Don Terrill’s Speed-Talk

In regard .. The easiest way DV explains it is lc is linked to compression ratio. The higher the compression the smaller the chamber volume to scavenge. So the smaller the overlap triangle needs to be and the wider the lc. Thanks, Charlie But 118 lsa is going quite a ways past the recommendations in...

DV.. definitely want to go with a hr this time.. re- cjp there are correct events that will tailor a combo to suit a usage, for a given combo, the cam that gives the sharpest tq curve is not the cam that will provide the best rpm past peak potential. Ok, I get that.. you may have to give up somethin...

the lsa is (shock horror) an end result of where the correct events etc are set. for which there is only one correct set of events for any given combo in its desired range, meaning (shock horror) there is only one best lsa ? The one providing best torque and hp right across the desired range, confi...

The other end of this equation with the 104 lsa was getting a smooth idle. "daily driver" I don't think yours would qualify.. But this is kindof the point with the tighter lsa, in order to get a real nice smooth idle you have to drop duration considerably. By then the upper end fades fast....

ND Gets 18-20 mpg at a 3200 rpm cruise speed. Just noticed that, pretty impressive especially at 3200 rpm cruise speed but that may be a bit much rpm for daily driver status imo. Guess that depends on how much highway driving you do but for most I think 2200 - 2500 is max for real long distance driv...

What heads are you using novadude? Is your cam installed straight up? Do you think that cam would work as well behind an automatic trans?

Ok done, sent my specs via P.M. Apologies to the OP, didn't mean to sidetrack..

On the way...

D.V. thank you, will do! I apologize for the simplistic questions and sortof knew I was going way back into some pretty basic theory you have spoken on for years. But I did notice on many an auto talk site how common it is for this topic to come up in various ways. The term lsa or lca gets bandied a...

If you have to consider a wider LCA to get the idle vacuum sought then all you have done is chosen a cam with too much duration. Spreading the LCA my improve the idle but it costs torque and hp everywhere in the rpm range. Selecting the optimal LCA first and then the overlap to give the desired idl...

The cam LCA is not a factor that dictates the street-ability of the cam. If you have been told that a wide LCA is needed for the street and a narrower one for competition then you have been told wrong. The key factor is the overlap involved. For any given head, displacement and C R there is only on...

If the cam were to be narrowed 4 degrees, would it still be eligible for the daily driver class? Would you stick with the same I/o duration? Would it run the same octane fuel?

"Once upon a time Rhoads designed a cam to go with their high bleed down lifters" This one? http://www.rhoadslifters.com/Pages/CamKit.html I suppose by definition it's not a solid lifter cam. Yes that's the only cam rhoads ever sold to go with their lifters. It was a hydraulic but I was t...

Once upon a time Rhoads designed a cam to go with their high bleed down lifters. That cam was similar to a solid lifter profile. I've used rhoads in the past with mixed results. Not all cams respond well to using rhoads. Lifter bores need to be good, oil viscosity can affect their action drastically...

Wondering how common is that distributer / oil pressure issue with sbc? Twice now had to replace new aftermarket dizzy with the stock unit to restore pressure in rebuilt engine.