Comp cams any good?

[Don selleck]

just put together a 340 with a comp cam mild set up, break in went well. about 400 miles so far so good

 

[451Mopar]

Only cams I have from Comp are roller cams. All my Flat tappet cams are from Hughes Engines.

 

[Project66]

When I bought my car back in 2020, it came with a recently rebuilt 360. The engine has a Comp XE268H installed and, once I got the carb and timing set right, it has run great. Though I must admit, I have a lifter that seems to collapse when I don't drive the car for a few months.

 

[wwheel]

A local race engine builder only uses roller cams now and even for street engines. The metallurgy with roller cams is much better than with flat tappet cams which is hit or miss. Not so much the case decades ago, but true now.

 

[ynst]

I put a Comp Cam in the 318 in my '77 Volare wagon in 1998. It's still in there. There's about 67000 miles on it, now.

 

[davek]

looking at this cam should be good with all stock parts. Any thoughts? Summit Racing SUM-K6900 Summit Racing™ Classic Cam and Lifter Kits | Summit Racing

 

[Polo62]

Down to my last part for my 70 charger sb engine. Looking at this. Its just a cruiser with pb and ac. Comp Cam 20-212-2 COMP Cams SK20-212-2 COMP Cams High Energy Cam and Lifter Kits | Summit Racing

I put one of these in my 78 truck with a 360 4 speed and put hooker headers and a 600 edelbrock carb in 2008 and it still runs good has a nice lope and lots of power

 

[Curiousyellow71]

We used to get our engine parts from one vendor and installed dozens of those cams. The 204/214 is often called a rv cam. We used it with stock valve springs. We had a 360 in a challenger w 204/214 with a 3 speed and 3.23s. It ran 14.6@92. Respectable, for no more then what it was. In our 318 we went one step up 214/224, I was happy with it but it needed 3.23s..with the 2.71s the 318 was quicker from a standing start w the puny stock cam. There are better cams then these but they have been around for decades and get the job done. The summit cams are often called white box cams. They are generic and sold by several companies.

 

[Sparky Anderson]

This is a scary topic since seeing so many failures. I have an comp cam extreme energy EX 274 with flat tappet purchased 20 years ago and still working great. I wouldn't change it for anything new, unless it was new old stock.
Good luck!

 

[T2R9]

looking at this cam should be good with all stock parts. Any thoughts? Summit Racing SUM-K6900 Summit Racing™ Classic Cam and Lifter Kits | Summit Racing

Good 318 cam. Ran one in a Duster with a thermoquad, 340 exhaust manifolds, and dual exhaust. Was a 4-speed with 3.55 gears. Little screamer.

 

[davek]

Good 318 cam. Ran one in a Duster with a thermoquad, 340 exhaust manifolds, and dual exhaust. Was a 4-speed with 3.55 gears. Little screamer.

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Do you remember if you changed the valve springs with this cam?

 

[T2R9]

Do you remember if you changed the valve springs with this cam?

I did not. It was a low mileage engine from a 70 Challenger someone was putting a 6.1 in. I changed the cam, timing chain, water pump, otherwise the long block was stock.

 

[Virg464]

I like the "Comp Cam" roller cam in my "B" block, hasn't been down the 1/4 mile yet, but it runs like top.

 

[Kern Dog]

I would like to know the actual failure rate of flat tappet camshafts if that could actually be compiled.
I know of several car guys that have never lost a cam. Most of them have not built many engines and theirs have mostly been fairly mild engines.
I lost 2 Comp Cams in a row in 2006. This was right about the time when cam and lifter failures were increasing in number and the cause wasn’t known. It still isn’t fully agreed upon as to what the lion’s share of the blame is. Many blame the metallurgy of the cam or the lifters. Some blame the builder of the engine, the type of oil, the spring pressure or even the lifters not spinning in the bores.
I’ve never lost a cam in a stock engine with stock springs running modern oil.
I have a mild 360 in a Dart that has an MP 280/474 and I haven’t had a single problem with it. The 440 in my Power Wagon is fine too. The 383 in Jigsaw has a 280/474 with slightly stiffer springs and it runs great.
All of them use regular oil with no additives.
I lost an MP 528 solid in my 440/495 after switching to a high detergent synthetic. The lifters all spin in the bores just fine. I always had great oil pressure.

 

[Mopar Hunter]

Here’s a roller cam with roller lifters wiped out, don’t know the brand.