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5.9 cam in 5.2 - simple but worth it? #759934 07/28/10 08:46 AM 07/28/10 08:46 AM
Joined: Dec 2006 Posts: 3,533 Indiana F Fury Fan OP master
Fury Fan OP master F Joined: Dec 2006 Posts: 3,533 Indiana	I found these OEM Magnum cam specs in a book: 5.2 5.9 intake duration 251 249 exhaust duration 264 269 overlap 31 41 intake lift .432" .410" exhaust lift .432" .417" cam centerline 113 109 installed c-line(intake) 115 117 intake opens BTC 10 7 intake closes ABC 61 62 exhaust opens BBC 63 56 exhaust closes ATC 21 33 How do you think a 5.9 cam would work in a near-stock 5.2? The valve events appear wider on the 5.9 but lift is less. Yes, a regrind from Bullet is a reasonable investment but I have easy (free) access to both 5.2 and 5.9 cams. 6109483-Magnumcamspecs.JPG (2756 downloads) Last edited by Fury Fan; 07/28/10 08:48 AM.

Re: 5.9 cam in 5.2 - simple but worth it? [Re: Fury Fan] #759935 07/28/10 09:40 AM 07/28/10 09:40 AM
Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 24,562 Brookeville, Md Mr.Yuck Not enough dumb comments...yet
Mr.Yuck Not enough dumb comments...yet Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 24,562 Brookeville, Md	If I were to go thru all the trouble of pulling the cam I'd go ahead and get a nice aftermarket piece. Not sure how much more power you are going to get especially if you are using the factory "beer keg" intake. [IMG]http://i66.tinypic.com/pui5j.jpg[/IMG] Coming soon!!!!

Re: 5.9 cam in 5.2 - simple but worth it? [Re: Mr.Yuck] #759936 07/28/10 09:51 AM 07/28/10 09:51 AM
Joined: Dec 2006 Posts: 3,533 Indiana F Fury Fan OP master
Fury Fan OP master F Joined: Dec 2006 Posts: 3,533 Indiana	True. But I've got the 5.2 waiting to be prepped to go into the car (will get a new intake and timing chain and gaskets), and there's a stripped, wiped-crank 5.9 sitting next to it. This particular car doesn't justify a $325 new cam, perhaps not a regrind either. And the 5.9 cam is free and the labor to swap them is minimal extra work. Decisions, decisions.

Re: 5.9 cam in 5.2 - simple but worth it? [Re: Fury Fan] #759937 07/28/10 09:58 AM 07/28/10 09:58 AM
Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 24,562 Brookeville, Md Mr.Yuck Not enough dumb comments...yet
Mr.Yuck Not enough dumb comments...yet Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 24,562 Brookeville, Md	I guess you could take a look at the cam make sure it's good and why not do the swap??

Re: 5.9 cam in 5.2 - simple but worth it? [Re: Fury Fan] #759938 07/28/10 10:24 AM 07/28/10 10:24 AM
Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 2,111 Bowie, MD R Reggie top fuel
Reggie top fuel R Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 2,111 Bowie, MD	I would say go for it if you have the 5.9 cam it sitting right there - and free. I don't know what the difference would be with the Magnums, but HRM did a base test on a LA 318 and then added a 360 cam and electronic ignition. The combo gave a nice boost to the 318 on the dyno. 318 Street Recipes Inspect the 5.9 cam as mentioned, but I think it will be in pretty good shape. I pulled a roller cam out of a well used 5.9 and it looked like new.

Re: 5.9 cam in 5.2 - simple but worth it? [Re: Reggie] #759939 07/28/10 10:57 AM 07/28/10 10:57 AM
Joined: Dec 2006 Posts: 3,533 Indiana F Fury Fan OP master
Fury Fan OP master F Joined: Dec 2006 Posts: 3,533 Indiana	If the lift were higher on the 5.9 cam it would be a no brainer for a novice like me. The wrinkle is the 5.2 will be going in a Dippy copcar -- I know the 5.2 will be stronger than the 318-4 that's in it, but I don't have any basis for whether the 5.2 would be running right with the 5.9 cam. That means I'd have to swap the cam in later to get a direct comparison, which is a lot more work (with time I don't really have).

Re: 5.9 cam in 5.2 - simple but worth it? [Re: Fury Fan] #759940 07/28/10 12:32 PM 07/28/10 12:32 PM
Joined: Jun 2006 Posts: 3,075 Eastern Ohio mopowergtx master
mopowergtx master Joined: Jun 2006 Posts: 3,075 Eastern Ohio	Is it just me or does that 318 cam pull in WAY more fuel/air than the 360?

Re: 5.9 cam in 5.2 - simple but worth it? [Re: mopowergtx] #759941 07/28/10 01:28 PM 07/28/10 01:28 PM
Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 16,123 Grand Haven, MI patrick I Live Here
patrick I Live Here Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 16,123 Grand Haven, MI	if you have a degree wheel and dial indicator, map out some of the durations at .050, .1, .2, etc lobe lift. that'll tell you which cam has more area under the curve. the 318 cam might end up with more area under the curve if it has a more aggressive lobe profile and more lift... for example, my bullet regrind is 259 degrees adv, 208@.050 and 127@.2, .316" lobe lift (.506 calculated at the valve) they have another lobe that is 268 adv, but only 204@.050, and only 112@.2 with .290 lobe lift. (.464 calculated at the valve)....I guarantee the "smaller" 259 degree lobe will make more power than the bigger 268 degree lobe... 1976 Spinnaker White Plymouth Duster, /6 A833OD 1986 Silver/Twilight Blue Chrysler 5th Ave HotRod SOLD!* 2011 Toxic Orange Dodge Charger R/T 2017 Grand Cherokee Overland 2014 Jeep Cherokee Latitude (holy crap, my daughter is driving)

Re: 5.9 cam in 5.2 - simple but worth it? [Re: patrick] #759942 07/28/10 01:30 PM 07/28/10 01:30 PM
Joined: Jun 2006 Posts: 3,075 Eastern Ohio mopowergtx master
mopowergtx master Joined: Jun 2006 Posts: 3,075 Eastern Ohio	Quote: if you have a degree wheel and dial indicator, map out some of the durations at .050, .1, .2, etc lobe lift. that'll tell you which cam has more area under the curve. the 318 cam might end up with more area under the curve if it has a more aggressive lobe profile and more lift... for example, my bullet regrind is 259 degrees adv, [Email]208@.050[/Email] and [Email]127@.2[/Email], .316" lobe lift (.506 calculated at the valve) they have another lobe that is 268 adv, but only [Email]204@.050[/Email], and only [Email]112@.2[/Email] with .290 lobe lift. (.464 calculated at the valve)....I guarantee the "smaller" 259 degree lobe will make more power than the bigger 268 degree lobe... Definately.

Re: 5.9 cam in 5.2 - simple but worth it? [Re: mopowergtx] #759943 07/28/10 09:18 PM 07/28/10 09:18 PM
Joined: Jan 2005 Posts: 12,424 Kalispell Mt. H HotRodDave I Live Here
HotRodDave I Live Here H Joined: Jan 2005 Posts: 12,424 Kalispell Mt.	I have a bunch of parts from both motors sitting around and I always swap them the other way around, I prefer the 318 cam. The shorter duration will give more cylinder preassure and the extra lift will work together for more TQ, even if it has a hair less total area under the curve witch I doubt it would if you only count the area when the intake is open and the piston is goin down and the ex. when the pistons going up. Over lap may give you a little scavenge effect at a narrow RPM window but not much. I am not causing global warming, I am just trying to hold off a impending Ice Age!

Re: 5.9 cam in 5.2 - simple but worth it? [Re: HotRodDave] #759944 07/28/10 09:39 PM 07/28/10 09:39 PM
Joined: Jan 2007 Posts: 7,664 IN A ahy master
ahy master A Joined: Jan 2007 Posts: 7,664 IN	I had a 5.9 in a Gen I Durango. I always thought that engine had a very specific and unique tune... between the cam and intake its set up for max torque and efficinecy between say 1900 and 2400 RPM to give decent performance and MPG on the highway in OD. Not so hot at higher RPM. On paper, the 318 cam looks like the better performance cam.

Re: 5.9 cam in 5.2 - simple but worth it? [Re: ahy] #759945 07/28/10 09:47 PM 07/28/10 09:47 PM
Joined: May 2003 Posts: 15,487 Florida S scratchnfotraction I Live Here
scratchnfotraction I Live Here S Joined: May 2003 Posts: 15,487 Florida	I have done that on a couple pre mag 318s use a stock 4-v 360 cam in a 2-v 318seat of the pants dyno..it ran better and had more top end but I run junk,so any help is a gain

Re: 5.9 cam in 5.2 - simple but worth it? [Re: scratchnfotraction] #759946 07/29/10 07:39 AM 07/29/10 07:39 AM
Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 16,123 Grand Haven, MI patrick I Live Here
patrick I Live Here Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 16,123 Grand Haven, MI	look at it this way, too....IIRC, the original mag 318 ('92) was rated at 230HP. the following year it was dropped to 220, and the 360 was 235. there was no change to the 318 other than slightly smaller exits to the exhaust manifolds. in '98, when they upped the power ratings (mainly due to exhaust changes after the cat), the 318 went to 235, and the 360 to 245-250..... I guess if the 360 cam were a better cam, I'd expect the 360 to have more than a 15hp advantage. I'd expect ~20-30hp advantage from the increased displacement alone... 1976 Spinnaker White Plymouth Duster, /6 A833OD 1986 Silver/Twilight Blue Chrysler 5th Ave HotRod SOLD!* 2011 Toxic Orange Dodge Charger R/T 2017 Grand Cherokee Overland 2014 Jeep Cherokee Latitude (holy crap, my daughter is driving)

Re: 5.9 cam in 5.2 - simple but worth it? [Re: patrick] #759947 07/29/10 11:41 AM 07/29/10 11:41 AM
Joined: Dec 2006 Posts: 3,533 Indiana F Fury Fan OP master
Fury Fan OP master F Joined: Dec 2006 Posts: 3,533 Indiana	The last few responses have some good insights in them! Patrick - I agree, the 5.9 is choked compared to the 5.2. As the 5.2 and 5.9 have the same heads, intake and TB, and the same exh manifolds, I also wonder if the 5.9 is choked by one those same parts and maybe not the cam as much. There are quite a few reports floating that sticking a carb and AirGap on a JY 5.9 gives a pretty simple 300 hp, so I suspect the intake. I would think the beerbarrel intake could've been tuned to suit both a 5.2 and 5.9 (a compromise to both, I'm sure) but an intake tuned for the 5.9 would be awful on a 5.2. Throwing a degree wheel on both teh engines I have would be a good answer.

Re: 5.9 cam in 5.2 - simple but worth it? [Re: scratchnfotraction] #759948 07/29/10 07:34 PM 07/29/10 07:34 PM
Joined: Sep 2007 Posts: 14,889 up yours Supercuda About to go away
Supercuda About to go away Joined: Sep 2007 Posts: 14,889 up yours	Quote: I have done that on a couple pre mag 318s use a stock 4-v 360 cam in a 2-v 318seat of the pants dyno..it ran better and had more top end but I run junk,so any help is a gain Problem with this particular comparison is that an LA 360 cam is bigger than an LA 318 cam, not really the case here. I would probably not run the 5.9 cam myself. They say there are no such thing as a stupid question. They say there is always the exception that proves the rule. Don't be the exception.

Re: 5.9 cam in 5.2 - simple but worth it? [Re: Supercuda] #759949 07/29/10 10:21 PM 07/29/10 10:21 PM
Joined: May 2003 Posts: 15,487 Florida S scratchnfotraction I Live Here
scratchnfotraction I Live Here S Joined: May 2003 Posts: 15,487 Florida	that would be true that was back in the day 25 yrs ago with junk just about any upgrade from 6" of head pipe only on the stock mannys to a 360 cam in a bbd2-v 318 to droping a 360 intake with q-jet or adding a stock high stall TC to a lower gear with slapper bars was a gain in performance for a smog 318 in any thing

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