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I thought I would post my experience so far with this cam as I have seen little information in regards on this forum.
It was purchased from D and D in Michigan so this cam has been slightly modified by Mark for our 4.0 Discovery motors. Obviously put in new lifters at the time of installation in addition to new timing chain.
I drove it for a 500 mile break in period. Used Rotella 15-40 during the break in period. Now that I am coming out of the break in period I have been pushing the vehicle more to see what the new set up is like.
Few things to consider before I comment. This engine has 200,000 miles on it, but the compression was tested before proceeding. Numbers came back in the 150's so I felt good about the investment. Also, when doing this I did the head gasket so the heads were machined slightly and new valves put in. I decided to do a little port and polish work on the heads as well(for better or worse). Last thing to mention, is that the ECU in the truck was sent to the Powerchip Group of California in the Fall of 2007 to be modified which has performed flawlessly over the years. This was the greatest area of concern for me as I proceeded with this after market cam.
Is my truck faster? The answer is no. This was not the point of doing this, I tow a trailer for thousands of miles every year and these engines need all the help they can get.
Has my idle changed? Again, no- runs very smooth very similar to the stock cam.
Did I get any codes? Happy to say, no. Also, passed emissions here in Utah a few weeks back with it in.
Did my gas mileage change? Too soon to be absolute, but looks about the same. I had a friend drive a route with me, mixed highway/in town driving with his laptop plugged into the computer so we were monitoring in real time. At 60 mph it registered a consistent 18.1 and at 75 mph it registered 17.2 mpg. When we got back it stated that we averaged 15.1 miles to the gallon. Towing is where its going to matter the most to me which in the past I have averaged 10.5 mpg towing my 5500 lb trailer/loaded. The best being 11.8 in Tennessee and the worse 8.6 in a headwind across South Dakota.
Has my power band changed? The answer is yes. In the negative, I would have to say, my off the line grunt is not quite what it was. This could be due to perhaps my messing with the heads possibly, also- a new torque converter that was reconditioned. I doubt that is it, but feel that is should be mentioned, but I believe its the cam. Again, this ECU is not stock, so I have my suspicions still in regards as perhaps the ECU and the cam are not totally jiving. After first "chipping" my truck my idle became smoother, gas mileage remained the same and had more power through out the usable power band. I never got use to first time passengers asking me "what does this truck have in it?" My truck has never been fast, but since chipping it and with just normal driving around town throttle, it would always suck you in your seat off of stop lights with little throttle given so the torque of the engine was immediately felt(this with 32 inch tires and stock gears).
In the positive, I would certainly say post 2600 RPM the engine certainly feels stronger and keeps pulling clear up passed 5000 RPM. Before, anything over mid 4000 RPM range was retarded. It had nothing to give. Now, driving these vehicles into the 5000 RPM range is silly, but I have to say, I was surprised to see it there.
The transmission does seem to shift better/crisper which has been a bit of a surprise- not sure why(new plugs, wires, valves, cam, exhaust-all the above). But that is a good bonus. Also, when driving down the freeway it does have somewhat of a more freight train like feel for lack of better words.
All things said, I want this engine to be the most happy in the mid 2000 RPM/low 3000 RPM range for towing my trailer. I feel that I have accomplished this. I say this, without having actually hooked up my trailer to it yet, but that is going to be done in the next couple of days so I will get back in regards.
With out a dyno there is nothing definitive, one thing I might say is that I have a hill on my street that I have to take everyday to get home. In the past, the truck would always gear down and hold until I crested the hill, now it shifts down and holds until about 3/4 up the hill and shifts back up- interesting.
So after all this time/money/effort I think it is producing good results, but not exceptional results. It has not curbed my desire for the 4:11 gear upgrade that I have been longing for, if anything else, I want the upgrade more.
It was purchased from D and D in Michigan so this cam has been slightly modified by Mark for our 4.0 Discovery motors. Obviously put in new lifters at the time of installation in addition to new timing chain.
I drove it for a 500 mile break in period. Used Rotella 15-40 during the break in period. Now that I am coming out of the break in period I have been pushing the vehicle more to see what the new set up is like.
Few things to consider before I comment. This engine has 200,000 miles on it, but the compression was tested before proceeding. Numbers came back in the 150's so I felt good about the investment. Also, when doing this I did the head gasket so the heads were machined slightly and new valves put in. I decided to do a little port and polish work on the heads as well(for better or worse). Last thing to mention, is that the ECU in the truck was sent to the Powerchip Group of California in the Fall of 2007 to be modified which has performed flawlessly over the years. This was the greatest area of concern for me as I proceeded with this after market cam.
Is my truck faster? The answer is no. This was not the point of doing this, I tow a trailer for thousands of miles every year and these engines need all the help they can get.
Has my idle changed? Again, no- runs very smooth very similar to the stock cam.
Did I get any codes? Happy to say, no. Also, passed emissions here in Utah a few weeks back with it in.
Did my gas mileage change? Too soon to be absolute, but looks about the same. I had a friend drive a route with me, mixed highway/in town driving with his laptop plugged into the computer so we were monitoring in real time. At 60 mph it registered a consistent 18.1 and at 75 mph it registered 17.2 mpg. When we got back it stated that we averaged 15.1 miles to the gallon. Towing is where its going to matter the most to me which in the past I have averaged 10.5 mpg towing my 5500 lb trailer/loaded. The best being 11.8 in Tennessee and the worse 8.6 in a headwind across South Dakota.
Has my power band changed? The answer is yes. In the negative, I would have to say, my off the line grunt is not quite what it was. This could be due to perhaps my messing with the heads possibly, also- a new torque converter that was reconditioned. I doubt that is it, but feel that is should be mentioned, but I believe its the cam. Again, this ECU is not stock, so I have my suspicions still in regards as perhaps the ECU and the cam are not totally jiving. After first "chipping" my truck my idle became smoother, gas mileage remained the same and had more power through out the usable power band. I never got use to first time passengers asking me "what does this truck have in it?" My truck has never been fast, but since chipping it and with just normal driving around town throttle, it would always suck you in your seat off of stop lights with little throttle given so the torque of the engine was immediately felt(this with 32 inch tires and stock gears).
In the positive, I would certainly say post 2600 RPM the engine certainly feels stronger and keeps pulling clear up passed 5000 RPM. Before, anything over mid 4000 RPM range was retarded. It had nothing to give. Now, driving these vehicles into the 5000 RPM range is silly, but I have to say, I was surprised to see it there.
The transmission does seem to shift better/crisper which has been a bit of a surprise- not sure why(new plugs, wires, valves, cam, exhaust-all the above). But that is a good bonus. Also, when driving down the freeway it does have somewhat of a more freight train like feel for lack of better words.
All things said, I want this engine to be the most happy in the mid 2000 RPM/low 3000 RPM range for towing my trailer. I feel that I have accomplished this. I say this, without having actually hooked up my trailer to it yet, but that is going to be done in the next couple of days so I will get back in regards.
With out a dyno there is nothing definitive, one thing I might say is that I have a hill on my street that I have to take everyday to get home. In the past, the truck would always gear down and hold until I crested the hill, now it shifts down and holds until about 3/4 up the hill and shifts back up- interesting.
So after all this time/money/effort I think it is producing good results, but not exceptional results. It has not curbed my desire for the 4:11 gear upgrade that I have been longing for, if anything else, I want the upgrade more.
