Just picked a Comp cam (Xtreme Energy) to use in my son's 1970 383HP engine. A young mechanic and I were having a discussion on cam manufacturers. He told me Comp's are like going to Wal-Mart for a cam. He claimed a couple fellows he knows tried Comp cams and had to replaced them in a short time. Please let me know if this is true. I can't afford a mistake like this! (blue-collar Mopar man)

that young mechanic is wrong, the fellows he know don't know how to break in a cam.

Uhhh....
While there have been many cam failures since the reduction of Zinc Phosphate in motor oils, Comp cams have surely had their share of problems. I wiped out two XE285HL cams within 3 years. The story I heard from Dwayne Porter was that it was the LIFTERS, not the cam that caused the problems.

Was the lifter problem associated with Mopar's lifter being .904?

I agree on the lifters- I gave a comp cam and lifter set in my dart. I've replaced two lifters due to them being collapsed, and I have at least one more still out.

i use comp solid roller cams,never a prob.

I will never use Walmart...ah, umm....Comp Cams again.

Comp good as any better than most--now...extreme energy cams suck because they have odd closing ramps and just plain Clatter--I hate them!! The nostalgia series are some of the best cams I have ever used--go with that vs the silly computer designed crud they call extreme energy
Most cam sellers buy all the catalog cams from Camshaft Machine and just grind the customs themselves
Every grind by almost every maker is in Camshaft Machines catalog--you can't buy from them--well..if you want to buy several hundred at a time you might could but..
It is to the point on flat tappets where if you buy quality lifters they are around $200 and so most are running China specials in name brand boxes and that is where the issues lie ( and oil)
Most all cams come from the same place
Very few flat tappets are custom grinds

I sure wish it wasnt so expensive to convert an LA to all roller valve train!

I've run several Comp cams with no issues. As others have already mentioned, they need to be broken in properly (like all cams), and the XE series tend to be noisy (which i don't really mind).

I bought my custom ground Comp cam in the spring of 2001. It found it's way into a couple rebuilds of the TT440 and was still in the second block when I sold the car this month.

13 years on multiple installs isn't too bad.

I've been building and racing Mopars since the mid 1960s. I have used most of the popular and not so popular cams out there. That being said on any given product your going to have users that like and dislike any and or all of them JUST like women, not everybody likes the same type I've been using mostly Comp Cams since the mid 1980 due to one of the Isky brothers jerking me around for multiple months on a custom ground cam Not so with Comp, they deliver on time every time I have had three problems with thier cam or lifters(all three in LA SB with both hydrualic or solid flat tappet lifters) in that time, hundreds of motors built and raced Not evry one degrees and breaks in thier cam properly I've not had any problems with either Comps XE or XE-HL sereis hydaulic cams like some others have had with noisy valve train with them I do use adjustable rockers and the proper length and size pushrods, not the stock OEM parts that some try to use Good luck, let us know what you decide

Oh boy, the Comp cam 21-221-4 just arrived this a.m.! Now I've got heat applied to my rear end. Will have to figure this out fast. This Xtreme Energy cam is 212/218@.050(256/268)duration .447/.455 lift 110 lobe opposed to old Purpleshaft roadrunner cam with 208/221@.050(268/284)duration .450/.458 lift 115 lobe. Since the lift is similar, just wondering if the "clatter" with the Comp is still possible to occur? And has Comp addressed the China lifter issue? O.K. men, if I send this Comp cam back to Wall-mart, what brand of cam and lifters are the most "fail-safe" for a pretty much stock build with longevity in mind?

To each his own but I prefer the smaller cam companies like Bullit, I think the service is more personalized and haven't had a major problem since.

Joey

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Are COMP cams junk?

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I sure hope not. I just fired this one up monday and did the cam breakin,,,,,,so far so good

I talked with a few of comps "phone techs" that were suggesting profiles for me. What a bunch of clueless kids they were when it came to asking questions on agressive and non agressive profiles. Good luck with your comp cam. Walmart is right.

I agree that the Comp telephone dudes are not the sharpest guys to ask about cams. you'd expect or at least hope to get good advice from their "tech" guys but the 2 different guys I spoke with didn't seem to know much more than I do about cams.
Some of the big names in engine building say that they themselves tell the cam company rep what lobe profiles that they want. The pro builders know what works because they see the engines run. The guys at a call center can only rely on what they are told.