Helix 2 vs MaxSpool? Opinions

i remember when i first installed my maxspool and was running a single charged/pumped truck on #2 only. every one thought i was running NOS cause the smoke cleared up so fast and stayed that way. but the fact was that the cam helped allow more air in and out of the motor and it also helped the spool a bit. looking back i wish i had gone a bit bigger.:rockwoot:
 
all i can say is stay away from a regrind, unless you like pulling the cam multiple times. had it happen to me, and it wont happen again.
 
A regrind wouldn't have the lobe for the lift pump, for those of us with 24v's. A cummins pump and possibly a regulator later you've got a bulletproof fuel system too :thankyou2:

I've got a cam sitting here- is there somewhere I could get it ground?? I already know that I won't go through the effort of putting it back in :hehe:
 
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Soup Nazi said:
I suppose you could ask COMP what the specs are on my cams. He has bought both of them through a shill. Bullet Cams has my grinds at their shop where he has his so called development and grinding done. Those cams went a long way to help COMPY decide what to do, after his first attempts were dismal at best.

The MAXSpool is a used cam, reground. If you know anything, even a little about lobe profiles, you know that a lobe with .235 lift and under 165 degrees of duration is going to make a small lobe. A tiny little triangle at best. You simply cant grind a new larger lobe with more duration and lift without cutting a huge amount of material from the base circle ( the lowest part of the cams lobe ) Once you cut the base circle too far, you get into soft material and you change the valvetrain geometry enough to affect where the rocker arm is positioned when you adjust the lash out.
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Don,can you send me a link to your site sense you do not have a PM option.
Thanks!:welcome:
 
Adjustable cam gear

who with the Max spool is running their cam advanced with a different degree key, and who is running them at factory 108
 
Smokem said:
Did not react well with the fueling parameters, lost spoolup time and gained a lot of smoke down low. We changed back to a standard keyway and were happy with the results.
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farmboysdiesel said:
Runing mine at 105
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So *thats* why your truck smokes the way it does. And all this time I thought it was the pump :hehe: :thankyou2:
 
Helix vs Max Spool

I've read Don's info on the various grinds for the Helix Cams. I haven't seen a breakdown on the Max Spool Cams,... so does a higher number Max Spool indicate it is more agressive and for a more performance oriented usage than a lower number for say towing applications,... anyone know for sure?

Also wouldn't it be a good idea to have someone put a degree wheel on these various cams and post the specs. I'm sure there is a reason for all the mystery but in the gasser world you purchase a cam by the specs and not because it's a 1, 2, or 3 level cam. Confused on this marketing strategy.

I've got the Helix 2 and have been happy with it but I'd still like to know the specs. With the close tolerances involved I'm not all that sure performance wise that one can be all that much stronger performing than another unless you'd change out pistons or whatever to accommodate a higher lift or more duration.

Anyone know of a little higher ratio rocker that could get a bit more lift that would help performance without kissing the pistons?

Maybe Don or Greg will enlighten us on some of this hopefully.
 
BgBlDodge said:
FWIW on the springs, I watched a buddy of mine pick up almost 100tq just by installing don's springs. Another buddy of mine noticed a huge increase in back pressure from his exhaust brake after installing don's springs as well. Both scenarios prove that the stock springs are weak and should be replaced. Neither of these guys are running an aftermarket cam but both are running twins. One at 55psi and the other at ~60psi. So I'd imagine you'd see a noticeable difference when running springs on an aftermarket cam.
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That was exactly my experience. I don't feel like I got the full benefit of the H2 until I installed the Sportsman springs. After that, she was stout down low. From what I understand you shouldn't run the H2 much over 3100 rpms with stock springs so you don't float a valve. I do think I dropped some egt's with just the cam though.
 
Ph4tty said:
So *thats* why your truck smokes the way it does. And all this time I thought it was the pump :hehe: :thankyou2:
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I'm sure that's what it is - genius :umno:
 
farmboysdiesel said:
I have numbers on both cams and I will say the numbers say it all.
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Gus,

Can you post the dyno sheets showing the comparison between the Maxspool and the H2. I can only assume this would be in the same truck same mods and no engine changes. As I posted before it would be nice to see the HP and TQ curves side by side in a true comparison.
 
farmboysdiesel said:
I'm sure that's what it is - genius :umno:
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Without dyno results on your experiemental pump we are left to form our own conclusions and I just formed mine. Get on a dyno and prove me wrong :poke: :thankyou2:

Now back to our rugularly scheduled programming: F-1 :cheer:

:hehe: :hehe: :hehe:
 
OT-OF-Here said:
I've read Don's info on the various grinds for the Helix Cams. I haven't seen a breakdown on the Max Spool Cams,... so does a higher number Max Spool indicate it is more agressive and for a more performance oriented usage than a lower number for say towing applications,... anyone know for sure?

Also wouldn't it be a good idea to have someone put a degree wheel on these various cams and post the specs. I'm sure there is a reason for all the mystery but in the gasser world you purchase a cam by the specs and not because it's a 1, 2, or 3 level cam. Confused on this marketing strategy.

I've got the Helix 2 and have been happy with it but I'd still like to know the specs. With the close tolerances involved I'm not all that sure performance wise that one can be all that much stronger performing than another unless you'd change out pistons or whatever to accommodate a higher lift or more duration.

Anyone know of a little higher ratio rocker that could get a bit more lift that would help performance without kissing the pistons?

Maybe Don or Greg will enlighten us on some of this hopefully.
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Pat,

You may already understand this, but for anyone that cares: The main differences in our Diesels and the run of the mill normally asp. gasser engine are in how the fuel and air are delivered to the chamber. Gasser cams are much different since the gasser engine is sucking in a mixture of air and fuel together. The Diesel only takes in air through its ports. Gassers that want more fuel to end up in the chamber simply change the cam duration profile from shorter to longer. This allows the "mixed" air/fuel more time to make its way into the cylinder. Actually gassers dont suck in air at all. It is pushed in by atmo pressure, but that is another long argument for another day.

Gasser guys can pick a cam profile by duration. Everyone that has played the gasser stuff knows what a 268, 292, or a 305 cam is. This is degrees of duration and these cams can be choosen by their numbers easily. Bigger cams almost always mean bigger power. Caveats of course.

Diesels are NOT that way at all. Diesel cams are very short on duration when compared. When we want more fuel, we just inject more through the fuel delivery system. Diesels also have a very wide range at which the air/fuel will burn and continue to make power. Gassers dont. They have a very thin range of making efficient power with parts per air and fuel.

Diesel cams come very optimized right from the factory and the further you play outside a window of what works, the worse things get. This is part of the reason we see so many flops in cam grinds that are supposed to enhance performance. Adding duration to a Diesel cam can get one into trouble fast. We only need to look at some of the fastest 12V trucks running around the drag strip to see that stock cams are super. Of course the fastest VP44 and CR engines are using an aftermarket cam. The H2.

Regardless, we cant look at a radical number on a Diesel cam and say " that one is better" or "it makes more power" on a Diesel like with gassers. Honestly I think it would cause more confusion and less performance in the end if the numbers were published.

Tricks of efficiency are what the H cams use. More airflow, hence lower EGT. HP is rarely found with a Diesel cam change and if so it is on the order of 20 or less at peak. Power band changes or when the power comes on is the best anyone can do.

Going radical is fruitless. Big numbers are bad.

I have dyno tested some radical stuff we tried and cam profiles from the more dirt oriented puller stables. It was all junk and cost, in some cases over 100 HP.

You cant gain big with a Diesel cam, but you can certainly lose. Thats not counting the countless bent push tubes and valve float from using unmatched springs and lobe designs.
 
How many of your cams are winnng anything in the upper classes of the dirt oriented pulling classes???
 
Distributor said:
How many of your cams are winnng anything in the upper classes of the dirt oriented pulling classes???
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Eric,

0.0, but that is not my market either. Ya never know though, things can change.

I always felt like I was beating my head on a brick wall with so many of the pulling crowd. Trying to cut through the old, tired way of thinking that surrounds the sport is tiresome.

Many still measure things with rulers, yardsticks and the like. I just cant get my head wrapped around that arcane stuff. Mostly.

I did watch the Delaware Ohio pull on Speed TV yesterday. It was nice to see the one single pulling truck ( the 18 wheeler ones ) that actually cleaned his smoke up and pulled right with the dirty, inefficient smoker crowd. There is a glimmer of hope, but the flame is regularly put out by the old schoolers that dont like change. It scares them I suppose.

:bang
 
Soup Nazi said:
I suppose you could ask COMP what the specs are on my cams. He has bought both of them through a shill. Bullet Cams has my grinds at their shop where he has his so called development and grinding done. Those cams went a long way to help COMPY decide what to do, after his first attempts were dismal at best.

The MAXSpool is a used cam, reground. If you know anything, even a little about lobe profiles, you know that a lobe with .235 lift and under 165 degrees of duration is going to make a small lobe. A tiny little triangle at best. You simply cant grind a new larger lobe with more duration and lift without cutting a huge amount of material from the base circle ( the lowest part of the cams lobe ) Once you cut the base circle too far, you get into soft material and you change the valvetrain geometry enough to affect where the rocker arm is positioned when you adjust the lash out.
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I suppose we could, and I probably will.. Cus when I ask Greg questions I at least get answers. Not some forked tongue side-step. You and RacingDullie were a couple of reasons for me going with Gregs cam.. I have trouble sending large sums of cash to people who won't (can't?) explain things and listen to what I'm wanting as an end result.. The moment you guys jumped in and started bashing a competitor, instead of offering explanations, you sealed my wallet..
$.02
 
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