed Power you will notice a lot of identical grinds, the Summit SUM-3600 is the same specs as the Ford Motorsports hydraulic and the Edelbrock EDL-2122 Performer cam,the SUM-3600 is in my 302 Ford strong low and mid-range power and no issues with quality you may pay more from one company to the next and the only difference is the decal you get There are a lot of American cam companies to take a look at besides Comp Cams which seems to get the bulk of the talk in forums( maybe it's the decals and advertising $$),I think Howard Cams who has been around since forever has some great offerings and good prices,Crower,Isky,Engle& Crane all deserve our support with their "Made in America" products.
I have a Sealed Power in my 350, it has exactly the same specs as the Edlebrock/Summit cams and the cost was around $75. or so. Performs just peachy. No doubt they get these cams from a top cam co. and rebrand them. Take these guys' advice, buy from a cam co. or make sure that the specs on whatever you get are exactly like the main cam companies. Cooger
As is usual, lots of oponions and good/bad experiences. For calm street motor applications most all of the brand names will work just fine. I am only involved with race engines which require a completely different "non-stock" lobe profile per the engine combination and/or fuel to be used so we use speciality race cam manufacturer(s). You'll be just fine with Vic's stuff ! Happy motoring !!
Something to consider, if every manufacturer that manufactures a flat tappet was listed here on the HAMB, there would be someone who has had a bad one, quaranteed. Doesn't matter, G.M., Comp, Crane, Wolverine, Erson, Lunati, on and on, someone or someones will have had one go flat. Too many variables not to. Improper break-in, too much spring pressure, oil additives or lack of sufficient amounts of required additives, oil pump failures, engine ***embly lack of cleanliness, on and on. Two facts here to remember also, a $50 cam can very well perform as well as a $150 cam, just as either one can fail. The other thing to consider is this, would you or your engine really know the diffrence between .501" lift or .504" lift- NO. 10 of the worlds best engine builders could spend a lifetime and not be able to test EVERY combination of intake, exhaust, compression, carb etc, combos out there if they tried. Go with a brand name you like and trust. Go with a name that has great customer service. If a company with a good reputation offers a package such as Edelbrock or Trick Flow, or Dart, they have tested these combo's and they have good reason to make claims regarding these combo's and I say use them. If the only thing your doing is changing a cam, ask here on the HAMB and or call the cam manufacturer and get his recommendation. Most importantly is follow the quidelines for break-in, and use a oil with adequates amount of ZDDP, or add enough to what ever engine oil you chose. Spring rates are VERY important and again follow the manufacturer of the cam. TR
X2 on this. When I look through cam catalogues I often get dizzy pondering all of the variations listed, many of which are little different one-to-another. For the run-of-the-mill applications stick with a proven cam company. I recommend Engle and Crower. .
Even with its limitations, I like the comp cams computer or calculator. Naturally all the suggested cams are theirs, but you can compare specs outside their brand. The calculator post a hp graph for each cam you select. Its fun to see how the mid range cams make as much hp without the rpm of the high lifts.
This post is asking about Edelbrock cams ... here is my story. Tubbed 1970 Nova SS street car. 355/T10 4 gear. Fun car. I had a single lobe go out on the cam in the car (I did not build the engine and had no idea what cam was in it or who made it). I stuck an old (used) Crane cam (with new lifters) in the engine. Ran fine. (note: all the cams I mention are hydaulic flat tappet). I then decided to go the Edelbrock RPM package route (I already had the Edelbrock RPM intake on the engine). I bought the RPM aluminum heads and the RPM cam/lifter package. After installing the RPM heads/cam/intake I fired up the engine and ran it for the 20-25 minute break-in period. To be honest, I do not remember why I removed the distributor after the break-in period but I did remove it and it was at that point I noticed all the teeth on the drive gear were razor sharp. I peering into the engine and the drive gear on the cam was also razor sharp. I removed the cam and took it to the shop I bought it from and Edelbrock gave me a new cam BUT also told me that their product was not the cause. They claimed that my oil pump was binding or the block was cut too much causing the dist gear to bottom out on the oil pump (??? all I did was change the heads and cam ... no machine work done at all), or the dist gear was causing the problem because I did not use a new one (I have personally never changed the dist gear when swapping a cam other than when I had to install a melonized gear for a GM roller cam). Before installing the second Edelbrock cam, I installed a new oil pump, I also purchased a new (direct from GM) dist gear. I checked to make sure the dist was not bottoming out in the oil pump (it wasn't). So I fired up the engine, ran it for the 20-25 minutes and then pulled the dist ... well lookie here, both gears were razor sharp again. At this point the shop I bought the cam from suggested I go visit a machine shop/race engine builder. I had never met this person before. I went to the shop with the Edelbrock cam in one hand and just for comparison sake I also took the used Crane cam that I had used earlier (it was too mild, that is why I had removed it in the first place). I was still 20 feet or more away from this machinist when he stated "that is the junk one in your left hand". He was correct, so I asked him how he could tell ... his comment to me was "that cam looks to have been made in either Mexico or China, the casting material is of poor quality" (reminder, this observation was done from at least 20 ft away). At this point I have had enough of Edelbrock cams. Multiple oil and filter changes, a new oil pump (didn't need it), a new dist gear (didn't need it), and I certainly didn't need the worry of "where are all the filings from the gears?" etc. End result ... I installed a Comp Cams camshaft in the engine (using another new GM dist gear but did not change the oil pump again) ... I ran it for the 20-25 minute break-in period ... pulled the dist and ... the dist gear looked perfect. I ran that engine for years before selling the car. I do NOT know if the casting was inferior (althought the machinist certainly thought so), I do not know if Edelbrock machined the gear incorrectly or if they ran a bunch of bad RPM cams with soft dist gears ... what I do know is that all my cam problems evaporated when I installed the Comp Cam. My block was NOT machined too much, my oil pump was NOT binding, the dist was NOT bottoming out in the pump, both a new and used dist gear got destroyed with the Edelbrock cams so they were NOT to blame. When I replaced the Edelbrock with a Comp, my problem was solved. Clearly the Edelbrock cam was faulty ... I wasted a lot of time and quite a bit of money chasing this issue (oil and filter changes/gaskets/oil pump/GM dist gears ... as mentioned in my first post ... I will NEVER EVER buy an Edelbrock cam again. Sorry for the long post.
The reason for my lengthy post (above) was to describe what happened in my case. This was not a lobe failure that could be blamed on incorrect break-in procedure or lack of zinc in the oil ... my issues where clearly caused by a faulty camshaft. As a side note ... I do still run their intakes (purchased used) BUT only after I have ground off their name. I refuse to advertise for a company that I am not too happy with.
If it´s something wilder than a stock cam i´ve had great luck Bullet cams. All friends that have used Bullet cams are really happy with them.
born No, that was a great story and great for the thread. Have you tried Weiand intakes? They make some real good performers { get it performers }, and you dont have to grind off the name. Not as many SKU numbers as Edelbrock, but excellent manifolds none the less. TR
looking at this one from summit SUM-1103, Duration @ 50 int 214, ex 224 lift 442/465 whats your thought
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