Now get your butt out there and build yourself an engine young fellah. You kids these days, they just dont do anything unless someone is there to push them.
I've been watching videos on RU-vid since it began. I can say, with 100% certainty, that this is the most well thought out, perfectly executed, easy to understand, vastly informative, instructional, and motivational video I've seen to date. You rock dude. Dead serious. Thank you very much!
I always go back to this video because of how well everything is explained. There are a lot of people have this knowledge but not many people who can teach and explain it in such a way that the concepts are easily understood. Brilliant.
This is hands down the best channel on RU-vid related to engine building. I’ve learned a lot but more importantly it’s helped me do all my own work and build my motor
Hence why there's only 90k subs.... A majority of the auto enthusiast community "wish" they had what it takes but only about 10% have the capacity to actually learn and retain information to be dominant in their platforms.
This is information that the old timers kept secret when I was a kid. I had the fundamentals of how this worked before, but these essential details are priceless. I've been building engines here and there since I was 16, so 27 years. I have come close but having known this I could have nailed it so much easier than assembling, driving, adjusting, deciding to swap or modify parts to get what I wanted out of the engine, on and on... I used to try to get help like this from my step Dad, my Uncles, etc...they would NEVER tell me about this stuff. Thank you SO much for this. I'm working on an old 350 in my square body right now and will be utilizing this info and rewatching this many times. More upsetting is knowing that people I asked KNEW this and just treated me like I was stupid because I didn't know what I didn't know. I knew I was missing something and this was it - the MATH. SUBBED - thanks again!
Something told me to have my notebook ready...glad I listened to "something" and I'll still watch again! Nice job & greatly appreciated...you're a natural teacher and that makes All the difference. I hope it's very gratifying for you to see how many people are positively affected by your efforts. Thanks!
I'm glad you couldn't find a explanatory video on camshaft selection. You did an excellent job. I even took notes. Thank you for taking the time, you helped a lot of people.
I have a 1970 mercury cougar with a 351 Windsor. Some years back I port matched the intake and exhaust ports, cleaned up the bowls, and ground out the EGR bumps. Put a set of Hooker headers and dual exhaust on the old girl. At 50 mph I had a severe lean misfire. I drilled the main jets out .010" that were in the stock 2 barrel carb, advanced the timing a few degrees with the stock distributor. What a street performer! No change with the camshaft.
Why is this not the first video to pop up when searching about basic cam information…. Literally everything you need to know compiled Into one video. People with attention span issues who are visual learners appreciate the effort you put into this video. Everything I needed to finish building this striker for my elco
I thought I knew how to pick a cam based on intended use. I never realized about matching cylinder head flow to cam lift. After watching this I went and found the flow sheet for the cylinder heads on the 383 I'm building. I was going to install higher ratio rockers for more lift but decided that stock ratio with the springs I installed might offer a little more engine life. It turns out that the cam that I accidently stumbled upon matches my cylinder heads perfectly as he described. Thanks for another great vid. Totally made my day! Lol
@@Doing_it_right_the_first_time It's a good introduction, but as with everything you gotta look around a bit before you draw conclusions. I've learned that if you really want good information, you should just buy a book. Haha maybe youtube should bring back the 5 star rating system they had back in the day.
THANK YOU! As a noob, I REALLY appreciate your easy-to-follow explanation of the fundamentals. No guessing on my next cam. You helped me save money and avoid unexpected/disappointing results.
Check into David Vizard Powertec 10 videos. He has a couple on cam selection that deserve paying attention to. I understand the statement about a more efficient port being compatible with a wider LSA for a smoother idle. Every video or book has useful.bits of information. Pay attention and consider all the information. Sometimes a combining of that information will be best. For a restrictive exhaust port, finish the seat angle at 40° as this will aid low lift flow. Also consider a higher ratio set of rocker arms. This gets the valve off the seat quicker and closes quicker. This also aids low lift flow. A single pattern cam tends to make more torque, provided decent ports. These two things enable use of a single pattern cam, or a cam with less split between the intake and exhaust.
I wish you were my autoshop teacher in high school. I've learned more in 49 minutes, than I learned in 2 yrs of autoshop. You're correct in the video, no one teaches you this stuff.
I'm finding this GEM 3 years after you dropped it here and I appreciate you so much for it! This was great. Your video answered my original question and then some. Thank you for this!
If you do not have a bench flow measuring device you can always use a shop vac and an amp clamp with a multimeter to at least find out how each port performs vs the others. Lower the amperage, lower your flow. Put the shop vac hose on the combustion side of the valve and then you can get your different lift amounts against your different amperage draws. Edit: this works best for trying to make sure you have equal CFM through each cylinder when porting and polishing. It can help prevent severe unbalance between cylinders. It is just a DIY means of comparing.
I study dental surgery, and i studied general medicine before. You sir teach better, and get information across more efficiently- than any professor/doctor/specialist i’ve ever met. Kudos.
Mate ive been in this game for the last 30 years. Ive listened to alot of guys regurgitate what someone else has told them or what they have misinterpreted from reading text that they dont totally get or understand the concepts of head and cam design . That was by far the best lecture on valvetrain fundermentals ive ever listened to. Some topics i wasnt sure on were confirmed by you just now. Thankyou. Im subscribing to the channel right now
You are an invaluable asset to anyone learning the mechanics of the gasoline engine. I've built/cammed more than a few so this was mainly a review......BUT, I learned something. As far as a "cool sounding engine".....I agree....we all love them. However, that said, reversion thru the engine loses power if you don't find a way to 'ram' the mix back down into the cylinder. When I was working with a Cosworth Vega engine that I was using Webers for carbs, I worked hard to get the a carb stack that would contain the fuel mist and be proper length for the rpm/torque/hp that we were looking for from that engine. Short stacks/high rev hp..long stacks/more torque. I had a bit wider parameters as the 122 cubic inch motor had been shown to be able to rev to 10,000 rpm with the right cams. Fun stuff. The whole thing is that the individual components better be able to "shake hands" and work together as a whole. Again....great VIDEO.
Hey this guy is definitely one of koolest, in depth teacher I’ve come across. I’ve seen a lot of so call teachers trying to explain, but not even close. I really appreciate the knowledge your share to the world, and theirs so many out that would not share this information. Thank you so much!! I will always support your channel.
Myvintageiron between you and Pete's garage you've both have given me the confidence to learn and build my 350 engine. I would like to say thank you for sharing your knowledge I truly appreciate your help and advice . You are a blessing to this 55 year's old man . I'm forever greatful. Blessings and more Blessings to you and your Family 🤗👌
myvintageiron7512 has given me confidence to build my own 350 as well and I am 74 yrs old. I have never fooled with anything in the way of motors before!!!
Hands down, best video I’ve seen on camshaft and cylinder head fundamentals! The way you teach makes this so understandable, I will be reverting back to this vehicle when it comes time to build up my Monte Carlo. Thank you for taking time to make this video.
I really appreciate your videos. I grew up in the 50's working on small block Chevrolets. The Dontov .097 was our go to cam. How things have changed. Thanks again.
I'm an engineer now, but I used to race and build engines with my dad. These videos are great, I appreciate you going into science behind what makes an engine work. These videos are awesome. Subbed
I am searching for what camshaft i should put on my build 1 year now..Everyone told me this and that but they couldnt make me understand what camshaft i should use and why..This is the best video about camshafts and you are the best!You re the one that made me understand what and why and how complex this is all about!!Congratulations man!!
Bryan Cranston used to be great, now he's just a loud mouth anti-trumper and loves telling us, the peasants outside of hollywood how to live. He's on the boycott list. Trump 2020, register to vote!
Watched this vid, and I will watch it again, and probably then some more. Not only because it's hands down the most comprehensive explanation of this subject but also because you are massively engaging. Thanks man
Very good info indeed. Love the demystification of LSA Especially how it relates to OBD2 controlled engines. The head flow number analysis was certainly the icing on the cake! Thanks a million.
@@KingJT80 negative his theory is every camshaft is a turbo camshaft (Aftermarket). There is way more explanation and science that is involved. Hint this video.
@@rafatrill yes it matters more when you're trying to RACE but as far as a turbo specific cam thats more of a racers edge that a street guy wouldnt really need as much and yes richard did mention that
@@KingJT80 why do u think we watch his videos to have the edge when someone wants the smoke on and off the track. That's like saying a street guy isn't a racer or doesn't go to the track once in his life
This is fantastic, thank you! So far from part 1 Playing with the math shown here, I learned that a stock LS1 engine as found in a C5 Vette is actually pretty well set up from the factory. Camming it to death won’t gain much at all unless you buy some much more free-flowing heads too. That goes directly to build budget-you can pay to play, but there’s no free lunch. According to the math, the stock LS1 cam is pretty well optimized to the stock heads as they were built-without mods. Can’t wait to listen to part 2!
That was a hell of an education, thanks. I recently restored a 67 Mustang coupe with a 302. I was looking for 300 hp and it came off the dyno at 297. It runs great, idles great, lots of torque, the cam goes from 1500 to 5500. I never understood what went in to it to make it run like that and your explanation has cleared up a lot of things.
'I like this lobe separation because it fits my lifestyle'😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 On a serious note you've got one of the more informative, down to earth channels on the subject of engine building. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.👍👍
Great informative video. Just one note....not all springs are being compressed at max simultaneously. Total combined spring pressure cant be 7,200lbs as pressure varies for each position on the cam lobe. I would assume its closer to about 1,500-2,500 lbs of combined constant pressure.
That’s what I was thinking, and wondering if the release of spring pressure helps push the cam/crank, and relieve some of that pressure while some springs are on the beginning of the cam lobe rise and some are on the fall of the cam lobe
The pressure after the cam reaches the top would be pushing down on the opposite side of the cam. Wouldn't this cancel the power lost on the opening of the valves? Regardless, this is a great video. 👍
I make my living building Nitro burning Hemi's and I have to say your theory of operation for street and sportsman style drag racing applications is very spot on and essential to properly building Horsepower. Kudos to you
This is great. I'm glad you revisited this and added more detail. I used your original videos as gospel when i was building my truck engine and I highly recommend everyone to your videos who are asking about cam selection.
I found this video weeks ago and finally watching it now. I'm halfway through and had to write this comment. Best Video Explaining Everything that I've been questioning while going through my engine build. This is the content I've been looking for! Thank you!!
Excellent video. Thank you for taking the time to put this together. Now I feel better equipped to answer the questions when I call to spec a cam for my style of use.
So happy to see this video, had to come to the realization myself through research that cam lift is tied to head flow. Seems obvious when stated, but nobody else clearly said as much.
@@79tazman Agreed, but what I meant as well was a 0.600 lift cam is useless on a head that stops flowing at 0.500, as an example. So you need to choose a cam whose max lift matches the optimal flow point, and whose duration is appropriate for the RPM range where you want to make power.
man, this video opened my eyes, I'm lucky I'm just starting a long-term engine construction project, I really wouldn't want to spend 30K dollars and then find out my dream engine isn't balanced. I'm only halfway through a video that has such massive added value information. ...respect...
This is THE best video I have seen on how to pick heads and a cam for your build. Thanks for taking the time to explain it piece by piece as well. I took lots of notes so I can plan a build that will actually get me to my goal. I came in expecting to learn about cams but you went so much deeper on heads and how to best match them together and now I have the information and equations needed to help me be confident in my choices. Subscribed! :)
This is not new, just a great review of engine building the right way. Thanks for the formulas, I had lost track of them and my RIP engine building buddies.
Fantastic job! Most fun I’ve had with my pants on in a long time - I’m gettin’ old alright. And I’m a Mopar guy! Always knew head flow was key. Learned that the hard way when I bought my first car from a dude who slapped a big old Crane Fireball into a 318 with factory heads and induction. Sounded great, but I could accelerate a sideways turd out of my constipated ass than that engine could accelerate my Charger. The key for me in this presentation was calculating HP based on % of flow between intake and exhaust - which I believe is a method of determining volumetric efficiency. The old rule of thumb (2HP per 1 CFM at max lift) is just a rough estimate. Now I see how the ability of a head to translate flow between intake and exhaust makes a massive difference in HP potential of the head. Great job! Now I can actually figure out a sane bumpstick for the 440 in my ‘70 R/T!!!
Thank you so much for making my decision making a lot easier. I have been trying to understand how the engines in my several vehicles actually work since about 1985. It’s now 2022 and I have never found a better explanation of this than I just watched. Please keep making my life easier by making these videos.
I'm curious as to why some thumbs down. This is solid stuff. If nothing else, this video gives a number of great jumping off points for research and deeper dives into quite specific aspects of bolting on more power. I'm a bit blown away on the passion, knowledge and willingness shown to put this together and share. Very Impressed.
Thank you sincerely from a brand newbie to the engine rebuild community. Just picked up an old school MOPAR 383 block and heads. Great info and very much needed. You rock!
I love cars and the science behind what makes them go. This is perhaps the best explanation of how to maximize your potential power without trial and error. Lots of information but simply explained.
Welcome back! Consider writing a book on engine building , we need it and you will make more money. I went through the same thing you did when I built my hot rod.
The great Smokie Yunik had one years ago & it was called HP engine building & blue printing . I have this book & it explains even more than I am hearing here in this video such as compression ratios for certain cams as well as ramp speed for how fast the valves open & close which on some engines like the Chrysler Big blocks & small blocks they can use cams that have way faster ramp speeds which makes more power because they use a larger 906 lifter where as a SBC or Ford SB & big blocks use much smaller lifters so they can't take advantage of the faster ramp speed cams unless they like a lot of the racers are doing is to bore & bush the lifter bores to use bigger lifters to get more power but it's not cheap to have done plus having to buy custom lifters to boot . This was a secret that the Mopar guys for years new about & the GM & blue oval guys didn't until years later with the good engine builders years later figuring out how they could use bigger lifters to gain more power in those engines. The book also shows oiling systems on the Chevrolet Ford & Mopar small blocks & what's needed for racing for each engine in either drag racing or road racing . Smokie was a die hard engine builder but was a big Chevrolet guy & did stuff out of the box that actually worked through years of testing racing so look into trying to find his book or even who he was & what he did back then . Blue printing a engine goes a long way for longevity of the engine as well as one that makes more power & is smoother running as well & is always worth doing even on a street engine if you have the time to do it or buy the good aftermarket parts that are already done so you don't have to do the things to the stock parts to blue print them such as beam polishing on the rods checking to make sure all rod lengths are exactly the same or that the crank throws are all the same & it goes even further into cylinder heads where chamber volumes are all Cc'd & equalized .
A 49 minute video is an eternity on RU-vid. It's tough enough for me to watch 10 minute videos without skipping boring stuff. That being said, I just watched this whole video for second time because it is excellent. You are an outstanding teacher. I used to watch your videos years ago when I built my first engine which was a 383 stroker in a 96 Z28. It was such a fun car and ran like a top. Now I'm working on a 454 that I dropped in a 78 Vette. Can't wait to beef it up, but this time. I'll choose the cam. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge with us.
I'm here doing research for a sportster customization project that's been building for years on the drawing board.... great video and it shows it the comments.
DUDE, you completely blew away the Mystery in Camshaft selection, to say the least!!!, I am soo thankful you put this video together!! thank you brother!
This has been the most helpful and effective explanation I have ever heard. And was in thought of building a 347 stoker. Blown away by your examples. Will keep tuning in for new videos
Awesome description of the basic fundamentals of obtaining HP. Thanks for your time in putting this together will assist me greatly with my little Holden 6
OK -- by reading previous comments, I am not the first to say it --- this is one of the tip top best videos on all of You Tube. You genuinely know your subject matter....AND...you do a terrific job of explaining same. BRAVO!
You're the man! This shows I almost nailed the camshaft for my Nova but I made one mistake. 355 with flat top pistons and stock 882 smogger heads. Picked at .434/.434 advertised duration 270 degrees. 1.5 ratio rockers. I probably should have grabbed something like a .404/.454 cam and made a few more HP. Ran a 14.7@96mph in the 1/4 mi (it was an all weather street car with 2.73 rear axle ratio) which means roughly 275-ish HP. I thought Vortec heads would have given me 300hp but your numbers say otherwise! I'm even more impressed with those 882 Camaro heads now!
On the exhaust side of the heads, stick your finger in there where the header bolts on in the roof (top) , if you grind out that bump in all the cylinders, thats worth 25 hp all by itself. And carefully grinding a little of the short turn radius on the intake port should give you another 20 hp. Dont go crazy or you will hit water.Thats free hp. that didnt cost you a dime. And you can put your intake valves in a drill press and taper the combustion chamber side outboard edges, also worth 15 hp. Theres 60hp free between those 3 tricks. If you are interested in real power gains in porting, check out Darin Morgan.
@@donrutter6765 I sold the car a few years go. I am currently looking into an old school Ford 302 build with GT40 heads and explorer intake for my Town Car. (GT40 heads are the Vortecs of the Ford world.) I'm sure there are similar tricks I can do with those heads.
@Vivian Stimpson I sold the car a few years ago. The goal was to be able to drive it anywhere at any time and it did quite well even without OD. I wanted to replace the TH350 with a 200R4 or an NV3500 and use 4:10 axle ratio. Probably would have made it a 13 sec car if I changed gears and did nothing else.
882’s were the only decent smog heads. I have boat anchor 624’s in my 79 vette. Previous owner put a cam in. Sounds good, drives meh. Saving up for a 396 sb crate motor that i’m lookin to make 500 hp with.
Honestly, after watching through it a few times and finding data and doing my math along with yours, I’m about to watch part 2 but I’m already so much closer to finding the cam I wanted then I was a few days ago. Considering I’m doing a restorative ‘super-stock’ rebuild all of the generic -shoved in your face- cams were all way bigger then I wanted. I was missing the math to find the right one, now I can actually build the set up I Wanted, instead of some cookie cutter combination.
Great video. When summit and other camshaft sellers have told me not to buy the bigger camshaft I always just assumed they didn’t want my car to be faster then there’s but now I know they were trying to help me.
You were correct, sir. There's not much out there on this subject that breaks it down like you have. This has got to be the best, most comprehensive explanation of camshafts on the web for the diy guys! I've watched it 2 or 3 times. So good! Thanks for sharing your knowledge. I feel like I have the information to make informed decisions about my engine projects that will help net the best performing engines I can afford. This stuff is not understood by many people. It has always been frustrating to not really understand it, until now. What a fantastic video. Thanks again!
Man, this is the most informative information I have ever gotten about selecting a cam for my engine build. This was absolutely unbelievable thank you very much.
Really enjoyed the video. I did a presentation on camshafts in my first year of engineering, I didn’t go quite as in depth as this though. Keep up the great work!
you had me until your 4800 pounds of spring pressure, that's not how that works. you don't have constant pressure on every spring. aside from that, good video.
Great video!! just bought a 1988 Iroc Z with blown head gaskets, Pulled engine to rebuild it, and have been struggling with cam selection. This explanation has helped tremendously.
seriously laughed. "I don't know this is all a big secret" hahaha ha! this channel is awesome. this is where I learned how to degree a cam and much more. great channel great info
I’m new in the business (engine building/tuning/optimization), and your video really helped me understand the issue. Thank you for the detailed information
Wow. I came across your video almost at midnight i was gonna watch only a few minutes but then i couldnt stop. Finished the complete video at around 12:30 best most informative clip out there. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
This is a very detailed video. Thanks for the time you've put into it. I never really thought about getting too much lift for a crappy set of heads. One note though, if you get a higher lift cam, I think it will still make more power than a low lift cam. It hits every lift point twice except for the peak. Mid-lift numbers are important. On my sbc, I am currently running a low duration 252/264 adv cam with .550"/.546" lift. My heads can handle the lift, but I certainly believe that cam would make more power than a stock cam with a stock set of heads with upgraded springs. It's all about area under the curve. More lift is higher flow, even if you get diminishing returns for higher lift. If you're lifting the valve to .600", you're losing flow on the nose, but everywhere else, you are seeing more flow than a .450" lift cam. I know the stock heads in your example can't support the rpms of a typical cam that has .600" lift, but with an aggressive lobe, it can make much more power than a stock cam. I understand what you're saying that it takes power to spin the cam, but every lobe that is lifting is also lowering a valve. The 7200lb number looks intimidating, but it doesn't tell the whole story. I'd be interested to see how much power it actually takes to spin a cam. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge.
I would just get the cam that fits the lift you're targeting with the least amount of duration without snapping the valve open and close too fast. I don't think it'd take a custom cam to do it. so I was looking at some brodix heads ported by fox lake for a Windsor that flow well up to .600 lift. (285int/219exh) so I think i'll be better off with the howards hydralic roller cam that has 227/233 .597/.597 than the cam with .247/247 .603/.603 why hold the valve open longer if I don't need to? then id have to raise the compression to a level that might not be cool with 92 octane. there's a ton to it.
@@KingJT80 Bigger cams bleed off cylinder pressure better than smaller cams because of the longer valve overlap. You'll need less octane for a bigger cam. High lift/low duration cams are often called RV cams. I'm ok with aggressive lobes on roller lifters. I don't mind blowing the valves open quickly, but I'd rather not slam them shut.
@@EricErnst I woild rather just have the compression I need. At some point closing the valve later to "bleed off" cylinder is gonna diminish what the cam is capable of with the heads. And to bring it back the crompression is gonna have to come up. If its too.much it might not ping and detonate at low rpm on pump gas, but if my foot gets into t may rattle like crazy. I do not want that to happen and have to bu8ld it twice so thats why I was looking at the first cam rather than the second because dynamic compression plays a factor too. If the first cam need 10.25 and the the second needs like 11 to run right, cam 1 gets the nod. I dont want to have to run cam 2 at 10.25 just to bleed off aylinder pressure. Not saying it wont work but id rather not do it
@@EricErnst tso things I dont want to have to do. I do not wany to have to lower the compression on the emgine because I got the wrong cam or not run full timing thats what I mean by diminishing returns. Again not saying it won't work by why not just build it correct with the correct cam and compression so youre not crutching it? Yes you can do stuff to the piatons and combustion chamber run cold air intake get collant temps down not lug the engine with tall gears etc
This was sooooo good I watched this over and over and over this is the best explanation of how this works and no more guessing on what to get and just putting something to together
You don't post much but when you do it's always awesome!!! I'm getting my heads flowed for sure! I've watched just about all of your Chevy videos. Myself and I'm sure PLENTY of others really appreciate it 😊👍
Great info, I learned more about cams in these 49 min then 20 years of being in shops and garages and asking mechanics (mostly backyard LOL) what cam they recommend. You did a great job of explaining it.
You are a very good teacher; i used to be mildly involved involved in cars hot rodding when i was a teen; while vaguely familiar with all these terms an technical nomenclature; you make it acccessible to dummies like me! Great hob!
