Best RV Cam?

[Bruser]

I've decided to try and boost horsepower and torque on my 350 to better handle a fifth wheel trailer we just purchased. There are so many choices I thought I would ask for your advice. I'm thinking of the Edelbrock performance series with the 7501 intake and 7102 cam. Something I read gave me hesitation on the cam. It said not for heavy vehicles. What do you all think.

[PanelDeland]

Best bet is to figure out how much weight you're hauling,tire size,gearing,tranny and engine specs.Then call cam company and they can match what cam to give you good grunt.You really need to build for torque and let the HP take care of itself.Matching the components in the engine with driveline and intended use will almost always result in the best bang for the buck.The cam folks have made this a science and can give you a great choice for what you want to do.

[67_C-30]

The 7102 would a horrible choice for a pulling cam. That cam really needs a convertor to be optimum. I ran it for years in my '82 Z28 and it ran 12.60's. It is a performance grind, and is just about identical to the old Pontiac Ram Air IV in duration and LSA with more lift! It is right on the brink of not being able to run power brakes. This cam claims to make power from 1500 - 6500, but it is pretty much dead below 2,200 in the real world. It is a great cam for making more power, but you it would require you to turn way too RPM to use it's power range. That came really needs 10 : 1 compression to make its best power because of the amount of overlap the LSA produces.

Now the Edelbrock 2102 is a great pulling cam. I run in my '69 C-30 ramp truck. It has smooth idle, and pulls like a bear. It has a sllight lope when cold, but smooth when it warms up. The specs on it are 204° / 214° .420" / .442" 112* LSA. It makes power from idle to 5500. I would match this with the correct 2101 intake instead of the 7101. The 7101 is again really not optimum for the low end grunt you need for a tow rig. Combination is everything with an engine, and matching components will get way better results that throwing the "bigger is better" theory on it. So many people make that mistake, and end up with a gas drinking dog of an engine that only sounds good! -lol

I have towed with a truck on the back my ramp truck with a another on a trailer behind it. It pulls very hard, and is decent on fuel (for what it is).

[Bruser]

Great advice about calling the company who puts all the r&d into their product. And thanks C30 for the strong comment on the cam. I have 410 gears in this custom camper and thought my low end torque would pull me through the low rpm range. I thought of the 2102 but was wowed by the torque numbers on the 7102.

I would still like to year others chime in with choices and experience.

[67_C-30]

Originally Posted by Bruser

Great advice about calling the company who puts all the r&d into their product. And thanks C30 for the strong comment on the cam. I have 410 gears in this custom camper and thought my low end torque would pull me through the low rpm range. I thought of the 2102 but was wowed by the torque numbers on the 7102.

I would still like to year others chime in with choices and experience.

The torque numbers are impressive on the 7102, but it made it's torque peak (right around 400 ft lbs TQ) at 4300 RPM in my .060 over 350. Peak torque and average torque are 2 different animals. It made less than 300 ft lbs TQ under 3500 RPM, and probably 200 ft lbs TQ at 2000 RPM.

In other words, that cam is going to produce far less torque from idle to over 2000 RPM than you have right now. With that cam, you won't have low end torque like it does now to pull you through the range.

I think it is a good idea to call the cam company. They are going to recommend you something closer to the 2102 for your application. The 2102 is just a cam that I have first hand experience with, but there are many of other great cams out there. The Comp Xtreme 4X4 line of cams is another great low end cam that are commonly used for towing applications. They can even spec you out a custom grind to match you set-up perfectly for not a whole lot more money than an off the shelf cam.

I just know from building engines for nearly 20 years for myself and commercially, for trucks, street and street/strip cars, all out drag cars, and dirt track cars that no one going is recommend a cam with 234/244 as a towing cam!

[54belair]

I put a Comp 256H in my new engine. Should give good low end torque (up to 411 ft lbs @ 3600 rpm).

Not a good "sounding" cam--but should give me some good low end

[slow-1]

http://m.summitracing.com/parts/sum-1102

I just put a Summit 1102 in my 350...seems perfect for towing. Plus everyone that hears my truck says it sounds great (rams horns and glass packs).
Posted via Mobile Device

[67_C-30]

Originally Posted by slow-1

http://m.summitracing.com/parts/sum-1102

I just put a Summit 1102 in my 350...seems perfect for towing. Plus everyone that hears my truck says it sounds great (rams horns and glass packs).
Posted via Mobile Device

Yes, that is an ideal pulling cam. It is actually very close to the Edelbrock 2102.