HELP! What else do we need?

[vega_alvaro]

I bought the COMP cam 68-232-4 because I read that will add 30 to 70 hp to my 90 Jeep XJ with a 4.0. A friend of mine installed without replacing anything but gaskets and now, I don't feel any difference on my Jeep . What am I missing? Do I have to buy something else . Please help. I don't know anything about strokers, and I want to add HP to my rig in order to participate on mud and sand racings at Brownsville, TX.
Thanks in advance to everyone

[4.whoa]

A friend of mine installed without replacing anything but gaskets

PLEASE tell me he put new lifters in also. It needs them. I dont know of any cam(by itself) giving even close to another 70hp in a i-6. That's what most get when building a stroker. It really should by degreed in as well(for best performance) What kind of shape is the rest of the engine in? usually a cam swap also includes lifters,a timing set and tensioner.

[vega_alvaro]

Thanks for your response 4.whoa. Yes, the kit included the lifters. So, is it possible to get non-additional hp after install the cam without the degreed process? I googled after read your comments and find a how-to article. Am I going to feel the difference after degreed the cam? I really want to make my new cam works properly. Regards.

[unlimitedrubicon]

Hello,

The only way to get peak performance out of a cam is to have it fully degreed in. Degreeing the cam in itself does not give you any additional power, but it ensures your cam is installed properly and you receive the full performance of the camshaft with minimal issues.

[SilverXJ]

I would degree it in. It insures that it is installed correctly. As said, it might not give you extra power, but if the cam is off then you are probably lacking power at different rpms. However, I doubt that you would see 30 hp. You would probably notice a difference if you did other mods to compliment the cam. Such as a bored throttle body, intake, exhaust, header, etc.

[unlimitedrubicon]

That is correct about the other parts. While our Jeeps are not held to the same standards as factory performance cars the engineers did do a pretty good job of keeping the effeciencies of the engine 'system' in tune with each other. By installing a performance cam that allows for more air / fuel into and out of the engine you will obtain the best gains by improving the intake AND exhaust to allow your engine to best utilize the additional capacity of the camshaft. As an example with my stroker I already had the Banks Ram Air intake, and I am also installing a header (Banks TorqueTube) and will be upgrading my exhaust and boring out the throttle body (if necessary) in the near future. This will allow me to best utilize the camshaft (more air/fuel) and increased displacement (even more air/fuel). As you work each part together also keep in mind that there is an optimal power band for each one and you want them to work together such as all low to mid range for better torque or mid to upper range for increased horsepower.

[vega_alvaro]

Thank you very much for your coments . I already buy on line the degree wheel and the dial indicator to degree the cam. As soon as arrive at home I will start with the degree. I will let you know the results.

[unlimitedrubicon]

Sounds great. I think you will be surprised how for off it can be even though it looks good to the eye doing just dot to dot... If you have any questions / issues feel free to let us know.

[battleship]

Thank you very much for your coments . I already buy on line the degree wheel and the dial indicator to degree the cam. As soon as arrive at home I will start with the degree. I will let you know the results.

could you post a to link to where you got the degree kit Iam planning a stroker build in the near future and want to maximize every dollar I spend to get the most all around performance?

[SkylinesSuck]

I just want to make sure you understand the most you could ever expect from a cam swap, especially on a stock motor, is MAYBE being able to tell the SMALLEST bit of difference in acceleration just with feeling. You surely aren't going to more than 15-20hp from it. Who ever told you 30-70hp has NO idea what they are talking about. It sounds like you are expecting this big difference and there won't be.

[Cheromaniac]

I bought the COMP cam 68-232-4 because I read that will add 30 to 70 hp to my 90 Jeep XJ with a 4.0. A friend of mine installed without replacing anything but gaskets and now, I don't feel any difference on my Jeep . What am I missing? Do I have to buy something else . Please help. I don't know anything about strokers, and I want to add HP to my rig in order to participate on mud and sand racings at Brownsville, TX.
Thanks in advance to everyone

There isn't a cam on earth that's going to add 30-70hp on a 4.0L Jeep by itself. The engine needs to breathe (CAI, larger TB, ported HO head, header, exhaust) before a cam swap becomes worthwhile and even then, 10-15hp is about as much as you're going to get.

[vega_alvaro]

Once again, thanks for the comments. It is hard to hit the ground this way, because I was expecting my 30-70 additional hp, but I really appreciate you bring me into reallity. I'm still waiting for my degree kit, it should arrive this wendsday, and I will degree the cam the next saturday. I will post my result so the next newibies, like me, understands the importance of this process.

I already record 10 times the time it takes to my XJ to make 50 yards. I will compare this results with the cam degreed and then share the results.

By the way, I bought the degree kit at ebay.

Regards

[vega_alvaro]

Amazing!!! I can't belive how much power I was loosing by not degreed the cam. Unfortunately, it looks like a partner ate the sheet with the time we made on 50 yards before we degreed the cam! But it feels a lot difference. Thanks folks for help me with this project!
Now, what's the next step? What can I do to add more HP? I am not rich, so I am not able to buy a stroker kit, but I can do it one step at a time. I hope you can help me because we do not know nothing about this, and even when I tried to read the posts, I understand only 10% of what I read
Thanks again to everyone who post this thread! I am so so happy with my comp cam