Cam discussion

one2nine · Mar 7, 2013

So I've kind of been on the fence of ordering an aftermarket (or regrind) cam with my build. Who here is running one? Any difference? Does it aid in shifting the power curve to favor a single that much?

Fast-6.0 · Mar 7, 2013

one2nine said:
So I've kind of been on the fence of ordering an aftermarket (or regrind) cam with my build. Who here is running one? Any difference? Does it aid in shifting the power curve to favor a single that much?

I can't give you single turbo specific but our regrinds drive considerably more exhaust to the turbo. Basically the exhaust valve opening is moved into the power stroke and so you get much more drive to the turbo.

The OEM grind is designed for a vgt and fuel mileage so they don't drive the turbo very hard.

one2nine · Mar 7, 2013

Thanks that helps some. Curious as to how they would drive with a single. Do these lope the trucks at all? I'd prefer to stay away from a cam with a heavy lope at idle. I guess it would all really depend on the lift/duration.

Fast-6.0 · Mar 7, 2013

I wouldn't want a single without a upgraded cam personally. The cams in diesels are babies compared to gas engines. Even our largest cam doesn't lope. You can't even tell that the cam has been changed basing it on idle.

HOOV3R · Mar 7, 2013

Lope is usually caused by valve overlap, which you don't want in a boosted diesel.

Fast-6.0 · Mar 7, 2013

HOOV3R said:
Lope is usually caused by valve overlap, which you don't want in a boosted diesel.

At least not a street diesel. Our biggest cam has 15 degrees overlap. But it doesn't even wake up until 3000rpm.

powerstrokin15 · Mar 7, 2013

ill be running a colt race cam in mine. ill give some feedback when its running.

one2nine · Mar 7, 2013

powerstrokin15 said:
ill be running a colt race cam in mine. ill give some feedback when its running.

Very interested in some feedback.

Gearhead · Mar 7, 2013

Fast-6.0 said:
I can't give you single turbo specific but our regrinds drive considerably more exhaust to the turbo. Basically the exhaust valve opening is moved into the power stroke and so you get much more drive to the turbo.

The OEM grind is designed for a vgt and fuel mileage so they don't drive the turbo very hard.

Yeah maximizing the power stroke is not good for turbo drive.....

SEABEE08FX4 · Mar 7, 2013

Having a single 6.4, I'd be in for results as well.

powerstrokin15 · Mar 7, 2013

i wont be on a single, so sorry guys.. but i will have them on a cam in general LOL

Charles · Mar 11, 2013

Since we don't have a throttle plate regulating the air and there's an excess of it at idle, then we spray the fuel directly into the cylinder negating it's need to pass by the intake valve to reach the combustion chamber, why would you ever expect a diesel engine to lope because of a cam profile that was actually functional?

When you compare LCA and duration values for light diesel camshafts to those for gas engines you don't see the same basic numbers?

brooksfruge · Mar 11, 2013

SEABEE08FX4 said:
Having a single 6.4, I'd be in for results as well.

Likewise

Fast-6.0 · Mar 11, 2013

Diesel Power magazine is doing a single kit and they are going to run our Stage 1X cam.

To me its a no brainer, single or not, I would do a cam.

04stroker · Mar 11, 2013

Fast-6.0 said:
Diesel Power magazine is doing a single kit and they are going to run our Stage 1X cam.

To me its a no brainer, single or not, I would do a cam.

Agreed.

one2nine · Mar 11, 2013

Hmm looks like I may have to add a little more money to the build

powerstrokin15 · Mar 11, 2013

one2nine said:
Hmm looks like I may have to add a little more money to the build

they're cheap considering what you've already bought LOL i wasn't planning one, but my "so called friend"/mechanic just ordered it LOL

Morgan@Midwest Diesel & Auto · Mar 11, 2013

With the stage one cams like we offer (and I suspect most others) the lift is not changed a whole lot. There is added lift but the big change is in duration. I'm not going into specifics but it moves the power band higher which IMO helps more so to the single charger guys. Because of the loss in bottom end torque and higher rpm nature of the single turbo a stage one cam will help make better power up high. It will also carry the powerband longer and smoother than a factory cam. They also help the vgt turbos as well so don't take it the wrong way.

The 6.4 heads in stock form will not support a bunch of lift being the limited flow available. After a certain lift point the valve is completely out of the opening and therefore no more flow potential exists after that point. And to save stress on the hydraulic lifter and weak factory rocker arms there isn't any more lift than necessary. The big advantage is adding duration which basically makes the valve stay open longer which allows for longer fill time to force air into the cylinder on the intake stroke. Duration on the ehxaust is tricky because you don't really want over lap as you tend to lose drive pressure. You want the valve open as long as you can to let the exhaust exit without having the intake open at the same time.

And in comparison the lift in the cams like our stage one is less than half of what we run in some of the bigs blocks that have been built here. And the duration is minuscule as well. But hey, who needs enough duration to make power at 9000rpms when you have turbos!

Also I will be testing out a solid roller setup that gets rid of the hydraulic lifter porblems and deleting the factory rockers as well. Well....only if chad can get me a set of adjustable billet rocker arms!

jdgleason · Mar 11, 2013

One thing that I can add to this thread is my experiences over the last week with my truck and Wayne's.

Wayne's truck and mine are almost identical in builds. He has dual pumps, 60s and an atmosphere charger. We both run Matt's tunes as well. Wayne had a waste gate with his setup, but he told me that it was kind of a waste fuel only because his gate never opened on fuel only. Because of this, I didn't prioritize a gate when I put my truck together.

Well once I got my truck on the dyno, I found out it had lost power and maxes the back pressure sensor as soon as 2400 rpm or so. Comparing to Wayne's where it doesn't get even close to that high at 3500rpm... I was scratching my head.

Until we realized the one fundamental difference in our trucks - a cam. Obviously without back to back testing this is only my opinion, but I think that cam is willing Wayne dump a ton of back pressure and I'm truly wishing I had added one. I will be adding a cam as soon as its sensible to do so, but for now a gate will have to suffice.

08SUPERKING · Mar 11, 2013

I have a question on the cams... What does regrind stand for in our cam options..

just tring to under stand what is done to the cam for this process...

thanks,