Camshaft Series

Understanding the COMP Cams camshaft families is a great first step in determining which camshaft is right for you.

Today, there are a huge number of aftermarket performance camshafts available. Your challenge: find the right one for your engine application. As you start to research the right cam for your engine, you’ll need to take into account the application and vehicle. Other important details include the engine, transmission, rear gearing, fuel induction system, weight of the vehicle, type of vehicle and all the rest. As any knowledgeable technician can tell you, selecting a camshaft solely based on the fact that it fits your type of engine is a sure recipe for disaster.

Within the COMP Cams camshaft family, there are several different types of camshafts available for most popular domestic engines ranging from the Xtreme Energy Cams™ to Nitrous HP™ Cams. So, which one is right for your application? Any time you are making this kind of important decision about your engine, it’s smart to understand the reasoning behind the selection.

All in the family

While it is important to understand the attributes of the various camshaft families, it is equally important to note that camshaft selection is a individual as the personalities of a customer and his engine. What is perfect for one buyer, regardless of the engine platform, may be totally incorrect for another. In essence, the camshaft family is a good place to begin, but you could end up with a camshaft that is very different from what you originally planned.

Fanning through the COMP Cams catalog can be a fun endeavor, and while many of the camshafts are categorized by a camshaft family name, more often that not the key determiner is the end usage. Drag racing, pulling/towing, oval track, marine, Nostalgia Plus™, factory muscle or even something like the Tri-Power Xtreme™ are all categories you will discover. It can be confusing for the novice cam buyer – but that is to be expected of a highly technical product such as a camshaft.

Pure Energy™

Benefits:	Important Considerations:
50-State legal emissions legal for carbureted engines	Work with factory stock components
Mild performance gains over the factory camshafts	Great daily driver style camshafts

High Energy™

Benefits:	Important Considerations:
Work well with mainly stock components (rockers, manifolds, heads, compression, converters, gears…)	Not the optimum choice for racing applications
Good blend of efficiency and performance	Great choice for engines where performance upgrades are not planned
Perfect choice for performance rebuilds

High Energy Marine™ Cams

Benefits:	Important Considerations:
Good for OEM replacement with mild performance gain	Great for stock rebuilds
Increased torque and power improvement	Camshafts deliver improved performance over stock
Easy drop-in installation	Works with factory configuration engine components

Magnum Cams

Benefits:	Important Considerations:
Great high rpm power	Really need converter and gear change
Easy on valve train parts	These like compression (9.5:1 & up)
Can be used with mild ratio rocker arms and traditional performance valve springs	Larger Magnums are a little lazy at low rpm

Xtreme Energy™

Benefits:	Important Considerations:
Quicker opening lobe profiles deliver increased responsiveness & more area under the lift curve	Work best with COMP Cams® roller rockers and matched valve springs
More vacuum allows a step up in duration for greater performance	Require other performance parts (intake manifold, headers, etc.) for best performance
Best seller; excellent all around performance in street carbureted applications

Thumpr™

Benefits:	Important Considerations:
Great sound (early exhaust opening and more overlap)	Minimal engine vacuum – requires mods for any vacuum accessories such as power brakes
Great power (new lobe designs give great area and air flow)	Designed for use only with valve train upgrades including COMP Cams® Beehive™ Valve Springs and roller rockers
Great mid-range response (early intake closing traps more air)	Works best with looser converters, more rear end gear and other performance engine modifications

Xtreme 4x4™ Cams

Benefits:	Important Considerations:
Improved throttle response and increased low and mid-range rpm horsepower	Both towing and off-roading camshaft profiles available
Designed for use with common restrictive factory exhaust system including OEM exhaust manifolds	Features aggressive lobe profiles with short duration specs
Feature latest camshaft technology in lobe design	Excellent for Jeeps and off-road vehicle use

Xtreme Marine™

Benefits:	Important Considerations:
Extremely wide powerband helps get boat on plane while making max horsepower	Intended for applications where low idle speeds are required
Power enhancement helps maintain top end speed	Work well against exhaust systems with restrictive back pressure
Feature latest camshaft technology in lobe design	Available for Small and Big Block Chevy as well as Big Block Ford

Dual Energy™

Benefits:	Important Considerations:
Similar to High Energy Cams™, but may work better at high rpm when coupled with headers because of added exhaust duration	Do not work well with restrictive exhaust systems
Work great with most stock components	Larger exhaust does not give a sharp early torque peak
Very flat torque curve for great streetability	Other cams make more power if other components are changed

Nostalgia Plus™

Benefits:	Important Considerations:
Specifically designed to capture the essence of the original 1960s muscle car style	Combines famous factory cam performance with more modern technology
Delivers improved muscle car sound and horsepower	Excellent sound improvement through camshaft specifications (with similar vacuum characteristics to its muscle car era counterparts)
Newer technology lobe design delivers increase throttle response & torque

Factory Muscle™

Benefits:	Important Considerations:
Reproduction of factory original muscle car camshaft	New computer controlled aided design avoids previous factory design compromises
Produce more torque and horsepower than original factory camshaft	Tailored to work with high compression engine of the 1960s and 70s
Maintain efficiency and drivability of the engine	Best choice for “era-correct” engine rebuilds

Nitrous HP™

Benefits:	Important Considerations:
Wider lobe separation and added exhaust duration from base XE series help shift the power to higher rpm where it can be used in nitrous applications	Slight sacrifice of some torque and responsiveness to the base XE family for improved performance with nitrous oxide
Early exhaust opening helps scavenge the extra spent gasses out from nitrous or forced induction	Works best with COMP Cams® roller rockers and matched valve springs
Better time slips for nitrous passes at the strip	The big question is which time slip matters more to you (normally aspirated or N2O-assisted)?

XFI™

Benefits:	Important Considerations:
Newest and quickest lobe profiles in the Xtreme family and provide a terrific increase in performance	Xtreme Energy™ Cams are more responsive in carbureted applications
Tuned for use in EFI applications where extra air flow signal through the carburetor is not required (feature wider lobe separation without loss of responsiveness)	Designed for use with COMP Cams® Beehive™ Springs and roller rockers
Work well with aftermarket cylinder heads and feature high lift	Really need other performance parts to shine

Tri-Power Xtreme™

Benefits:	Important Considerations:
Three different camshafts offered for each engine platform	Made for factory fuel injected engines
Camshaft designs are targeted to improve horsepower, torque or fuel efficiency	Best mileage gains require use of programmer
By decreasing pumping losses, efficiency and performance are enhanced, regardless of camshaft selected

Blower & Turbo

Benefits:	Important Considerations:
Specifically designed for maximum power on supercharged and turbocharged street and street/strip applications	Custom grinds available for more efficient turbo applications
Available in mild to aggressive cam specifications	Requires lower back pressure system

Xtreme Turbo

Benefits:	Important Considerations:
Helps build pressure between engine and turbo for faster spool up	Limited to 6500 rpm peak
Delivers wide powerband without compromising peak power	Requires lower back pressure system
Designed to focus on systems with similar boost to back pressure ratios as seen on most modern turbo systems

LSR™

Benefits:	Important Considerations:
Take advantage of today’s newer and better flowing aftermarket cylinder heads	Require 26926-16 high pressure valve springs
Feature higher exhaust duration and overall to provide broadest powerband and most top end power of any COMP® LS cam	Available in different cores. Please refer to chart on pages 186-187 to make sure you order the correct part number.
27 Unique grinds for both cathedral and rectangle port cylinder heads

Racing Cams

Benefits:	Important Considerations:
Features a wide assortment of racing camshafts for all application requirements of drag, oval track and puller & mud competitors	Require accurate assessment of rear end gearing and other vehicle-based equipment to deliver top performance
	Not made for street use or vehicles requiring accessory drive equipment, such as power brakes, air conditioning, etc.