Yes if staying low compression you will not like that cam especially with a stock torque converter....
Or a custom grind to the engine your building. The off the shelf cams are based off technology from 25 years ago.
Not sure I'm seeing a huge difference in the 212 vs 284 cams ---> 5 more intake duration with the 284. TA says more torque. I guess TA is wrong about this cam working with stock components? uzzled: Home Valve Train Camshafts Hydraulic 350 Hydraulic Camshafts Product ID: TA_284-88H-350 350H.475"-223'/.475"-230',110' Excellent performance cam. Gives 25 HP increase over stock cam. Slightly more torque than TA 212. Substantial improvement without hurting fuel economy. Stock valve train, converter and gears ok. Good idle. 9.0:1 or more CR Idle Quality: Smooth Idle - just like stock Good Idle - mild lump, but doesnt impair driveability Moderate Idle - nice performance sound Fair Idle - heavy lump Rough Idle - very lumpy race type idle VALVE LIFT STOCK 1.55 RATIO: IN: .460 EXH: .460 TA ROLLERS 1.60 RATIO: IN: .475 EXH: .475 DURATION AT .050 IN: 223 EXH: 230 ADVERTISED IN: 284 EXH: 288 LOBE CENTER: 110 POWER RANGE: 1500-5500
459 intake 470 1.6 473 ex . 485 218 / 230 at .050 duration 265/280 advertised duration 19 degrees difference on intake duration Duration at .050 is completely different aspect. That put it in a different class when .050 duration is that far apart, is different power range.
We are just passing on the info that others have shared about their experiences with the 284 cam.... If you do a search on here you will find a bunch of people who were un happy with the 284 and low compression and it is due to the low dynamic compression. On the other hand there are a ton of people including myself who have had great luck with the 212 cam with low compression....
I personally built the basiclly same engine as you intend only I used the 310 cam and the 118 cam and it had no low end torque. Pulled better after 31-3200 rpm.had the power of a v6 up to 2800. Would not break tires loose at track with 3.42 gears. Thru a rv112 cam at it and low end was like a freight train. Gobs of torque from dead stop on up. Never used the 212 but is similar.
Recently a fellow said "i have built a bunch of performance 350s and then built one for fuel economy and it was faster than the cammed up engines!"
Everyone seems to make the same mistakes but Anthony Mackley built a 8.3 to compression 370 that made over 420 HP. 8.3 depending on his cam can run 87 octane. Their is always a reason machining tricks work and work with most engines.
Look up trishield performance built 350 here by Jim Wies . He used the 212 cam with 9.6 compression . forged pistons though. 60 cc heads with big valves. Ported. 1 3/4 inch headers. Ported intake with a qjet and ta rockers. 360 HP and over 400 lbes of torque from 2800- 5000. So 212 has potential.
Show those unhappy people with a 284 that did not like it. When in this century did you build a motor with a 212 cam. I think it will work with that "25" year old technology. No one says anything about the Comp Cam 268 being that bad yet it has 218 dur yet I ran mid 14's with this cam with a stock 8.5 motor with stock stall and just a 373 gear. 28" tall tires too. In 1984. I think the 284 cam will work with the 9.5 comp and using the 342 gear and 14 in tires the tires are only 25-26" with a small 2000 stall I think it will work just fine. I have seen others get on here and use a bigger cam and get 400 hp with just 8.5 comp before the Procharger so why can't this cam do that. This cam is not that much bigger than the 212.
It has been a while since I put a TA212 cam in a 350, but each time I did the results were great for low comp street engines. A stock 350 was the same 10 years ago as it is now as far as cam needs. I still have two good running 212 cammed 350s here on stands as spares, all oiled up and I turn them over once in a while. And tons of people over the years have let me know they are happy they took my advice and used a 212 cam. There are more, but here are a few quotes:
That was a custom ground cam with newer technology, set up for boost so valve timing events are different then n/a and faster ramp profiles then the 25 plus year old cams. Like I mentioned spend Alittle extra and go custom grind. And it also takes more air flow( big valve and porting) into consideration when custom cam is ground that matches engine better.
I have to agree with you the cams are old but the ones that are in between the 212 and the 413 are newer cams that cam in after I built my motor the first time. Going custom now is really the way to go since there is more info on the 350. The 310 is an older cam too.
The biggest problem with anything above 212 is they are design from higher compression on other typical machine work to block/pistons. There really isn't any intermediate cams for a milder engine build. But yes the custom grind is the way to go.
You have two good running 350's sitting with a 212 cam in each on the stand right now and your car is just sitting there waiting for them, wow.uzzled: That car should have ran like mad (eagleguy), he already was having a carb issue, his vac was probably at 10 in drive and 13 in neutral. It still should have been enough to run power brakes. Mine is at 10 in drive and I have a 235-245 cam in. But, no power brakes here. the Comp cam 268 gave me 13 in drive. I had 5 inches of vac with the 510 cam in neutral and 3 in drive, I still ran a 1.90 60 ft time with lag out of the hole but after that 60 ft mark it was on. On the street I would smoke the tires with the TA radials but not enough to fry them since there was that small lag in the cam but after the lightly burning of the tires everything caught up with the car and I just kicked your ass all the way to 6200 rpm. We are at 4 grand after shifting into second, right in the power band of the cam. I beat a guy that had a Pontiac Grand Am with a 455 in it and I was spinning the tires and going sideways with that 510 cam and he was so pissed off he put it in the garage and we did not see him again, my buddy was laughing his ass off at it. The only difference between the 212 cam and the 284 would be the out of the hole stomp to the floor, and this is all going to depend on the gear and the stall plus tire size. In the end, the 284 may have enough of a lag out of the hole so you do not spin the Stock tires on the street and this will get you going faster as compared to the 212 cam if it will roast the tires as it would seem here. The difference will be the lag out of the hole. On a roll race from 20 mph the 284 will probably shine when we get to the mid to top end. See, the difference here is being out on the road and racing the Stangs and the Mitzus and the old big blocks, blowers, chargers, roll racers, you name it I raced against it. My cammed motor is in the car and running. Not sitting. The results between the 212 and the 284 cannot be that much to warrant a change to the 212. Maybe the comp was not at 9.5 Which I think that is the minimum for the 284 cam, at 10.0 you may start to get detonation with the pump gas. The problem we have is, not enough people running different cams in the same engine, with the same car and the same driver and the same dummy tuning it to what he thinks is correct. Then to find out later how you mucked that all up, been there done that. I agree with you the best all around street cam will be the 212, but for a little more race oriented the 284 should be no problem, At 9.5 comp.
So here is what I'm confused about, for everyone the used the 284 with poor results why not just swap out that cam for the 212 and be on your way, why try to fix the supposed fault in the cam by adding more to the problem. There must be some reason TA would still sell and advertise this cam as a candidate for a stocker motor
"The only difference between the 212 cam and the 284 would be the out of the hole stomp to the floor, and this is all going to depend on the gear and the stall plus tire size. In the end, the 284 may have enough of a lag out of the hole so you do not spin the Stock tires on the street and this will get you going faster as compared to the 212 cam if it will roast the tires as it would seem." I tend to agree with Guy, kill the low end torque a little when using street tires. Spinning tires = lost time. my .02
As already pointed out the 284 cam will work well with high compression, a higher than stock torque converter, etc. Those upgrades that eagleguy made to the car also helped make it faster compared to going back to a smaller cam to correct the issues. It is all in the combo, if you were wanting to upgrade the whole car then the 284 may be a good cam option. The fact is that the ta212 cam is the largest cam that is proven to work great with stock skylarks and no other mods.... We are just giving you the facts. And why does ta suggest the cam? Good question but we seem to have allot of people come on here complaining about the 284 cam in their cars.... Nothing against TA but its not like they use all the cams they sell in their personal cars.... We know better about how they perform than they do because we have either used the cams or helped people troubleshoot and fix their miss matched combos.... Why does TA promote the use and sell the 600 edelbrock carbs? I do not know... But time and time again we advise people to go back to a Q jet and they are super happy with the results... I am not bashing TA in any way, just pointing out the facts.
They don't really advertise it for a stocker engine. Lists it as needing 9 to 1 minimum compression . say OK with stock parts. Just "OK" not great or wow factor of any kind. Minimum is just that, the minimum. Can swap in chassis isn't the most fun and why not try to get what you have to work right rather than back cam down. That's why I mention mill block to get deck height for compression, then if you need to raise it then yank heads and mill them then. Lot less work later. As far as stall, a custom built is best as the know what to make it stall for you but if you buy off the shelf, the advertised stall is for hi powered big blocks. So what would stall 3500 on that big block might only stall 2800 on your small block. I would suggest something about 2600-2800 at least. Jegs has some budget convertors that might be OK for you for about 150-200 . I suggest a 10 inch that stalls about 32-3500 advertised.
