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kelford 264 vs. 272

tektic

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Joined
Dec 19, 2012
Messages
1,497
Location
ronkonkoma, ny
So my 6bolt engine is almost complete. It consists of a
94mm eagle stroker crank
Eagle H beam rods 150mm
Manley 9.0:1 pistons 86mm
Composit head gasket

The head I got used but its slightly ported and has
1mm over valves
Upgraded springs
Titanium retainers

So its like a 2.16l with a 1.596 rod:stroke ratio. Because of this, I don't think I'm going to rev over 8k.
It's most likely going to have a greddy 18g with ported stock manifolds hks bov fmic 550cc rc's
I want a nice full power band. I want a car that's fun to drive in ny. I have heard great things about the kelford cams. I also heard the run larger than other cams in the same class. So here is the question.

Will the 264/260 kelford camshaft combo be a better choice than 274 cams for my goal?
 
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4thStroke

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Oct 22, 2007
Messages
1,864
Location
Vancouver, WA
Buy some cam gears and take some time to dial them in, they're not known to have the most accurate centerline and they need some time on the dyno with cam gears to maximize their potential. Otherwise, its a great cam.

Comp and FP have the best drop in cam that are worth the money. Comp grinds the cams for FP to their specs. I made some very solid numbers with my 16G with those cams. I've seems 16G ethanol cars make 70awhp through the curve and 30 out the top with just a cam change to FP4Rs (which I'm not sure are made any more, but the FP stuff is solid even so).
 
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460GVR4

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Jan 30, 2012
Messages
87
Location
tacoma, wa
I have kelford 272s on built motor... and definitely not a drop in affair. Cam gears are a must
 

JSchleim18

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Oct 16, 2006
Messages
4,801
Location
Long Island, NY
Quoting tektic:
Will the 264/260 kelford camshaft combo be a better choice than 274 cams for my goal?



I think so. Back when I was going to purchase cams I spoke with Kelford. They recommended the 264/260 setup for a midsize turbo and I wasn't looking to rev past 8,000 RPM. The 264/260 has a higher lift than most other companies' 272 duration cams. The lower duration will help you keep the torque down low. The higher lift also helps the car to breathe up to your desired RPM limit which in turn will give you the broadest power band of near peak power.

And I'd go with the recommendation of getting a set of cam gears to help fine tune the cams to get the most out of them.
 

prove_it

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Jul 3, 2008
Messages
4,201
Location
Sioux Falls, SD
I've heard the kelford 264's are more like the hks 272's.

I love my kelford 264's, they pull great up to 8k. I only have a small 16g, which the 264/264 is a bit much for this setup. I got them as a trade. Buddy of mine is running the kelford 272's in his 600whp vr4 and they flow great for that. I wouldn't recommend anything more than the 264's for a bolt on turbo. At idle I pull around 13 in/vac at around 850-900 at 1500ft elevation. I also have 1mm over sized valves too. Goes to show how much air they really move. My idle is smooth and has a little choppiness to it, but not nearly as much as say hks 272's. Be sure you keep your timing belt in great shape, as these cams WILL eat valves even at low rpm if it breaks or if the tensioner fails.
 

prove_it

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Sioux Falls, SD
Quoting 4thStroke:
Buy some cam gears and take some time to dial them in, they're not known to have the most accurate centerline and they need some time on the dyno with cam gears to maximize their potential. Otherwise, its a great cam.




I've heard arguments for both sides of this story. Over on tooners, some claim they needed no adjustment for centerline, some have said they needed up to 5 degrees adjustment. This is based off of adjusting to get the center point of the cam to match the cam card. Really it comes down to the engine too. Not everyone has the same deck clearance and head height and head gasket thickness.

I machined my head, but I'm using the thick 4 layer mitsu head gasket to make up the difference.
 
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tektic

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Dec 19, 2012
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Location
ronkonkoma, ny
Ok I'm sold on the smaller cams, but before I pick up a set of Kelfords...
How do GSC Power-Division S1 Camshafts compare to the Kelford 264/260 combo?
They say there's no loss in power anywhere in the power band. Only gains
 

prove_it

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Sioux Falls, SD
Not sure about a direct comparison, but I know both cam setups have been working out great for guys. I don't think you can go wrong in either direction. I have a cyclone manifold so can't really tell a loss in low end with my 264 kelfords.
 

curtis

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May 4, 2003
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Clarksville TN
Buy injectors...... 550's are going to be maxed out and go with the 272's
 

prove_it

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Jul 3, 2008
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Location
Sioux Falls, SD
Quoting blacksheep:
Are any cams a throw-in affair? I would more confidently consider them if they were without requiring cam gears and all that sh*t..



I think the GC2 cams a more bolt in affair.

Like I said earlier, the jury is still out on whether gears are a must or not. The two sets of Kelfords I've put in used oem gears with no issues. You will make more power having adjustable gears since you can tune the cams to suit your engine. All engines are different and cam timing is effected by deck height, head thickness, head gasket thickness. You can always drop in some cams and see a power gain, it might not be the most, but you can always do this later down the road.
 

thecman02

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Nov 3, 2007
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917
Location
Kalamazoo,MI
Here's some recommendation based on my experience. With the 18g and wanting a broad useable power band I'd recommend the Kelford 264's or some FP2's, Comp 101200's. I'd really try to make getting a set of cam gears a priority though. You can really shape your powerband by tuning them. I've had spool change 500rpm with just 3*, and that equated to an extra 30-40ft lbs down low, or going the other way 70hp up top on a mustang dyno.
 
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