[79TA455STROKED]

My combo being built by butler.
455 .030 over
0 decked(10:1)
4 bolt mains,studded
4.250 eagle crank
6.8 eagle rods
ross pistons
edl heads ported by butler(290-300cfm)
tomahawk intake(port matched to heads by butler)
XE294(250,256 dur @.050)(571,576 lift with 1.65 rockers)
harland sharp 1.65 rockers
tci 3200-3500 converter(10 inch)
th400(tci competition series,full manuel)
3.90 gears

I was originally going with the xe284 but changed to this xe294.do you think i made the rite decision?I see alot of feedback on the xe284 but dont see much on the xe294.Does anybody have any exp with this cam?The car will be driven on weekends,track,shows.I dont want to go with a solid cam!
What do you think this car can run wih some good traction?

[Ron H]

That cam made the best numbers on a similar combo on the desktop dyno sim compared to the XE284.
I would have went with a solid.JMO...

[roadrage david]

my cvms 461 stroker 400 with the xe284/ 300 cfm edel heads/ 1.65 roller tip rockers/ port match TT2 / ecetera made 550 hp on the dyno . 577lbs torque curve 2200/4400. max rpm 6200 at 6000 still makeing 500 horse.. vacume in enoughf for power brakes ecetera. i belive Greg miller had the same combo but with ported Victor and the xe 294 Greg ore mr pbody could chip in and give more details about it.

[Mr. P-Body]

Greg's had 290B, a solid/flat tappet. XE294H is popular among the small block crowd that wants max performance at 6,500. I've never installed one in a Pontiac. I would think it a bit aggressive for hydraulic tappets, but the Chevys seem to respond well to it.

What's wrong with solids?

Jim

[Skip Fix]

The 284 is close to the UD 296/304(239/247) I'm using. It has a moderate idle and pulled to 6200 on my 455. The 294 is a step bigger.

[fasteddy]

What does the TA weigh. You will be sacrificing some low end grunt with the 293 in my opinion. If your car is over 3600 lbs-I would go smaller on the cam even with the 3.90 gears. 87CC E-heads?

[79TA455STROKED]

The car is not together yet so i dont know the weight.I would guess 3300-3500lb.I have eliminated crash beams in doors,alum heads,no ac,fiberglass hood,tubuler a-arms,etc.
I dont have anything against solid cams but i am just not familier with them.I dont want to deal with const adj them either.
I have went over this with jim butler but just wanted to see some opinions of people that had exp with the xe294.
The heads are 87cc edl but have been ported by butler and looking at the sheet that came with them it says 86cc and says they have been milled .020.

[machine shop tom]

If your biggest worry with the solid cam is the "constant adjusting", worry no more. Once they are set on the stand, you will check and adjust them maybe once or twice after fire up. After that, checking them once in a while will be all that is needed. I've run solids for 25 years in various engines and rarely have I had to do any real adjusting more than once a year.

tom

[GTOLIB]

Shifting my rev manual trans on the street is more a hassle then the solid cam , I have to go to neutral every stop.
the engine was noisy with the rhoudes and hyd cam I had before, the solid has way better throttle response ,I check mine before I went to the track ,when I first bring the car out, It's been in there for 12 yrs,I bought it from Bulter with his recommendation.
i'm building the same motor ,going with the same solid I have now. but new

[BDHABT]

Originally Posted by GTOLIB

Shifting my rev manual trans on the street is more a hassle then the solid cam , I have to go to neutral every stop.
the engine was noisy with the rhoudes and hyd cam I had before, the solid has way better throttle response ,I check mine before I went to the track ,when I first bring the car out, It's been in there for 12 yrs,I bought it from Bulter with his recommendation.
i'm building the same motor ,going with the same solid I have now. but new

Ditto on the manual valve body.
I have a solid roller;check it twice a year;its always on the money.

[screamingchief]

I dont want to deal with const adj them either.

The truly ironic thing about this "rodders myth" is that most folks I've know that believe that and stick to running hydraulics inevitably end up adjusting their valves more often then I ever had to adjust any of my solids.

And even worse yet,a few of those lost the retaining clips on their hydraulic lifters from their occasional high RPM use,if you use a hydraulic cam for high RPM use,make sure the lifters have the good clips in them and hope they dont pump up and pop the clips.

I myself rarely choose a hydraulic cam/lifters for any application that will "see" the revs over 5200-5500 RPM use,for any application that has the RPM "ceiling" above that,and I usually use a solid cam/lifters.

If there is no class restriction or such,I myself see very few down sides to running solids,JMO/FWIW.

[79TA455STROKED]

I didnt want to start an argument over solid vs. hyd cams.I was just asking for an opinion on the xe294.I dont want to switch to a solid,I know plenty of guys run them and love them.I had my edl heads built by butler and set up for the xe284 and butler said i wouldnt have to switch the new springs out for diff ones if i go to the xe294.I am not sure but i am assuming that if i did swicth to a solid,i would have to use different springs and i dont want to waste brand new springs and pay again for having new ones installed.Like i said,the heads were set up for the xe284 and would not have to be changed for the xe294 so those are the two cams i am deciding between.I didnt mean to upset you solid cam guys but just want to stay hyd.
SO,does anybody have an opinion between xe284 vs. xe294 with my combo?
THANKS GUYS

[79TA455STROKED]

I have the comp cam(pro mag) lifters with the better clips#863-16 to take care of the noted high rpm clip issue.

[ponjohn]

I run the 284. No power accessories, so I dont care about vacuum or idle quality.

See my signature....

[79TA455STROKED]

I dont have to worry about vacuum either.I am going with hydro-boost brakes.I have a friend with the xe284 in his 71 lemans so i know it is a killer cam.He is running same times as you PONJOHN.I just am wondering how the xe294 would compare to it.I would also assume i would have a little more motor even if i stayed with the xe284 because of my heads,4.250 crank,6.8 rods.He has a 455,+.040,96 heads with street port,rpm manifold,xe284.
Hopefully i can see low 11's with some traction.

[Scott65]

I like my 284. Went 11.46@117 last time out @3650#'s. Time for a rollbar......not.

[ponjohn]

Originally Posted by Scott65

I like my 284. Went 11.46@117 last time out @3650#'s. Time for a rollbar......not.

What cylinder heads?

John

[BruceWilkie]

I would opt for more convertor with that cam! Your present convertor is well suited to the 284 IMO!

[Scott65]

Unported 87cc E-heads. T-2 intake, 825 Mighty Demon, 3.73 gears, and a switch-pitch that flashes to 3900rpms.

[screamingchief]

I didnt want to start an argument over solid vs. hyd cams.I was just asking for an opinion on the xe294.I dont want to switch to a solid,I know plenty of guys run them and love them.I had my edl heads built by butler and set up for the xe284 and butler said i wouldnt have to switch the new springs out for diff ones if i go to the xe294.I am not sure but i am assuming that if i did swicth to a solid,i would have to use different springs and i dont want to waste brand new springs and pay again for having new ones installed.

No arguing on my part,just discussion,seems a common deal folks come on here and ask a question or two and then state a bunch of reasons why they chose to do something,only for us to see clearly they have used poor assumptions to begin with when doing so,take for instance your spring justification,you do realize that 99.9% of the 1.65 ratio harland sharp rollers check in over their "rated" 1.65 ratio,usually much closer to 1.7 (often 1.72 or so) rocker ratio,you did know this,,,right?

And you list your lift figures with the 1.65 ratio,which just so happens to be right at the E-heads max lift spec of .575" (and this is also another questionable choice,running a spring right at the max lift spec that is...),soooo you do realize the actual lift your gonna be running will very likely excede the stock E-head spring capacity right???

Oh yeah,BTW,check the recommended springs for your comp XE294 hydraulic and say the 290b6 solid Mr.Pbody mentioned earlier,they both use exactly the same spring per comps recommendations (#995-16).

So that aspect should have had little impact on the cam choice,as long as the springs to be used listed specs were'nt going to be exceded,the spring needs for either would have been virtually the same.

Many knowledgeable "builders" pitch the stock E-head springs as SOP,as there are much better springs out there to use,just seems odd to me that the whole build was based on the springs that the E-heads came with,for me that would have been the last thing that would have dictated my choices.

But I digress,to each their own,hope it works out well for you...

Bret