Xe 294 hft comp cam

[rocketracer380]

Thoughts on this cam for a street/ strip olds 355 with 10:1 comp .554 .558 on a 110 240/250 dur I have a 3400# cutlass with 4.56 and 3600 stall

[DaveMcLain]

XE, noisy as a solid, run reasonably ok.

[Krooser]

Talk to Charles @ Camcraft... he loves those Oldsmobiles. He ground one for me... sold it to another guy who sez it's the best cam he's had in 30 years of racing his Olds.

www.camcraftcams.com

[BradH]

XE, noisy as a solid, run reasonably ok.

Won't RPM very high before the aggressive lobes cause the valve train to lose control.

[PRH]

In my catalog, the Olds XE294H specs are:
294/306 @.006
250/256 @.050
110 lsa
Lift- .554/558 w-1.6 rockers

IMO, that's a bit big for the short stroke 350 Olds.

I've found that series of lobes to be pretty noisy........and don't rev high enough for my liking.
I figure, if the motor is going to make that much noise, it might as well have solid lifters in it.......which also solves the rpm problem.

[ProPower engines]

Thoughts on this cam for a street/ strip olds 355 with 10:1 comp .554 .558 on a 110 240/250 dur I have a 3400# cutlass with 4.56 and 3600 stall

It sounds like just another off the shelf cam from that place.
its an olds and they require different profiles then a chevy 350 does.
With all the custom cam grinders out there why not think out side the box for just a minute.
Have you considered a change in the firing order??
99.99% of engines that don't run 18436572 firing order for a reason like the LS engine. I have done many other engines and used the LS firing order and every single engine picked up power and some an impressive amounts.

The noisy valve train issues they have are also a consideration if you are running a hyd. cam. Solids are to be expected and even then the right profile and they are barely noticeable for noise.

I have talked with the fellow at Cam Craft and he seems to know his stuff and he likes different rather then the same old run of the mill chevy profiles used by that other cam place.

Just saying most guys are in too big of a hurry to get a camshaft for there project and while the stuff off the shelf will make the engine run and if the cost difference between a special custom profile makes it unaffordable then why build the engine in the 1st place if a couple hundred bucks will kill it.
Bottom line is the custom stick will make the difference between outstanding and just another noisy olds engine.
The olds engine done right will tear up the road much better then their other GM cousin's will. There is a guy that used to work with the late great Joe Mondello back in the 70's-80's and while he is an olds freak by nature I have worked with him on a few engines and some of the stuff he has used like camshafts he has got done were never off the shelf and while the questions did come up about profiles they seemed to be much different compared to the shelf stuff available in subtle ways that really made the difference in HP numbers.

I would talk to some cam grinders regarding your build and get not only the best but the right cam the 1st time for what combo you want to run even if it is a budget deal no reason to sacrifice HP and durability if you don't have to

[rocketracer380]

I've ran a xe 284 on a 403 wasn't noisy made tons of power but I see your point.did a 434 pump gas deal and had lsm speced out a cam for this pump gas deal and it ran like a raped ape may be I'll go the same route with this olds great responses thanks guys I also found that cam xe 294 at a 70 percent off was 43.99 kinda tempting

[GARY C]

I've ran a xe 284 on a 403 wasn't noisy made tons of power but I see your point.did a 434 pump gas deal and had lsm speced out a cam for this pump gas deal and it ran like a raped ape may be I'll go the same route with this olds great responses thanks guys I also found that cam xe 294 at a 70 percent off was 43.99 kinda tempting

I think you can still down load Comps lobe catalog if you want to customize your own, I don't think they charge anymore than a shelf cam.

[BILL-C]

Charles owns CAMCRAFT and is one of the best cam guys i've ever dealt with, especially for the odd stuff.

[F-BIRD'88]

It will run... It will probabily run a bit better in that motor if the car had a 5000 stall racing converter.
It may want to be installed more advanced (102 deg intake C/L) if used with 10:1 and a 3600 stall 10" converter.
You must use correct valve springs. Recommend a dual coil 1.46" diameter valve spring 120 seat 350-360 open pressure. ( same spring you would use on a mild/moderate solid lifter cam in a Olds V8)
Comp cams Cam Help can advise.
A stock diameter typical single coil spring is not going to work.

Use only a standard hyd lifter HL1951 or same with these cams, not high bleed lifters.
Use a 15w40 oil.... You MUST add a Zinc Moly enriched oil additive ( I use Molyslip E)
or use a oil that has it in it already.

The next milder XE284H-10 cam is a better match. THey all will rev plenty high with correct valve springs.

Yes they are mildly a bit noisey at idle. A trade off for the fast valve action.
Use correct oil, lifters and valve springs and they run good.

If you are hell bent on using that cam in your olds 355 this is what I would do to run it.
Consider trading that 3600 stall for 4500-5000 stall race converter for this.

Without the Zinc and MOLY in the oil do not expect a good service life with these fast action cams.

A good idea to check VTP clearance with this one. Especially if/when re-positioning it to improve torque.

[RevTheory]

I spoke with Comp about the Xtreme Energy lobes and noise and I just can't get over actually being able to hear the valves snap shut against the seats in a hydraulic setup for street use.

[DaveMcLain]

It will run... It will probabily run a bit better in that motor if the car had a 5000 stall racing converter.
It may want to be installed more advanced (102 deg intake C/L) if used with 10:1 and a 3600 stall 10" converter.
You must use correct valve springs. Recommend a dual coil 1.46" diameter valve spring 120 seat 350-360 open pressure. ( same spring you would use on a mild/moderate solid lifter cam in a Olds V8)
Comp cams Cam Help can advise.
A stock diameter typical single coil spring is not going to work.

Use only a standard hyd lifter HT817 with these cams, not high bleed lifters.
Use a 15w40 oil.... You MUST add a Zinc Moly enriched oil additive ( I use Molyslip E)
or use a oil that has it in it already.

The next milder XE284H-10 cam is a better match. THey all will rev plenty high with correct valve springs.

Yes they are mildly a bit noisey at idle. A trade off for the fast valve action.
Use correct oil, lifters and valve springs and they run good.

If you are hell bent on using that cam in your olds 355 this is what I would do to run it.
Consider trading that 3600 stall for 4500-5000 stall race converter for this.

Without the Zinc and MOLY in the oil do not expect a good service life with these fast action cams.

A good idea to check VTP clearance with this one. Especially if/when re-positioning it to improve torque.

I wonder what percentage of the flat tappet hydraulic cams ground using those XE lobes and run with their recommended springs run more than 10,000 miles before going flat? Is it 10%?

[F-BIRD'88]

The 2 next milder step Olds Hyd cams in that series XE274H-10 and XE284H-10 are both better choices
for this and have a attractive affordable price at Summit, right now.
Correct install and the MOLY oil additive is REQUIRED.

[F-BIRD'88]

This is my cam pick for you UDHAROLD/Lunati cam #10420515

Also attractively/affordabily priced at Summit right now.

Degree this cam in to ensure correct install.
Same rules re springs lifters etc.

[cv67]

Too big, use a different mfr or line of cam at least