new here and im taking the plunge on the 5.4l swap soon. im trying to gather all of my parts up for the swap and put together something that will have a little go to it but im on a tight budget. currently on my 4.6l i have comp 270 cams, 75mm bbk throttle body, and a ported plenum. also have the steeda underdrive pullies as well.

im picking up a 99 5.4l engine so it has pi heads on it. i plan to tear the engine down and port the heads a little, install either my cams or go a little bigger, and buy the hps intake for it.

anyone have a recommendation on cams. i dont want to spend a lot of money here so if i change cams i will change to something i could pick up used and then sell my cams to try and cover most of the cost.

im on the look out for some stock 4v -3cc pistons and also some 30lbs injectors. please feel free to give me any advice you think i might need or want.

 

Glad to see you figured in head porting and cams. Without those two the power is left on the table.

I would definitely keep with the head porting and some semi-heavy cams. From what I've seen 5.4s make very good power with cams and heads.

Ohh and a sound clip afterwards is a must.

 

well i have the comp 270's but im just not sure they are going to be enough cam for the motor, of course i don't want to go too big either. the head work will be relatively minor. im doing mine just like another guy i know did his, he picked up something like 23rwhp out of his on a 4.6l.

 

The only bigger cam is the 278 right? And that is a pretty big cam if it's gonna be used on the street.

I always liked Hitech Motorsport's cams. From the numbers I've seen they give the best power for what you pay. Much better than the comp numbers I've seen. But, thats your decision.

 

I have the 270's and they're a good cam but not a great one. The LSA is kinda wide and the ICL is a bit late. If you install them retarded 2-3 degrees they come alive a little better in the top end. If you can't afford to pop for a MHS stage 3 5.4 PI cam or a HiTech stage 3 NA cam, then the 270's not a bad choice.

In your shoes, since you already have the cams, use them. Just degree them out -2degrees and call it a day.

What are you doing for connecting rods? Pistons... if you're staying NA and not gunna do nitrous, then use the ones the 5.4 has in it. If you want to change compression with new slugs, I'd honestly just pop for forged units. I can point you to a place where the rod and piston kit can be had for really cheap.

 

well i can pick up some used -3cc dish pistons for $40, gonna be hard to find a forged setup for that price lol. this motor will never see nitrous or anything so i dont think forged is necessary. im on a really tight budget. the only reason im doing the swap is b/c the motor went out. if it hadn't i wouldnt be doing it at this time. if i cant pull the swap off for really really cheap, im gonna have to go back with a 4.6l.

 

You got me there... -3cc from a cobra motor will net you about 10.7:1 which will be nice. Install your cams retarded 3 degrees and do it to it. You're gunna love the 5.4 swap. A whole new world of bolt-on fun awaits.

BTW, not all 99 5.4's had PI heads. Double check.

 

how come some people say to retard the cams and others are telling me to advance the cam? i know i had to retard them in the 4.6l b/c of ptv issues. i have never seen the full potential of the cams in the 4.6l and was told it was b/c the cams are retarded. does the stroke of the 5.4l make that big of a difference? i think i have them set at 4 degrees retarded right now.

 

actually you're getting mixed info. here's the actual skinny.

Advancing the cam timing puts more tq production in the lower rpms (below 3500rpm). Retarding the cams delays that max tq production to the later RPM's (after 3500).

In general with the cams we'd use, every degree of retard will push the power peak out a few hundred rpm. Retarding will bring the tq peak in a couple hundred rpm. With 4 degrees of retard on them now, you're set PERFECTLY.

With every cam profile I've run sims on so far the peak gain is at 4 degrees retarded. After that the low end losses start to be a real drag. You'll lose a little from the bottom but gain it back on the top end and there's plenty of bottom end to go around so might as well use it.

 

thanks for the advice. did you use the intake centerline method to set your cams and if so where is it set at? just trying to make sure i did set mine correctly. i want to say mine are degreed to a 114 intake centerline if i remember correctly.

 

I had MMR do mine. I'm not 100% sure they did what I asked but we'll find out when the new intake comes out or when I put on the new heads, whichever happens first.

Assuming you're using the xe270ah-13, I get 113deg ICL for 4 degrees retarded through desktop dyno's cam math tool.