[cgrey8]

I was talking to somebody a while back about cams and I made mention of how the 93-95 Cobra cam was one of the best bangs for the buck as compared to other stock Windsor cams. And whoever it was I was talking to mentioned some company that sells replicas of those cams for really cheap...like $100-150 new. Does anybody know what company that is and where they are sold?

A guy on another forum was mentioning wanting to rebuild his truck's 96 Explorer 302 and go back together with an E303. But in the next sentence, he said he wants to have a "solid" near stock idle and better torque. I was telling him that the E303 isn't likely a good candidate for getting a really smooth, low RPM idle or solid off-idle torque. Most people find the E303 doesn't wake up until ~2500RPMs. And by the way he was talking, I believe he's planning to reuse the stock spring package which I think is a short-sighted idea. But if he's looking for a cam that won't require he replace his stock springs/retainers, is an upgrade to his stock Explorer cam, and will not sacrifice idle or off-idle torque, the Cobra cam combined with 1.7RRs is a hard choice to beat.

[decipha]

or he can retard the cam he already has -4 degrees and roll with it


if he wants more tq throw a set of heads on it

[cgrey8]

The Explorer cam is a pathetic cam, no matter how you slice it...retarded, advanced, lifted with 1.7RRs. It's a performance joke. It's an "emissions" cam. There's no wonder people could literally get a 30hp gain by replacing it with a decent performance cam. Replacing it with a Cobra cam & 1.7RRs is probably worth 10-15hp.

The 96 Explorer 5.0Ls came stock with GT40 heads which aren't terrible, but they are production castings. While they are the same GT40 heads the 93-95 Cobras came equipped with, they didn't get the special attention SVT gave the GT40 heads the Cobras got. I guess if he's really interested, he could clean them up, get some machine shop work done to the valves, seats, and get them decked to reduce their combustion CCs to up the compression a tad. But if he's not going to spend the money to replace the springs, I can't imagine him letting go of the cash to get them machined.

But regardless, I'd still like to know who makes the replica stock cams.

[85GT]

I'm hoping it's not too pathetic. EA Pro seems to think it can work with the right pieces. Here's a comparison of my current sig combo. Then just putting on a Victor 5.0. Waiting for the weather to do that :). Then swapping in that explorer cam I got from you and some TFS FAC 190's. Substantial boost over what I have. Idle vac jumps from 16.0 to 22.7. Should idle like a kitten :)

In pure street trim, just lower tire pressure and only 19lbs injectors that were max'ing out I find out once I got the QH, it ran 13.7's. Actually, it was also still a 5spd then. No track times with the auto yet. The current combo is very fun to drive now, can't wait to see what the new one does :)

[85GT]

For grins and giggles, an explorer motor vs the fac190 vic5.0 combo above. Keep cam and swap heads like decipha said.

[cgrey8]

It idles like a dream, there's no doubting that. And at the lower RPMs with the right components, I'm sure it will produce torque. After all, the Explorer engine with the Explorer intake, 65mm TB, and GT40p heads was just shy of the hp that a stock 5.0L GT produced back in the day. But I don't think highly of the GT cam either. I'm still a firm believer that there are other cams out there that'll do better than the Explorer cam for all-around performance. There is an aspect to the Explorer cam that is nice. Because it is so tame, people that run carbs love them. Where some of the cams we would run on EFI setups would give a typical carb junkie headaches trying to get a near stock idle.

Now one thing that decipha likes to point out is that the cam is less significant on boosted applications. While it is still a factor, it is less of a factor as compared to N/A. Thus I wouldn't be surprised if an Explorer cam on boosted applications with decent heads would perform surprisingly well.

But if I had to choose between the Explorer cam and the Cobra cam in a stock/near stock engine, I'd take the Cobra cam. Although there are plenty of cams better than either of them. But all the ones that come to mind are more expensive, pretty much REQUIRE a spring package upgrade, and RRs which makes them significantly harder to justify for someone just doing an engine rebuild and wanting an easy cam upgrade.

[decipha]

true


theres nothing like a rock solid idle at 280 rpm

[85GT]

Sticking in a cobra cam, no other changes. Looks like you lose 30ft-lbs to about 4k then gain them back afterwards. Still no match for good heads and intake. Average torque the same, average power went up 7hp. vs 70lbs/50hp more average with the heads. Yes cost is much greater, but does the cobra cam in a truck help if he's not winding it out?

[cgrey8]

Interesting. Based on old diagnostics I did with the Cobra cam years ago, I recall it performing a lot better than that. But then again, I don't recall that I ever plugged in the Explorer cam numbers specifically to compare. I think I was comparing the Cobra to the GT cam and then to the E303. Obviously the E303 produces the best HP, but I recall the Cobra cam producing the best torque. Perhaps my praise of the Cobra cam is misplaced????

But to back up what decipha said, the Explorer cam WILL actually stay running smoothly at 300...and do so without complaining too badly about it. When I had the 302 installed, I could let the clutch out slowly with the throttle closed, drop the RPMs right down to 300 and the engine was obviously labored but able to hold steady and not conk out, buck, act up. Contrast that with the 331 that I've got installed now and I can't drop it much below 500 RPMs as I'm taking off without it randomly just conking out under the load with nearly no warning. Some of that may still be tune. I haven't been able to pinpoint any specific cause (i.e. leanout or over enrichment). It doesn't seem to follow a pattern other than unpredictability. However IF it is something that I can make better in the tune, I'll eventually figure it out and come up with some way to counteract it. But for now, I have to be careful about letting the RPMs drop too low as I engage the clutch from a dead-stop.

The nice thing is the take-off torque with the engine above 600 RPMs is PHENOMENAL as compared to the stock Explorer 302. I remember being able to let the clutch out, snap to WOT from about 650-700RPMs in 1st gear. The truck would start moving, but not exactly at an impressive bury-you-in-the-seat rate. It wasn't until the engine was up around 2000RPMs that I actually started to get some pull. Once the RPMs were in the 3500 range, it might would start slipping the tires a bit...might. The 331 in 1st has no problems breaking the tires loose at 1/2 throttle. Granted they are still the stock Ranger 225/70R14s. So I can't get too impressed. I'm just making a comparison.

Anyway, back to the original topic. Who sells stock replica cams like the Cobra cam?

[POPSRACING]

Speedpro did at one point...not sure if they still do.

[cgrey8]

The Federal Mogul website is about useless for finding details on specific parts they sell. I was able to drill down to where it says they sell Hydraulic Roller cam shafts. And that's where the trail ends. No listing of camshafts. Just a statement that they sell them. I guess if you want more info, they want you to contact them.