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What are better cams?

3L cams give more low-midrange power and SVT cams give more power up top sacrificing power down low. I'd say for a daily driver 3L cams are more usable.
 
if you keep your secondaries you will have crazy torque down low with the svt cams and awesome power up high. with the 3L cams you will have decent low but the midrange is where they shine.

thats my $.02 worth i drive in the low rpms all day long and have no trouble keeping up with about anything in that range if i want to kill it i just wind it up!
 
I had heard that the 2004 3.0 Taurus cams were a bit better than the '00-'03 cams. So I thought that maybe they were closer to the 2.5 SVT cams. I am currently driving the 3.0 with the hybred conversion. I'm pleased with the power, and I'm sure it will run even better when I get it tuned on the dyno in the next month or so.
 
I vote for 3L cams, if I have to do another 3L swap I'm keeping the 3L cams, I just dont find my current SVT as much fun to drive as my last one with 3L cams and I would put money on the fact that my last 3L with 3L cams would beat my current 3L with SVT cams and both have the same mods!

Aaron
 
I vote for 3L cams, if I have to do another 3L swap I'm keeping the 3L cams, I just dont find my current SVT as much fun to drive as my last one with 3L cams and I would put money on the fact that my last 3L with 3L cams would beat my current 3L with SVT cams and both have the same mods!

Aaron
What do you mean not as fun? What's the differance?
 
What do you mean not as fun? What's the differance?


The SVT cams I have to really get high in the revs, the 3L cams I had plenty of low end and the top end still felt strong. With the 3L cams I never had to down shift I would just hit the gas and go, I dont feel that same power on tap with the SVT cams. While cruising if I just tapped the gas I would get thrown back in my seat once again I dont really feel it with the SVT cams. Kinda hard to explain I just find the 3L cams had alot more of a fun factor when it came to driving and the car still pulled very hard to speeds I will not post. I just find the 3L cams were better for all around driving. 1Fastdad can vouche for what my current and previous SVTs are like. The 3L cams made the alot of tq and talk about tq steer geez, the SVT cams still give me tq steer but not so much down low. With my 3L cams I had tq steer very low in the RPMs I find that with my SVT Cams I dont get tq steer until about 3,300ish RPMs. FYI as stated both my 3L's had the same mods and the same tuner the only difference were the cams and both cars were tested 8weeks apart. Basically the same tune was used just made the change for the cams. I hope this helps and makes some sense, if not just let me know.

Aaron

Aaron
 
I had heard that the 2004 3.0 Taurus cams were a bit better than the '00-'03 cams. So I thought that maybe they were closer to the 2.5 SVT cams. I am currently driving the 3.0 with the hybred conversion. I'm pleased with the power, and I'm sure it will run even better when I get it tuned on the dyno in the next month or so.

Shawn,

You have a ported 3L not a hybrid 3L. A hybrid 3L uses 2.5L heads and a 3L block. You have a 3L block and 3L heads ported out for 2.5L intakes.

Chris
 
Cam specs would help this thread out a lot. Its a tad bit better than comparing two different cars with a butt dyno.
Mark
 
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The SVT cams I have to really get high in the revs, the 3L cams I had plenty of low end and the top end still felt strong. With the 3L cams I never had to down shift I would just hit the gas and go, I dont feel that same power on tap with the SVT cams. While cruising if I just tapped the gas I would get thrown back in my seat once again I dont really feel it with the SVT cams. Kinda hard to explain I just find the 3L cams had alot more of a fun factor when it came to driving and the car still pulled very hard to speeds I will not post. I just find the 3L cams were better for all around driving. 1Fastdad can vouche for what my current and previous SVTs are like. The 3L cams made the alot of tq and talk about tq steer geez, the SVT cams still give me tq steer but not so much down low. With my 3L cams I had tq steer very low in the RPMs I find that with my SVT Cams I dont get tq steer until about 3,300ish RPMs. FYI as stated both my 3L's had the same mods and the same tuner the only difference were the cams and both cars were tested 8weeks apart. Basically the same tune was used just made the change for the cams. I hope this helps and makes some sense, if not just let me know.

Aaron

Aaron


So is this 'only difference' the cams or did it also include the intakes also?
 
Ok, let me clarify the differences between the cams.

The later (04+, though they may have switched sometime during the 03 model year) 3L cams have a higher lift than the previous 3L cams. This increased lift is EQUAL to the lift on the SVT cams. The SVT cams provide increased duration and a little different valve timing.

The SVT cams are more suited to a higher RPM engine where the extra duration can be used to good effect, as long as the intake manifold can keep up. The split port SVT manifold works well with these cams, as does the ST220 oval port manifold, and to a slightly lesser extent the later escape manifold do as well.

What SVT SNOB states illustrates the fact that the later 3L cams are good for most people's street driving, especially if using a regular 3L oval port manifold. The earlier rise in the TQ curve makes the car feel a little quicker off the line, though if it has a manifold that can feed the SVT cams at higher rpm, the SVT cams will ultimately be quicker when running the car hard.

The bottom line is that either cams are good, but are slightly different in how they deliver power, and it really comes down to your driving habits and desires as to which is better for your particular project.

Personally, I chose the SVT cams and the ST220 intake manifold, and i am Very happy with it, and I still haven't had the opportunity to tune it beyond getting the CEL to stay off.
 
...snip...
The 3L cams made the alot of tq and talk about tq steer geez, the SVT cams still give me tq steer but not so much down low. With my 3L cams I had tq steer very low in the RPMs I find that with my SVT Cams I dont get tq steer until about 3,300ish RPMs.
...snip...
re SVT cams: 3300(ish) RPMs isn't low?
 
i have the split port hybrid and have lots of torque below that. i accidentally split out the tires all the time from idle! damn thick crosswalk lines! get them a little damp and there is no traction to be had...:(
 
i have Tq steer with Se cams :shrug:

nothing to do with Front Wheel Drive is it

thoguth you only got Tq steer from RWD cars.












Im Kidding but i seriously do get Tq steer from Se cams
 
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