Pete K

I have a 406 on the stand. It will have the following:
10.6:1 compression
New afr 195 eliminators
Miniram manifold
true 2 1/2 duals bolted to Hooker super comps (no cats)
Trans is built by me and will likely have 2800-3000 stall
Rear gear is 3:33 or 3:45 (I own both)

The cam I have now is a retro hydraulic roller.
Intake duration @.050 is 224
Ex duration @ .050 is about 235
Intake lift is 580
Ex lift is 603

I normally build conservative packages. Not interested in building "the best" 406, but a smooth, drivable, but quick package.

I am starting to think that I may be too conservative, even by my standards. I am thinking I may have a tendency to ping, even with a good quench.
My second thoughts are for a 230@.050 cam with exhaust in the 235-240 area. I like the split pattern, as it should help the nitrous.
I will not go solid roller though.
Thoughts?

LD85

Pete, I have a 11:1CR and use a 233/233 hyd-roller with a max lift of .576 using 1.6rr's,, just today I was debating whether to pull my cam out and go bigger while I was putting my heads back on.

If I were to do it again, I would go with the TPIS ZZX (239/239) cam or something very close to it,,, if you like a dual pattern Bullet Cams will make you a custom grind with the lift of your choice for $310. They were going to make me a reduced base circle 238/242.

I'm sure others will chime in but, I have AFR-210 heads, so maybe your choice is close

black_771

Unless you are making a 1/8 mile or shorter drag car, you'd be better all around with the larger cam.

cv67

Id add roughly 8-10 degrees.
What lobe separation were you loking at 114?

Your motor would probably handle more but you have great heads and can get by with less cam thatn usual.

Pete K

The current cam is 112, and I will likely use 112 with a different cam as well.

FD2BLK

I started going more conservative with cams about 10 years ago after going way over the top on my 75. It made great HP #'s (427 RWHP) but no low end TQ what so ever. The car would run good but always seemed like a bit of a turd for daily driving. I have the Comp 306 in my 383 with the 6 speed and with the miniram and 406 think the specs would make an awesome combo for the 406 auto with the stall you have in mind
here are the specs for the CC 306 DUR @.050 230/244 Lift with 1.6 rockers .544/.576 LS 112°. Comp now has better grinds such as the XFI series (Comes in Retro Roller) such as the XFI P/N 12-467-8 grind #280XFI HR13 Specs Duration @ .050 230/236 lift with 1.6 rocker .576/.570 LS 113°

emo-vet

hi guys,
i just brought the comp cam you mentioned above at the end of your thread as well as reccomended by alot of you guys on the forum!
but it has a 112 lobe sep instead and small base circle as well.
cheers
shae

hobby0002000

The AFR,s have such a good exhaust port they usually dont require more exhaust duration. How much of the time will you be on the bottle?, you can cater it to be better n/a or better on the bottle. You dont have a lot of converter so I would stay close to 230 @ .050 with a lot of lift again. I wouldnt want no more than 6 more on the exhaust side for the nitrous and a 111 or 112 lobe sep angle. I am also trying a comp 977 spring set up .050 higher, as I have heard that the 987 spring is giving up power to valve float. Much above 600 lift limits your spring choices and spring life.

Orr89rocz

I'd go with something like the 236/242 or similar on a 113/114 lsa for the sauce, as long as the shot is 100-150. any more than that you may want abit more exhaust duration. i like keeping the lift up over .550 with AFR's since they flow so good at .550

will be a docile cam in that car but make GREAT power.

If i built a 406, i'd run a 242/248 or something for all out n/a power to 6400 rpms or so.
so the 230's is where you want to be on the intake duration

i wouldnt do the CC306 230/244 as its a old grind and makes best power in 355-383's. my buddy has one in a 408 and it wasnt impressive at all

AKS Racing

Can I ask why?

I like solid rollers and have set up many combos following mine with solid rollers.
Aaron

Pete K

A do not wish to adjust valves, and I plan to keep the revs at 6k.
I did not want to run a solid on a driver. The spring pressures make me a bit nervous.
Most of my buddies started breaking things once they started running solid rollers, and that turned me off to them.
Although I don't wish to run one, I am somewhat openminded, and have not totally eliminated it as a possibility.

PDQUIK95

Pete,
The 230/236 xfi on a 112 lsa seemed to be a pretty good compromise on my 396 stroker ,10.5 to 1, stock miniram, AFR 195 heads ,2800 stall, and 3.73 gears. DCR is pushing 9 to 1 though which is a little higher than max recommended 8.5 to 1 for anything less than 92 octane. Cranking cylinder compression is about 210 psi on the gage. The car idles well with about 12 inches of vacuum for brakes. 421 Peak Hp at around 6100 and shifts at 6300 with a nice flat torque curve/395rwtq peak torque at 5200. Chassis dyno shows about 370rwtq at 3100 following converter flash at about 3000. 6500 max rpm is all I plan to turn the engine. I also have a 236/242 xfi on a 112 I was going to swap out and try it next with the miniram but was too happy with current low end torque numbers. Didn't want to give up any either by going bigger since the short runner intake isn't as noted for low end torque as high end power. The car does 1.58 sixty foots with DR's at 11.20's at 123 mph trap speed which I felt was pretty respectable numbers for both ends of the track. The car sees 90/10, street/dragstrip use so street manners were more important than trying to squeeze a little more top end power out of it since 6500 was my peak rpm range anyway. A 230 to 236 intake range and no more than 242 max exhaust cam on your 406 should also work pretty well with 3.45 gears. Anything less than 230 on the intake and higher than 112 lsa would probably push your DCR too high using 10.6 to 1 static with that stroke and more than likely ping some at idle with less than 92 octane. Just my 2 cents since I lean toward the conservative side also.
Rick

LD85

My suggestion would be the 236/242 on 112LS, lift will depend one where your peak head flow is and what your springs can handle.

I dont think you will be happy with anything less that 233 on the intake,, I had a 225/233 before the 233/233 and it was just simply too little of a cam for a 406. I picked up 35-RWHP and 45-RWTQ when it went to the 233/233.

A single pattern cam will work but I was going to give dual pattern cam a shot to see if the valve overlap and rich idle smell could be more easily controlled.

emo-vet

hi rick,
i was just wandering what idle sound quality is on your 230/236 cam please ?
does it still have a nice strong lumpy type sound/noise ??
is it noticeable ?
hopefully it does,i like the sound of a cammed engine at idle !
cheers
shae

billybonesmusic

Hey Pete, i just put in a lunati voodoo cam, (flat tappet though) 489/504 lift adv. duration 268/276 i tried to stay in line of the chevy high performance magazine's 406 impersonator engine that put out 490hp & 525' lbs of torque, on pump gas, check it out at...

http://www.chevyhiperformance.com/te...ild/index.html

T. Wayne Nelson

Hi,

I have a 406 with a Comp Cam. The # is 304-HR. It is a 600 lift cam with 1.6 rockers and duration 245/245. I drive it on the street during the summer. It has a good lope and I have the idle set at 900 RPM. With the 406 ci engine, with this cam you will shred the tires at will, even with the mini-ram which I also have. Do not worry about torque as I am building 480 ft lbs at 4600 rpm.

Wayne

PDQUIK95

Emo,
No, it doesn't really have the lumpy idle I would like but overall performance became more of a priority than sound. To get the really good sound, I figured increased overlap would play havoc with the EFI vacuum control signals to the computer. I also run a dual 3" magnaflow center crossflow resonator muffler in addition to borla's in the back with no cats to help eliminate ressinance so the sound is pretty tame. Tried it without the center muffler but ressinance was too much to hear the radio at 55mph. Should have probably tried an x pipe but never did. This is also my date car so didn't want women bit@^%$ about the noise. I like to think of it as a real sleeper.
Rick

GeosFun

I normally build conservative packages. Not interested in building "the best" 406, but a smooth, drivable, but quick package.

Hi Pete,
Here are just some thoughts: You might recall I have a 406 with AFR 195 (old style) with about 10.25 compression, Superram and LPE 219 cam..way milder than what you already have. This runs great on 91 octane, but with 89 octane, there is some pinging on hard acceleration (I did that on an on-ramp last weekend when a slow lane car speeded up to keep me from getting in front of him ). But the car still gets 22-23 miles per gallon in pure freeway at 70mph (3.07 gears) and your 9-1/2" converter(which, BTW, is a perfect fit for my use ).

If you are looking for a trouble free driver, I think your "conservative" bent is right on target. Low end torque should not be a problem with your converter, almost no matter what you choose. But, there gets to be a point where some differences in lift/duration just do not make too much difference in final performance, but might in the "drivability" factor. ie, if you are not concerned with the last 10-HP, the cam starts to be less of an issue than idle quality, mileage, etc

The only way you will ever be sure of your choices is to try two different cams on a dyno, before you install the engine in the car. That piece of mind might be worth the cost. It will certainly give you a wealth of information.

Concerning a solid cam, back in my youth, if a car was not running solids, you were just a "wanna be." They are not near the trouble a lot of people fear. It is over revving that create issues when the valve springs are not up to it. At 6,000 rpms, you could probably run the car all day without a whimper. The locking nuts are certainly not going to back off, so regular adjustment is really not necessary. And solids are a lot lighter than the retro hyd rollers. Lifter weight might give you a performance edge the different hyd roller cams cannot match. And they sound wayyyy cool!

Pete K

Great advise, and I appreciate it.
If I do not use my current cam(and I likely will not), I just may go solid.
Trying to keep an open mind.

cv67

pete, a "smaller" solid roller I bet $$ youd love. Just use a good lifter with the HIPPO option, like the Crowers, Crane, Isky etc. Im not bashing Comp but Im not crazy about theiur sold roller lifters..Some are.
I doubt youll ever have a problem. Seems where most go wrong is on the real big CI stuff that takes a big solid to run period and associated (huge) spring pressures. Sooner or later it will wear...That and improper lash. For something like your build I bet it lasts a long long time. All the lift, all the time and more power under the curve everywhere. Dont be scared of a solid, most the horror stories are repeated internet stories.