Trying to find a camshaft...

[BassQuake9000]

I've been looking everywhere for a good performance camshaft for my 1998 4.6 liter Expedition. Does anyone know a good place for them?

 

[mustangrfast88]

call up comp cams or crane and tell them what you got and what you want to do with the truck and the will tell you what kind of cam you need and if they make one for your app

 

[green03]

Do you really want to kill your torque? You can only get a slightly larger cam before you kill your torque. I would think your money would be better spent with a supercharger. You can get a powerdyne really cheap right now for the older year models. I took a kit meant for an 01 F150 and made it fit my 03 expy. I think I paid 1600 for mine.
Matt

 

[BassQuake9000]

Where did you find a powerdyne supercharger for $1600, and how much was the install? If I'm going to upgrade my cylinder heads and intake manifold, would it be better to do that first?

 

[green03]

I found it new on ebay and installed it myself. There are alot of smoking deals out there for the stuff that fits older models. It really didn't fit my application so I had to make my own brackets, machine my harmonic balancer in a lathe, and do a custom tune for my returnless fuel system. I also had to go to bigger injectors. Overall it cost me about 2K and about 8 hours of install/fab time.

 

[green03]

Oh I forgot one thing. Cams heads and intakes make more power in the upper RPM ranges with a cost of low end torque most of the time. The best superchargers for truck applications are the Kenne Bell since they make instant boost, but centrifugal superchargers are easier (usually...LOL) to install but build boost progressively with no loss of original torque like with the cam and heads.

 

[BassQuake9000]

I just noticed you were also in Houston, TX. How come upgrading the heads/cams/intake will make me lose torque?

 

[green03]

Yep, will be back there after May 12th. In the Chicago area right now on a long-term contract with Motorola.

The cam basically dictates the powerband RPM of the engine. More duration shifts the power upward. You could get away with a little more duration but it isn't really worth the cost. When you go with bigger heads and intake you velocity will suffer further hurting your off-idle torque. You can usually offset this with a higher stall converter. I assume you are thinking about upgrading to the PI heads and cams that came on the 2000 and up trucks. This would be okay I guess, but you will notice a little bit of torque reduction. It isn't worth going any bigger than the PI cams. You can only go up another 5 degrees or so. There are cheaper and easier ways to make the truck quicker, but if you are doing a complete rebuild, the 2000 and newer hardware is a good base to start with, but you will need a custom chip to move the transmission shift points upward and get a converter with a bit more stall. The newer 4.6 engines make more power up top with a bit less off idle. The newest 2 valved motors had a flap in the intake manifold controlled by the computer to help keep the velocity up for improved low end.
Just my 2 cents.
Matt

 

[BassQuake9000]

Yeah, I wanted to get 2000 and up parts. What model supercharger did you get from Powerdyne, and how much hp and torque did you get out of it?

 

[green03]

I think it is a BD-11a. It is internally belt-driven so there weren't any oil lines to worry about. Haven't put it on the dyno, but I would think that it has added about 75 or so up top with just a little bit added down low. It feels slightly better than stock down low then it takes off like a rocket at about 3200 RPMs when it starts making more boost. I have been taking it easy lately since I am expermenting with E85 before I go back to Houston since there is only one E85 station in the whole state down there.
Eventually I want to put an intercooler on it and a smaller pulley for 9-10 pounds of boost which would add another 40-50 HP and build boost sooner.
Matt