welp, after about 1 year and 3,500 miles my Comp XE-274 cam wiped out a lobe during a long highway trip... It appears that a "chunk" of the cam broke off then wedged itself between the rest of the cam lobe and the lifter causing everything to bind and the pushrod to bend. Guess I am now an official member of the XE failure club. Its a shame because warm weather is finally here so of course it broke on me.

Anyway, I'm now in the market for a solid cam. The motor is 350, 10.3:1, unported/stock valved Vortecs (all machine work and Comp 987-16 springs), RPM intake, 750 mechanical Speed Demon. 9.5" convertor stalls around 3800RPM, 3.92 gears, 27" tall tires, 3400lb race weight.

The car is a street car but all I care about is 1/4 ET. I'd love to get this car into the 11's NA. I've seen a Vortec 350 of about the same specs as mine in a heavy car running 11.80's NA with Crane's 110921 cam (244/252 @ 050, .518/.536, 106LSA). I also know of a few other cars running great with this same cam so it seems kind of tempting... I've also been eyeing up Comp's XS282 (244/252 @ 050, .520/.540, 110LSA). I have a friend with a 3500lb car, with a 10.8:1 400, unported vortecs, super victor, 3.42's, 3500stall running this cam and hes been 11.60's N/A.

So do ya think I'm on the right track or do you recommend something different? The car also has a nitrous kit but at this point I'd really like to get as fast as I can go on motor..

Any input would be appreciated
Thanks,
Chris

i'm wondering what kind of pushrods you were using? is it possible the pushrod bent causing the chain reaction?the 987's are pretty stout springs, higher than reccomended open pressure for even the xs282s.
comp has a solid lifter that might help, it has a .012" oil hole down to the face of the lifter that rides on the cam. part # 800-16.
sorry to hear about the xe274!
Eric

I am not running the 987-16's at the moment but I have a set already and plan on putting them in now. My current springs are 1.32" LT4's. I was also running stock pushrods which I know wasn't the brightest move.... You may be correct that the pushrod was the first to fail. It didn't bend real bad but just enough to throw stuff out of whack... Plus I drove home about 5 miles with it like that. I bought chromemoly pushrods and put them in only to discover the lobe was wiped.

I have an Elgin solid cam #E-1131-P, .521 lift, 240/250@.50 and have had no problems with it.

I'm old-school so would rather use the older cams like the CC 268HE and 270 Magnum as well as their 270S and 282S solids..
Isky's older cams too.

I'm just NOT into this XE cam stuff is all b/c of longevity issues as well as valve train noise..

You probably should consider onna UDHarold's older Ultradyne cams or a VooDoo that he designed or onna his newest ones instead of the CC stuff, imho!

It will be SOTA!!!!!

pdq67

I ran the comp cam 282S magnum for 7 years with 10.5:1, 1.94 dbl humper, rpm manifold and 700 DP. A real screamer. Actually, it behaved almost too nice :) Anyway, I'll second that one.

I'd recommend Crane
Using a Crane HR 119841 in a 11:1 355
71 Camaro hit 11.25 (see sig)
normally 11.30-11.50 every weekend.
using similar parts as to what you have.

I kind of talked myself out of switching to a solid. I think I'm going to stay hydraulic that'll allow me to keep my current valve springs. I know if I take the heads off for machining I'll end up doing other things and before you know it I'll have spent a ton of money and the car will be down all summer... So the plan is now to get the car running next weekend. However I'm kinda wondering if I should buy another XE274 or maybe go up to the XE284? I like the comparible Voodoo cams but they have too much lift for my springs and guides. I'm limited to about .510" before I come too close to the valve guide.

As my signature says, I've run 12.52's with the XE274 with no tuning whatsoever. The day it went 11.67 on spray it was only running 13.0's on motor because my transmission was slipping badly. I know the car has gotta have like a 12.20 in it with the XE274 and hopefully 11.10-11.20's on a 150 shot. Do you think maybe it'd go faster with the XE284 or should I stick with what I know works and buy another XE274?

Chris, are you sure those are 987-16 springs? Those are dual springs that should be good for up to about .550 or so lift...if the installed height is set correctly. The 981-16 single spring is what comp recommends for the XE274, and those are really best used with a cam under about .490-.500 lift. The 987-16 is a pretty strong spring...a bit much for a hydraulic flat tappet cam.

IMO, you have the convertor, gears, and compression to take advantage of the XE284...if you have the springs for it.

I dont have the 987-16's installed. I have a set that I was going to put on but I'd need to enlarge the spring pockets in my vortecs first. Right now I have 1.32" LT4 valve springs.

Chris,

Impressive! I happen to adore the 3rd and 4th gens so I am cheering for ya!

I chose the XE284 for my project, here's what I recommend for you:

Im with Travis on his comments about the XE284....

1. The XE284 matches you gear, tire size, carb, and converter very nicely. it should release and perform nicely. If your gears were lower (round 3.23 - 3.42) I would recommend sticking with the XE274. But since you don't have a gearing problem....I say go for it and UPGRADE! Since you have upgraded suspension and rear-end work to your ride, the extra TQ/HP @ launch wont hurt it a bit. The 284 performs well with 3.73's and 4.10's/4.11's. I've seen those killer launches in person myself and I am amazed at what a difference they make with such a mild cam. The XE284 will really open up after 3000 rpm, and offer more HP on the top end than the XE274.

On the other hand....

2. I am under the impression the 282S and the XS282 will give you a bit more on top end to play with. Personally, I believe a solid cam works best in just about all categories vs. hydraulics in street/strip rides. Do some homework about these 2 cams in particular. I think you can get in the 11's quite easily with them, all while setting the stage for nicer solids.

PDQ offered a killer cam... in my opinion a killer and sleeper rolled into one; that being the 270S. With nitrous, I’m sure the application will require some LSA changes but the TQ on this cam, with your setup on DD2K is very nice.... consider it as well. I've only heard about this cam from guy's strictly on the "raw motor" edge of horsepower, so I'm not sure how it will perform in your ride. but it sure is a nice cam... especially in a 350.

still, either of these cams should work well.... JMHO