Mopar Performance cams

[wedgie]

I hear some good things and some bad things about MP cams regarding manufacturing quality and longevity. I tend to believe that they must be pretty good as they have been around for a long time. Any real world experiences? Who is the real manufacturer, and where are they actually made? Not interested in performance comparisons, just quality of the products.

 

[Garys1969RR]

My 509 purple shaft cam has worked great in my 451. And it has seen duty in 2 -440s before that. Great cams in my book

 

[wedgie]

I may have found an answer to my own question.
http://forums.moparmusclemagazine.com/70/9440535/mopar-engines/camshafts/

 

[Meep-Meep]

Very interesting info. I always knew something like this was going on but didn't know the specifics.

I have had great results using the MoPar cams so in my book they are just fine.

 

[Mebsuta]

I have had P4452783 cam and lifters in 383 RR for more than 20 years. It does what it's supposed to do, does not make noise and doesn't require special motor oil. It will probably be there until I am gone unless I take it out.

 

[ZR9B]

I sure miss my 509.....It was a little dirty on the low end but that thing pulled like a freight train. a little bit more squeeze and I think the low end would have cleaned up.

 

[MikeyT]

They are fine for 30 year old technology and work well, but find the newer comp cams like the xl 274 works as well for me as the 509 and held better vacuum for my power brakes...

Just my two wooden nickels

Mikey

 

[RustyRatRod]

I like the Mopar cams. Have used a lot of them. They are hard to map., Just ask Herb McCandless. He's mapped all of them and found that they do not measure as advertised. I think Mopar did this on purpose. They "say" they use .850 for instance, instead of .750 to figure duration @.050". McCandless found this was not true. I think Mopar pretty much threw a number out in an attempt to keep their grinds proprietary. All I know is, if the MP cam of choice is well matched to your engine, it WILL work and work REAL good.

 

[Garys1969RR]

I sure miss my 509.....It was a little dirty on the low end but that thing pulled like a freight train. a little bit more squeeze and I think the low end would have cleaned up.

My 451 with the 509 cam has 13.3 to 1 C/R. And it pulls great at low end. Even part throttle coming off a red light it pulls like a 440 with a stock cam. But I am also running 20 degrees initial advance, plus vac advance. I am at 5200 feet, and that amount of advance with the high C/R may not work below 2500 feet. And I am running a blend of race fuel, 91 premium and a little E-85 to raise the octane. Still running high 12s @ 108 MPH and 5600 feet elevation at the track. 3600 lb Road Runner, auto trans.

 

[67Satty]

I'm thinking of trying the .557 solid in my 440 some day.

 

[bigblock]

No problems here, but use the correct VALVE SPRINGS!

 

[Kern Dog]

I know this local idiot...You know the type: He has been there, done that, every car he has is the fastest in town...
He claimed that he ordered a 292/509 cam and when it came, he installed it. The car never ran right, knocked badly on pump premium, etc. He pulled the cam and called Mopar Performance. He claimed that the tech guy told him that they had a run of cams that were put in the WRONG boxes. Some boxes with the '509 labels had smaller hydraulics, some had larger solid cams... In short, the boxes were right, but the cams inside could have been right or wrong. I just nodded to the guy and chalked it up as a village idiot telling another BS story.
Recently though......
I read on Moparts that a few other guys had claimed the same thing. I can't tell if these were just more urban legends being told or if it is a real blunder. A dial caliper will tell you what the lift is, but measuring duration isn't as easy. Personally, I can't visually tell if a cam is a solid or a hydraulic. The Mopar cams had a good spread on the lift numbers, so it isn't that hard to tell a 484 cam from a 509 or a 533.

 

[383man]

I have had good luck with them over the years. I have used the .474 cam and the .484 cam. Then I used the .557 cam in my old mild 440 and I really liked it. My 63 ran a best of 11.49 @ 116 with a 906 headed 440 and the .557 cam. Ron