Anyone running Isky stuff? In looking at thier specs, I notice they seem to have a little different philosophy when it comes to mild stree hydraulics. It seems they like to put everything on a 108 LCA, and it also looks like thier lobes are lazy.

Crane, Lunati, Comp, etc. All seem to use 110-112 LCAs, with more agressive lobes. Has anyone actually used one of these Isky cams? I'm having a hard time seeing how the Isky grinds in the 250-280 advertised range would perform as well as the other guys stuff. With tight LSA, modest lifts, and low "intensity", they just seem like they'd be "peaky", and not make as much power as other cams.

Originally posted by novadude:
Anyone running Isky stuff? In looking at thier specs, I notice they seem to have a little different philosophy when it comes to mild stree hydraulics. It seems they like to put everything on a 108 LCA, and it also looks like thier lobes are lazy.

Crane, Lunati, Comp, etc. All seem to use 110-112 LCAs, with more agressive lobes. Has anyone actually used one of these Isky cams? I'm having a hard time seeing how the Isky grinds in the 250-280 advertised range would perform as well as the other guys stuff. With tight LSA, modest lifts, and low "intensity", they just seem like they'd be "peaky", and not make as much power as other cams. =
I use Isky in most of what I do & have no complaints.
I also use Comp but normally only on a special order basis so I know they ground the cam :D

There is a lot more to lobes than just the advertised & .050 numbers & not being a cam designer I think you would be better served having Harold explain most of this ;)

Where are you getting the idea that the lobes are "lazy"
A 280 Isky is 232 @ .050, 142 @ .200
Comp is 280, 230. 140
A 270 Isky is 221 130,
Comps 268 is 218, 128

I normally prefer the 108 separation, at least in small blocks, if you don't overcam the engine as it will usually make more torque.

If you get into the Comp extreme energy lobes they are more aggressive,, some think a little too aggressive. ;)

Also, I believe Harold is coming out with a series of lobes to "compete" with the Comp XE line soon but he will need to answer that.

Isky does weird things with adv. duration. For example... I think it was the 264 Megacam I was looking at... Adv. is at .006 opening / .009 closing. Duration @ .050 is 214. I figure if adv. was taken at .006/.006, it would likely be 268 or so. The Comp 268 HE has 4 deg more at 0.050 than the Isky cam. That is why I thought they looked lazy.

RE: tight LSA - Do tight LSA cams work well in smaller small blocks (283/307/327), or just larger ones? From reading Vizard, I am under the impression that the short stroke motors like wider LSAs (110-114).

I love Isky cams. I heve used them for years with no complaints thats just my 2 cents. I would like to try a UD cam for my twin turbo build up when I get closer I will have to speak to Harold.

I have an isky megacam 292 244@50 with 505 lift and with 1.6 roller rockers it brings me up to 530 or so int/exh lift. My 406 seems to like it and If I remember correctly the lc was 108 or 9 on the cam. I with lower lc's the engine will rap out quicker and have a tighter power curve. I have no complaints and the idle is pretty lumpy which I like. Idle is around 1000.

Built a low CR 350 and used an Isky 256 Supercam. Seemed to do fine for a daily driver car.

Have an Isky Z-25 on the shelf for when I get off my a$$ and put a 355 together.

Going to try a couple of Harold's in a 3.4 V6 and my son's 327.

I ran an Isky 280 Mega cam in a 350 and loved it. I was speaking to a tech rep at Isky the other day looking for a solid flat tappet cam for my '59. They recommended a "S 652" grind with .528" lift (with a 1.5 rocker), 270* adv, 242* @ .050", on a 110* LC. I was going to order it with a 4/7 swap. This cam seems every bit as aggressive as the XE line.

A couple of thoughts come to mind. I have run Isky Cams both in the past and present.I have an Isky in my EC.... I'm quite happy with it.

As far as the advertised duration goes haveing different opening and closeing checking heights is not anything new.Tho never really common it has been an accepted method for many decades...As I recall even some OE mfgs did that.

Every manufacturer has to determin just what they want to offer and the risks and rewards of those offerings.Most offer a wide range of conservative to very aggressive cams... One of the things that any mfg must weigh is their risk with respect with warrentys.You can sure as h**l bet that the people who sell those " Generic " cams are quite happy knowing that those lobes are very old and very consevative.... They really are not primarially in the camshaft business but want cam sales with little risk in the way of losses from warrenties.

Some mfgs want the most power possible and are willing to accept the risks involved. Others tone things down abit.Wildly aggressive cams are more likely to give the last ounce of power but are equally more likely to bite you also.

I wont speak for Isky but haveing dealt with them since the 70's I would think that their slightly conservative approach to hyd cams was done on purpose... I tend to think they belive a hyd cam should sound like a hyd cam and not a solid cam..like so many of the XE lobes do.( I say that from expirence about the XE lobes ).... I would also guess that their warrenty rates are lower than many others also.

I can assure you that certinally in the past with the late great 505-310 hyd it was most definatly a cam that would hang in there to the 7200 RPM range
.A very old school cam that a friend ran 10.75 @125 back in 1975 with in a modest weight 1964 Ply w 440 Mopar / 4 speed / 5.13 gears / slicks with a 3 link...Anyone remember the 3 links ? ... That was thundering for back then in a street driven ride.... The 505 - 310 was 310 @.007 and 244 @ .050 on a 108... So it was much less intensive than their current 292 hyd... The 310 was a very popular cam back then... Long since discontinued tho.

JMO but the topic of LSA's is way to vast to make any definate statements on without qualifying the answers for days on end.... But many people tend to think of 110 as the demarcation line...110 and up for the street and 104-109 for the tracks....
Gotta disagree with that....there is simply more to it than that.... But as this forum has done in the past the topic of LSA's can be a cantancerous subject.... So many variables....but I will say this there is no reason to fear a 108 or any other number if the lobes are right for your application.

running a Z-33 solid in my new 454. I like it so far, will be at the track soon. Sounds mean...

Street driven ride with 5.13's ? I guess you he could take off in 4th and wouldnt have to shift at all :D

Originally posted by Rapid Robert:
Street driven ride with 5.13's ? I guess you he could take off in 4th and wouldnt have to shift at all :D Well not quite..but close... He had some big tires for back then... 14 X 32 Stones actually.He later removed this engine and put 426 Hemi in it with an Isky 616 Solid ( 616/590 314/320 282@.050 104 LSA )
I know no one will belive me but you just might be surprised at how driveable that Hemi was....despite the long cam.Ya gotta love gearing !That Hemi Car was down right scarry... It would lift one wheel about 10 inches off the ground and the other wheel about an inch ! Car would get all twisted up but actually run straight... Not long after that he got married and had to be responsible....so he parked it the car.... graemlins/clonk.gif

I have never seen an Isky cam with a flat lobe, never even knew anybody that had one. This would be in contrast to another brand being mentioned. smile.gif

Tom

I'm running an Isky Z-70 solid in my 10.5:1 355CI Nova. (street driven) No Complaints
548 lift, 304 adv. 264@.050 on 108.
It actually has pretty decent street manners..
with a 3.90 rear gear, and a 4 speed.

I notice ISKY recommends these be installed "straight up". How come? Most companies seem to recommend the cams be installed 4-5 deg advanced, and they "grind in" the advance.

I think it's the same as them recommending single pattern cams b/c if you need a split pattern , or you need to advance or retard it, you just aren't close enough in cam selection for your combination.. OR your combination isn't balanced close enough for the cam choice..

IN THEIR way of thinking if I have this right??

pdq67

Tom Mobley, When i had a speedshop i sold a .590 lift Hardfaced flat tappet to a Mopar 440 guy and it flattend a lobe, on two different occasions. Frankly i don't know what the problem was or how he fixed it.