Brian Tooley economy cams?
 

since they're relatively new, does any of y'all have info/reviews/experiences with BTR's "economy" line of truck cams?

i'd asked a rep a few weeks back about the difference and was basically told the same bit you fine on the interweb - that they're just ground on a less-expensive 1050 core but offer the same performance. the only thing that means to me as a layman in the engine parts manufacturing world is that it ain't as high a quality as the regular one & runs a statistically higher chance of failure.

the reason i ask is because it *may possibly* seem like i got bait-&-switched on a cam install & didn't catch it until looking at the cam card (slightly different specs) on the way home from a shop 3hrs away.

i'm just trying to gather some real-world data about how big a deal it really is before talking to the shop about it.

So in what ways can a cam fail?

Ive seen the repercussions of installing a cam incorrectly, but im curious as to how a cam can fail from a lower end material.

The lobes can “round over”, they could not have a perfectly smooth surface causing scoring on the bearings and lifters, they can just “wipe out” from improper heat treating process, they could have sloppy clearance tolerances that makes them ride on half of the bearing instead of the entire bearing, they can snap on half. There are a few other ways but these are things that I have seen first hand

10-4 good to know!

thanks guys. so with the relatively low lift of .551 and the BTR springs (i think rated to .560), this shouldn't be too stressful on the lobes & it should be fine, right? it is my daily driver, so i rarely turn much over 3000rpm unless i'm getting on it, in which the highest i really take it's 5000 or so.

I would think so. You can always call BTR and ask them about it.

i did a few weeks back when i first found out it existed. all i got was generic reassurances with no real detail, which is expected from somebody whose job's to take calls & sell things. not that i didn't believe that they're gonna sell products they believe will fail - after all, BTR's a big name in engine building - i was just looking for some honest, real-world experiences, that's all.

i'm all for trying weird, off-the-wall setup ideas (take both my vehicle builds, for instance), however, i prefer doing it with stuff that's been out for a while & proven to at least work on its own before throwing it into a project people don't normally do.

Brian Tooley has been around for ages and he wouldn't risk his company by putting shit cams out there. Go on over to LS1 tech, his cams are super popular. Usually with his drop in truck cams you run a stock LS6 valve spring that is easy on the cam, the lift and aggressiveness of the lobes isn't as high either so everything stays pretty happy with those cams.

I wouldn't hesitate at all to use one of his cams.

Comp cams has been having trouble left and right with their cams, point is you can also pay top dollar and have the best cores and still have a rash of issues.

I would be shocked if you had an issue with a BTR grind.


If for some reason you still aren't comfortable, go with cam motion or texas speed.


https://ls1tech.com/forums/dynamomet...hp-22rwtq.html