[old66tiger]

I never measured performance in any engine with how fast a car will top out. Top speed is primarily driven by factors surrounding the engine like gearing, wheel and tire size, transmission selection, etc. I have ridden in a 10.8 car that was very impressive on clicking off 1320 feet but was all done at 135 mph. Take that same motor and put some 3.23 gears behind, OD tranny and tall tires and theoretically, the car should hit 175 mph.

My experience has been and will always be driveability and over all response to the driving conditions for what the car was intended. I respect that David's car can cruise 130 mph and that he feels comfortable with pinning it that hard on public roadways. I personally had my GTO up to 120 on the freeway and with non-modern suspension and other drivers on the road, that was as far as I wanted to go and backed off quickly. Besides, I enjoy cheap insurance courtesy of no speeding tickets in the past 24 years. To me, the car has to have exceptional acceleration, respond well to throttle position and idle with a steady rhythmic lope - if any lope at all.

I had the Xe274 in my 455 and I simply wasn't impressed, period! I lived with the cam for approximately 3 years and if i had my choice, I would look other places for a cam. I had the tri-power on the motor for a bit and then switched over to a highly modified Q-jet and iron intake. The idle quality was marginal and it always had a irratic shake unless I was idling at 1100 rpms. I swapped out distributors, induction systems, wires, plugs, etc, etc, etc. never cleaned up the idle. The periodic shake was always there no matter what I did unless I sped up the idle. For this issue alone, it was enough to pull the motor and swap it for something different. keep in mind, I lived with this cam...not just an acquaintance.

The best that I got this engine to do with 1000 miles on the motor was 326 RWHP and 439 RWTQ. Given some more time and unlimited pulls, maybe there was some more left in it, but the maximum production nosed over before 5K indicating that spinning it harder would not make any more power beyond that point. Let's put it this way, it was OK and for the average guy that wants something to sound tough and isn't looking for the ultimate in high performance, it would be OK. Cruising down the road, it was fine and accelerated OK, but just lacked the punch that I thought it should have. I drove my buddies 68 bird with a nearly identical motor except for the 2802 cam and it felt and drove much more responsive. The idle quality was much better and just was much more drive able.

Back to the 400...I had the 60916 cam in my 389 and it was a good cam. Made really decent mid range power and idled very nice. I know a few guys running this cam in their 400's and it seems as if it is a good compromise between better than stock and not too radical to kill the power of the motor. I would start your search on the boards with a 60916 and see where it takes you.

Good luck.