What are some of the main engine components that set what kind of RPM's the engine will make? Im in the process of buying my manifold and they all have there opperating ranges.

Almost everything in the engine has some bearing on how the engine will RPM. In general, the stouter lower end you have, the safer you are at higher RPMs. Then it's a matter of CAM, Valve Springs, type of heads, intake, carb etc. Cam is probably the most important factor but should be matched to the other components for the best results.

Troy.

cam/heads probably. Its very possible to rev the crud out of a setup that doesn't need it, bottom end permitting. What rpm everything works together at would be alot better. Speaking of people who have too-big cams & mismatched heads (me), troy I noticed you have a 276/284 in a 460. Ever run it at the strip?

Matt

Yeah i figured it boiled down to the cam. I really want to pick up the air gap 7561, but im still exploring more affordable options. Looks like all three of us run 460's. What kind of intakes do you guys have?

Im running the 280H Cam by the way, Shouldnt be more than 6K, mainly street use.

Phil,

I think the RPM air gap is a good choice, especially for the street. Just to add a little more to what the other guys already mentioned. The RPM of the cam is a good starting point, but remember the heads, intake and type of exhaust all affect the RPM you can attain. I'm ignoring the fact that the cam should be selected on a series of things, including compression.
If the cam you pick shows a RPM of 1800 to 6500, I believe that is based on the big block having Rect ports, big valves, large carb and Headers.
Again ignoring the Gears, tranny, and weight of the vech, I'm not trying to hit all the factors here. So if you did go with a Dual plane intake, I believe this RPM range for the cam would change (drop). Same with using a stock exhaust or going to the Large Oval port heads (it would drop). Again, this RPM would change, the max in one engine may be 6500, while in a different setup of the same cubic inches could be 5700. Just something to consider when picking your cam.

Two more misc items, the RPM air gap shows a max of 6500 on a dual plane, for a 460, it's a perfect match. Taking into consideration that you have the Large Ovals on your engine.

Make sure you know the static compression when selecting you cam, this seems to be very important.

Fred.

Troy I just saw how close you are to me. I am in saint leo now. And yes he has run it check his sig. Most probably at bradenton.

Originally posted by doggy69:
Troy I just saw how close you are to me. I am in saint leo now. And yes he has run it check his sig. Most probably at bradenton. I read his sig to say he (Troy) has only run the car at the strip with an older perform RPM cam.
The regular rpm or airgap seems fine for hot street use. I've had a handful different cams in this same setup, and they all have been "done" within 500rpm of eachother power wise. The SR will continue to rev but not for any useful reason. They went from 230ish @ .050 hyd rollers to a 256/260 @ .050 SR. So there are quite a few factors, but cam/cr/heads/intake/headers all work with eachother. This is why I think a much larger cam in my motor stayed within the rpm range of the smaller hyd rollers. And it uses so much gas with the big duration I think the valves never shut..
Anyway, its just the cam itself had less of an overall affect than I guess I imagined, *but* everything else stayed the same, so it might be even more mismatched than before, so I'd never notice the RPM capability of a larger cam. No CR up, no single plane, etc..

matt