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Why does everyone hate the E303 cam?

OP
OP
ba123

ba123

Contributor
Bronco Guru
Joined
Oct 29, 2022
Messages
1,690
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CA
My advice....first, match your cam characteristics to how you plan to use your rig. Second, match it to the rest of your combo. Not just motor. You have to consider gears and transmission. You will get 100's of cam suggestions as everyone (including myself) will tell you they picked the "best" cam. :)

For example, if you plan to cruse around at 2100rpm and you can don't make power till 2500rpm, it's not going to be optimal. IMO the goal is the be in the power band when crusing. My cam makes power from 1500-5500rpm and is more of a torque cam. So when I'm in 5th and bumping 2400rpm's I have good response and climbs hills without downshifting.

Having a 351W also helps the torque.....

Tim
Yeah, that's good advice, thanks. I think I should just stick with what I have and then figure out from there if there is something I don't like about it. It still seems right for all I've done. I'm sure there is one better, but there are so many cam variations and I might be happy with this.

Thanks for all the input fellas.
 

walls

Full Member
Joined
Oct 4, 2010
Messages
222
Converter... converter...converter...
Everyone over looks the converter.
Put the proper converter in with that cam and you will.be golden. Everyone is always too busy matching the engine components with their cam of choice and forget about the converter. If the cam starts making power at 2000rpm put a 2200- 2500 stall converter in and it will rip. You will have your power all across the board.
 
OP
OP
ba123

ba123

Contributor
Bronco Guru
Joined
Oct 29, 2022
Messages
1,690
Loc.
CA
Converter... converter...converter...
Everyone over looks the converter.
Put the proper converter in with that cam and you will.be golden. Everyone is always too busy matching the engine components with their cam of choice and forget about the converter. If the cam starts making power at 2000rpm put a 2200- 2500 stall converter in and it will rip. You will have your power all across the board.
Yup, my Art Carr custom converter is at least 2200 stall, might be 2400, I can’t find the info other than the receipt which doesn’t show it. Wonder if I can call and ask them but doubt it.
 

MarsChariot

Contributor
Planetary Offroader
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Oct 12, 2004
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2,469
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Albuquerque, New Mexico
Thanks, that's nice to hear. That's kinda similar for me. I've got 4.57 but my AOD top gear is 0.67 vs yours at 0.78 I think. I also have all the upgraded internals for it and wide ratio kit. Planning on 35's with that.
Yes, with 35s you would likely be happier with a cam that yielded more low end torque.
 

pcf_mark

Bronco Guru
Joined
Jun 11, 2010
Messages
3,574
Thanks, yeah, hoping I have better luck running an MS3 setup.

Also hoping that I get more out of it with my heads and intake than others have, as well as the prob higher stall converter than other tried it with? I set that for the cam, but don’t remember where. Maybe 2200? Idk. Been too long.

I did plan and buy this stuff 30 years ago, but pretty sure I planned it well. I did, though, plan it more like a Mustang than a Bronco, so time will tell.
MS3 is great you will not have a problem getting it to run right. It will take some time and goes a whole lot faster with a wide band O2 and someone else driving while you are tuning.
 

Ratclge

Jr. Member
Joined
Mar 8, 2018
Messages
87
Thanks, that's nice to hear. That's kinda similar for me. I've got 4.57 but my AOD top gear is 0.67 vs yours at 0.78 I think. I also have all the upgraded internals for it and wide ratio kit. Planning on 35's with that.
 

Ratclge

Jr. Member
Joined
Mar 8, 2018
Messages
87
I used the E3 in my 75 bronco with a 96 5.0 motor and edelbrock AVS it works fine with minor lope. I did have to change pushrods but like it.
 

bmc69

Contributor
Bronco Guru
Joined
Jun 11, 2004
Messages
11,852
About 20 years ago, I built a 5.0 with the E303 cam and a Powerdyne supercharger. It was a sporty street driver but didn't play well with the SD EFI and really wasn't much better when we upgraded to MAF. We wanted a much better low-end result because it was as much a trail rig as a street driver, and swapped out the cam and removed the supercharger.

Had a 700r4 behind it. Won't do that again either...LOL

302 with supercharger.JPG
 

69_Sport

Full Member
Joined
Nov 5, 2014
Messages
258
I love my E303 cam.
It's in a Fox Mustang 5.0 HO, though.
Dynoed 115 hp over stock.
Not a ton of low end torque, though. I would use something like the old RV grind cam in a Bronco. Go for low- rpm torque, not high revving horsepower.
 
OP
OP
ba123

ba123

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Bronco Guru
Joined
Oct 29, 2022
Messages
1,690
Loc.
CA
I love my E303 cam.
It's in a Fox Mustang 5.0 HO, though.
Dynoed 115 hp over stock.
Not a ton of low end torque, though. I would use something like the old RV grind cam in a Bronco. Go for low- rpm torque, not high revving horsepower.
Yeah, one is a Mustang 5.0 HO as well and then some. That’s good to hear.

Thanks!
 
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