What is the pros and cons of locking out the cams? I am also wondering how big of cam you can run with limiters.
Cam lockouts or No?
- Thread starter Fastnature
- Start date
Locking out the cams means to degree the cams in to where you want them to produce the most power. Usually this is done for drag racing applications where the cams are set to make as much peak power as possible (retarding the cams) while sacrificing some low end and the ability for the car to accelerate up to speed. This can be overcome by increasing displacement/adding boost ect..Custom cam grinds are used to experiment and find what is the happy medium and allows the car to run the best E/T with all other factors remaining constant.
Limiters are somewhere in the middle. They still allow you to control advance and retard but not as much. This limits the control you have to make the car accelerate (limited intake advance and exhaust retard) and prevents issues with piston/valve clearance.
Whether using lock outs or limiters the choice of cam is critical for maximum desired performance.
This is a good article we helped out with for the 3V Mustangs. These are a bit different since they only have one cam per bank. The cams in a 3V are advanced and the computer retards them as desired power increases.
Quote from Jim,
"Limiting cam movement through just the computer is only good on paper. Mechanically limiting them to 20 degrees of movement prevents any problems."
Comp Cams Phaser Limiters Install - Lockdown - Muscle Mustangs & Fast Fords Magazine
And for the Coyote:
Mods for Coyote Mods, Part 3 - Back To Bolt-Ons - Muscle Mustangs & Fast Fords Magazine
We are working on something special for one of our N/A Cobra Jets at this time, but I cannot share any of this unfortunately!
Hope this helps!
Limiters are somewhere in the middle. They still allow you to control advance and retard but not as much. This limits the control you have to make the car accelerate (limited intake advance and exhaust retard) and prevents issues with piston/valve clearance.
Whether using lock outs or limiters the choice of cam is critical for maximum desired performance.
This is a good article we helped out with for the 3V Mustangs. These are a bit different since they only have one cam per bank. The cams in a 3V are advanced and the computer retards them as desired power increases.
Quote from Jim,
"Limiting cam movement through just the computer is only good on paper. Mechanically limiting them to 20 degrees of movement prevents any problems."
Comp Cams Phaser Limiters Install - Lockdown - Muscle Mustangs & Fast Fords Magazine
And for the Coyote:
Mods for Coyote Mods, Part 3 - Back To Bolt-Ons - Muscle Mustangs & Fast Fords Magazine
We are working on something special for one of our N/A Cobra Jets at this time, but I cannot share any of this unfortunately!
Hope this helps!
Good stuff. Thanks for the links.
Is there a point where a cam is too aggressive that you can't limit or shouldn't limit it?
Is there a point where a cam is too aggressive that you can't limit or shouldn't limit it?
Most aggressive cams needs to be limited to prevent the pistons from wacking the valves. If a manufacture says that limiters are required, they mean it. Choosing not to use them is just taking a risk. Computer limited cams are only as good as the system controlling it.
How much do you feel street manners are affected doing a full lockout instead of just limiting the cams? I would suspect that fuel mileage would suffer greatly on a locked out high lift cam vs a limited one.
Hit up Shaun at AED. I think I read somewhere on here that they were doing stage 3 comp cams with no limiters
Users who are viewing this thread
