Race Header or Cams -Most H.P
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Cams really let the engine move some air. The freer flowing your exhaust is the better power they will make.
i'd go with the shorty header and get cams after you do the "general" bolt-ons such as header, exhaust, and intake. these mods will be enhanced greatly with the cams. pacesetter has a pretty decent shorty header(ceramic) for $200. i have the uncoated version and have had no problems as of yet. hope this helps. the race header will be very loud, and you will have to buy a resonator to quiet it down. i have the random technology high flow cat and am very happy with it!!
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Hey what up Sal? Long time no see. You missed 2 track days already. I recommend to get the street header at least. Then you can do the off-road pipe and flexpipe. Thats the direction i took. Then i would get the cams. Later
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Did anyone ever read that SCC article where they did a giant header test. The pacesetter was actually worse than stock
As far as the original question goes, get the engine breathing right first. HEADER, and for god's sake get those cam gears tuned! For flat out gains the best thing to do is just get the race header. Having long length tubes is what really makes an exhaust work better, those short headers aren't worth the money IMO, unless your huggin' trees.
In my opinion the cams should unquestionably be done first.
They are more expensive but way more useful.
- dont make noise (race header + exhaust is still very loud even with a big resonator)
- biggest power increase, they will extend the power band of the car all the way to 7000rpm
- multiply the effect of any other naturally aspirated modifications of which you have a few
They are more expensive but way more useful.
- dont make noise (race header + exhaust is still very loud even with a big resonator)
- biggest power increase, they will extend the power band of the car all the way to 7000rpm
- multiply the effect of any other naturally aspirated modifications of which you have a few
The best long tube header we dyno'ed was worth 12 horsepower on a Focus with stock cams. That is the 4-into-2-into-1 design.
We just did Crane #0012 cams last week. Untuned (cam gears at 0/0) they were worth 9 horsepower over the dyno tuned/adjusted stock cams. This is with stock heads & intake, a 65mm throtle and the 4-2-1 headers. We think we will get more power out of the cams once we retard them a little, but we are waiting until we raise the rev limiter so that we can really experiment.
We just did Crane #0012 cams last week. Untuned (cam gears at 0/0) they were worth 9 horsepower over the dyno tuned/adjusted stock cams. This is with stock heads & intake, a 65mm throtle and the 4-2-1 headers. We think we will get more power out of the cams once we retard them a little, but we are waiting until we raise the rev limiter so that we can really experiment.
In my opinion the cams should unquestionably be done first.
They are more expensive but way more useful.
- dont make noise (race header + exhaust is still very loud even with a big resonator)
- biggest power increase, they will extend the power band of the car all the way to 7000rpm
- multiply the effect of any other naturally aspirated modifications of which you have a few
They are more expensive but way more useful.
- dont make noise (race header + exhaust is still very loud even with a big resonator)
- biggest power increase, they will extend the power band of the car all the way to 7000rpm
- multiply the effect of any other naturally aspirated modifications of which you have a few
I just checked our dyno records. The actual numbers for the 4-2-1 header were 8 hp over the jba shorty, not 12 as I had mistakenly said earlier. Based on our earlier testing of the shorty, we figure that would be 10 to 11 hp over the stock header.
The 4-2-1 header is not nearly as loud as the Focus Sport 4-into-1 header.
Look for dyno graphs for both of these parts to be posted on www.steedafocus.com in a few days.
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">The cams did actually make the car louder at full throttle, probably due to the exhaust valve opening earlier and longer.
The 4-2-1 header is not nearly as loud as the Focus Sport 4-into-1 header.
Look for dyno graphs for both of these parts to be posted on www.steedafocus.com in a few days.
frdfocszx3- I have been busy with work, when those days were planned..I'll definately attend the next one, what about next week? Rivercity is far, but can anyone make it to Alamo?
If I decide to get a shorty header, how long would it take for the cat to go??
If I decide to get a shorty header, how long would it take for the cat to go??
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Cool. Ive had my street header for about a year and its still good. I guess its unpredictable.
Remember this(assuming you buy cams first)......To get the max power out of cams you will have to spend some time at the dyno to tune them, so that will possibly add on another $100 to the price of the cams. Ok so then you decide to add the header later on after the cams. So now your saying "so what". Well after you add the header on you then will be freeing up the exhaust which then you could benifit from possibly some more dyno tuning. That would be twice that you would have to dyno tune it to make the most power for the buck. So all in all I'm saying:
1: Buy the header first
2: Save for the cams
3: Get to the dyno and tune it
4: Enjoy it.
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Russell
1: Buy the header first
2: Save for the cams
3: Get to the dyno and tune it
4: Enjoy it.
Russell
is there some confusion between camshafts and cam GEARS? He already has cam gears (although untuned...tune them!), he's talking about getting stage II camshafts (if I understand this right).
I've read several posts where people claimed fairly SMALL gains with cams, whereas there are fairly large gains to be had with a race header on more highly modified cars, no?
I know this is only one type of cam, but the low end loss really doesn't thrill me...torque loss throughout the powerband, with hp loss below 5250rpms...so there are only gains above there? Good for the track, maybe, but I wouldn't really want these on my daily driver...what about other cams? do some have good mid-range gains?
http://focussport.com/newsgrouppics/camdyno1.jpg
edit...btw., I'm bored at work and thought I'd comment
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I'm not so much offering an opinion as being curious to know if what I'm saying is right
[ 09-19-2002, 12:30 PM: Message edited by: Marction ]
I've read several posts where people claimed fairly SMALL gains with cams, whereas there are fairly large gains to be had with a race header on more highly modified cars, no?
I know this is only one type of cam, but the low end loss really doesn't thrill me...torque loss throughout the powerband, with hp loss below 5250rpms...so there are only gains above there? Good for the track, maybe, but I wouldn't really want these on my daily driver...what about other cams? do some have good mid-range gains?
http://focussport.com/newsgrouppics/camdyno1.jpg
edit...btw., I'm bored at work and thought I'd comment
[ 09-19-2002, 12:30 PM: Message edited by: Marction ]
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get the cams don't be silly...
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ok boys and some girls (we need more girls) if some one (lets say me) got stage 2 cams, what would be the point of getting adjustable cam gears? wouldn't the cams already be timed for max performance and drivability? wouldnt changing the cam degrees screw everything up?
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thanks in advance
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[ 09-20-2002, 09:21 PM: Message edited by: zx3 focus racer ]
[ 09-20-2002, 09:21 PM: Message edited by: zx3 focus racer ]
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