Getting ready to order a new cam after my previous cam failure.

I'm leaning towards a Comp Cams XE275HL.

They offer a nitrided option. At $292 delivered, it doubles the price of the cam.

It's an insurance policy against another wiped cam. Just wondering if it's worth the price.

I'm already getting my lifters direct from Topline Hylift. That should eliminate the possibility of quality issues associated with off shore produced lifters.

I also plan to be a little more selective with my oil choice.

Should I spend another $150 for the nitriding? Worth it,or am I just shoveling another $150 into the hole.

The oil you use will have more to do with your cam success than nitriding...You need to use an oil with lots of ZPPD.

Probably a good idea these days.

In this case is almost say yes, what could it hurt????


SM does make a hydro lifter, they are costly. Might be worth the read as it covers exactly what you just went through.

I didnt read every post but if this setup failed id not go back to the same, maybe why you ask if you might have it nit.

I find it odd comp offers the nit. option when they know its a problem with there std cams getting trashed, raise the price of ecah cam by X amount, if it really works to make the cam last longer they might make more in the long run....nothing like marketing a sub standard product and then offer a upgrade to make it "correct".

Anyways, good luck, I just use the SM lifters with great results, my only reason to post on them.

http://www.4secondsflat.com/Composite%20lifters.htm

I did it, and I went the with lifters with an oil feed hole EDMed in the face... Was it worth it? I don't know, I've never had a cam fail but with all the failure folks are having these days I felt better spending a little more up front in the hopes I wouldn't be spending allot more later.. So far everything is good...

I just ordered a cam custom grind from a well respected cam grinder in my local area and pretty much told him not to hold anything back... Nitride, teflon coating, 4/7, 2/3 swap... what ever he recommends, I'll do it..

He pretty much told me not to waste my money..

I had my Comp XTQ296S solid cam nitrided.....more of a piece of mind thing. I'm almost 100% sure that a lot of people and myself included must have spent $150 on less important "frills" somewhere along the line .
My advice is just get it done.

for all your doing why not go roller at this point?

From my understanding it was a lifter problem and
not so much the cam... so if the lifters are good then
it shouldnt matter... the lifter would fail then in
turn take out the lobe

FWIW, I, too, had a very expensive rebuild as the result of a flat-tappet cam wiping some years ago and have taken extra measures since then w/ FT cams to try to mitigate that happening again. If spending another $150 at that time to nitride the cam would have reduced the likelihood of that happening in the first place, I would have.

Also, since you can't get an EDM-drilled hydraulic FT lifter, consider grooving the lifter bores or going w/ the special Crower hydraulics that have a small machined flat on the sides of the bodies to allow for more oil getting to the lifter/lobe interface.

One last item... do the HL Comp cams have the same reputation / issue w/ valve train noise & instability as their standard Xtreme hydraulics? If so, I'd suggest looking into what other lobes might be a better choice, unless you're RPM limited already.

If johnson hylift hydros (the maker many companies repackage)these say johnson right on the oil ring but packaged and sold by crane in this case, or the hughes 5003 hydro lifters would help Ive 1 set of each both sets over ten years old NIB (probably better quality material??) would help let me know, id almost give them away if they would fit your needs and budget as I dont use hydo cams anymore if so shoot me a pm.

Also if you consider a roller ive a set of NIB comp rollers and matching gear thats looking for a home for half of new...might make the budget work better for a roller.

Really not trying to sell parts here, I know where the sell section is, I just have this junk and dont need it, it can sit or???

My car budget gets tight at times and NIB parts off here or CL isnt a bad thing if new and fit my needs.

Heck I forgot ive the hughes cam that went with the lifters as well NIB..hughes 3742al also 10 or so years old and the crane hydro is ???? Id have to look.

Should I spend another $150 for the nitriding? Worth it,or am I just shoveling another $150 into the hole.

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Just in case, since it has not been mentioned, if you are running dual springs remove the inner springs, not the damper, prior to break in. Sorry if this was an useless warning.
The last two flat tappet cams I bought, were Nitrided . I thought of it as an insurance policy. Isn't the price about the same or very little more for the custom grind? I know that they would not do the nitriding without a custom order the last time I ordered.
Mark

Not to get off topic, but the cam that wiped was a XE274L. It's a fast rate, but not a high lift. Pretty much the same duration and timing as the XE275HL that I'm leaning towards.

Initially I had a set of J-heads on the motor and ran dual springs, breaking it in without the inners. Turned out the shop that built the heads used the wrong springs and it had something like a 150 lb seat pressure. Somehow I managed not to wipe the cam at that point. Later changed to the correct springs with about 130 lbs seat pressure.

Now I've got the IMM supplied beehives on my RHS heads.