spdhawk

im thinking of installing this extreme energy comp cam #12-249-4 on my stock 305 tbi. have any of you had any experience with this cam? id like to know if i will need to replace my springs or not. im hoping i can get away with just the cam and lifters. also will i require a different legnth push rod? thank for any help..

InfernalVortex

iTrader: (4)

Dont dump any money into the 305. Seriously. You can make it fast, but you'll regret not just doing a 350 to begin with.

It's a good cam choice, only a little bigger than the stock L98 cam. But it's just not worth the work, money, and time to put into that engine without a headswap, and then it's just not worth the money and work and time to put all that into a 305 without upgrading the intake, and so on and so forth.... It's not worth it without upgrades to other areas, and then before you know it you've got $2k invested in a 305 when you could just buy a Vortec L31 crate engine that will make 275-300hp and drive like a factory engine in your car, and a cam swap in it will make 350-400hp.

spdhawk

thank for your reply. im not trying to build a race car. im only considering a cam because i need to replace a timing chain and ill already be right there at it. im not even pulling the motor. i do have headers on this car and it runs great other than the sloppy timing. im just wondering if my stock springs and rods will support this mild cam.. now if i was replacing the engine, that would be a different story.

OrangeBird

iTrader: (1)

As a practical matter , no , your not really right there at it at all ....

To do a timing chain , the water pump , harmonic dampener , timing chain cover , and things like the alternator and steering pump have to be removed , and your at the chain ....

To replace the cam , you now have the additional labor of removing the valve covers and intake manifold in order to get at the lifters (cam ain't gonna just slide right out without all of the lifters being lifted outta the way) and is there even room to get the cam out without also taking apart a bit of the front end (AC radiator and maybe some stuff in front of it too ?)

spdhawk

ofcourse youre right.. but removing the extra accessories is really no big deal to me. ive wrecked this car before and rebuilt the entire frond cap myself and its pretty mush second nature to me. i also make short work of the tbi and intake as i have taken it off before to stop a leak i had(after paying $600 for a mech to fix:-) so the extra work doesnt concern me as rebuiling and working on this car is my favorite hobby a beer drinking pass time... im just concerned about the valve spring holding up to this comp cam since comp cam tries to scare the crap out of you on their sight about it being nessecary to replace springs. but that would require head machine work to get the new springs to seat and that worries me.. im not ready to build a motor just yet but if i can get away with a cam/lifter upgrade i will.

jokerZ71

The stock GM springs are pretty crappy even w/ stock cams.Especially if higher milage.
Since you're already gonna be spending some bks for the swap by the time you figure the cost all the gaskets,fluids,cam,lifters,timing set,etc,spend a few more $$ for set of decent springs.There are several drop in spring kits that would work well with that cam w/o doin any headwork.A set of Z28 springs can be had for less than $50.FWIW,if I were gonna go to that much work & expense,I'd pick another cam.IMO'that one is not gonna net you very much gain for the cost & work invested.

D_Smith87

see what springs comp recommends, or even talk to a tech about it, stock springs are terrible on so many levels especially factoring in mileage like joker said, the best type of motor longevity wise is one where are the parts are matched up right, so skimping on springs on even a cam that mild is still a bad idea, another thing about stock springs is they are light, so any high rpm operation this new cam offers will be hurt by valve float due to the springs not keeping up with the rest of the system. if your on a budget get a mild spring kit from summit, cheap, but 50x better than stock.