Breakout cam recommendations
Thread Starter
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Intermediate
Joined: Oct 2014
Posts: 33
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From: Texas
Breakout cam recommendations
I just recently got rid of my sportster and picked up a '13 Ember Red Breakout 
. I couldn't be more excited. Anyway, I bought V&H big radius 2 into 1 exhaust, SE Heavy Breather, and a Power Commander V. While I'm taking off the exhaust and installing it I might as well just throw in a cam as well. Which brings me to deciding which cam I want to go with.
Can anyone recommend a cam for my goals? I would like a cam with low to mid range power and a very aggressive idle ( I love the lope of a cammed out V8 and it would be nice if I can get something like that on the BO). Ideally the 100hp/100tq would be nice as well if I could achieve that with a cam install. The SE255 and Andrews 57H have been catching my attention but I'm not sure if there are better options out there.
Another question I have is do I need to change out the pushrods when I install a new cam or can I use the stock ones?
Thanks!!
. I couldn't be more excited. Anyway, I bought V&H big radius 2 into 1 exhaust, SE Heavy Breather, and a Power Commander V. While I'm taking off the exhaust and installing it I might as well just throw in a cam as well. Which brings me to deciding which cam I want to go with. Can anyone recommend a cam for my goals? I would like a cam with low to mid range power and a very aggressive idle ( I love the lope of a cammed out V8 and it would be nice if I can get something like that on the BO). Ideally the 100hp/100tq would be nice as well if I could achieve that with a cam install. The SE255 and Andrews 57H have been catching my attention but I'm not sure if there are better options out there.
Another question I have is do I need to change out the pushrods when I install a new cam or can I use the stock ones?
Thanks!!
Road Warrior
Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 1,584
Likes: 520
From: VA
If an aggressive idle is important to you the SE204's have that and are a good all around cam. But I have heard it is a tricky cam to tune for. I was thinking about the SE255's until I started reading about the high cranking pressure in a 103. If if were my bike I would go with the Andrews 48. You can use the stock pushrods as long as the cam you choose has the same base circle as stock. I would also change the lifters to be on the safe side.
Thread Starter
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Intermediate
Joined: Oct 2014
Posts: 33
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From: Texas
If an aggressive idle is important to you the SE204's have that and are a good all around cam. But I have heard it is a tricky cam to tune for. I was thinking about the SE255's until I started reading about the high cranking pressure in a 103. If if were my bike I would go with the Andrews 48. You can use the stock pushrods as long as the cam you choose has the same base circle as stock. I would also change the lifters to be on the safe side.
Tourer
Joined: Mar 2014
Posts: 413
Likes: 12
From: St Louis
I don't think this'll be much of a threadjacking since we're looking for about the same thing. I'm shopping for a cam for my new Slim and have literally been reading until I'm blue in the face. I read lot's and lot's about not so much the canned "which cam is best" answers, but I actually read a lot of the feedbacks on different cams. There were many suggestions, but then I started to notice a trend. Everyone says there's better cams out there, but I repeatedly and repeatedly found solid, positive feedback on the SE204's!! I managed to find tiny little snippets of bad info here and there for just about every popular cam you'd consider, but the 204 was rarely, if ever, bagged on. Great idle, good across the rpm range (not excellent in one or the other like most, but good everywhere), no starting problems, good on compression, and on and on! The specs on it are excellent and it shouldn't beat up your valvetrain with the .508 lift...food for thought...every article I found indicates stock heads don't flow significantly better over .500 lift anyways; hight lift probably gains you little to nothing with no head work. I only found one post with a tuning issue and that guy had changed to thin headgaskets or something to that effect, which obviously altered compression.
But this is a good thread to start over here as is seems most of the "which cam is best" threads I found in the mechanical section favor the baggers. Your 255 cam is popular there due to the tons of low end grunt to get a heavier bike moving and/or haul two up all the time on a heavier bike. I'm thinking you and I don't need that. But...hopefully we'll get even more feedback, but for everything I've found, the 204 seems to fit the bill for me. There's just too bloody much info out there!
I'll have about the same set-up as you also except I'm pretty sure I'm gonna go with the SESPT with a custom tune.
But this is a good thread to start over here as is seems most of the "which cam is best" threads I found in the mechanical section favor the baggers. Your 255 cam is popular there due to the tons of low end grunt to get a heavier bike moving and/or haul two up all the time on a heavier bike. I'm thinking you and I don't need that. But...hopefully we'll get even more feedback, but for everything I've found, the 204 seems to fit the bill for me. There's just too bloody much info out there!
I'll have about the same set-up as you also except I'm pretty sure I'm gonna go with the SESPT with a custom tune.
Last edited by galaxyfe; Dec 15, 2014 at 10:10 PM.
Thread Starter
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Intermediate
Joined: Oct 2014
Posts: 33
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From: Texas
After I posted my last reply I started looking more into the SE204 and I almost want to cancel my order and get the 204.
Like you said, the 255 is for heavier bikes and I didn't even take into consideration that I'll be riding solo majority of the time.
Just when I had my mind set on something..... Lol
Like you said, the 255 is for heavier bikes and I didn't even take into consideration that I'll be riding solo majority of the time.
Just when I had my mind set on something..... Lol
I don't think this'll be much of a threadjacking since we're looking for about the same thing. I'm shopping for a cam for my new Slim and have literally been reading until I'm blue in the face. I read lot's and lot's about not so much the canned "which cam is best" answers, but I actually read a lot of the feedbacks on different cams. There were many suggestions, but then I started to notice a trend. Everyone says there's better cams out there, but I repeatedly and repeatedly found solid, positive feedback on the SE204's!! I managed to find tiny little snippets of bad info here and there for just about every popular cam you'd consider, but the 204 was rarely, if ever, bagged on. Great idle, good across the rpm range (not excellent in one or the other like most, but good everywhere), no starting problems, good on compression, and on and on! The specs on it are excellent and it shouldn't beat up your valvetrain with the .508 lift...food for thought...every article I found indicates stock heads don't flow significantly better over .500 lift anyways; hight lift probably gains you little to nothing with no head work. I only found one post with a tuning issue and that guy had changed to thin headgaskets or something to that effect, which obviously altered compression.
But this is a good thread to start over here as is seems most of the "which cam is best" threads I found in the mechanical section favor the baggers. Your 255 cam is popular there due to the tons of low end grunt to get a heavier bike moving and/or haul two up all the time on a heavier bike. I'm thinking you and I don't need that. But...hopefully we'll get even more feedback, but for everything I've found, the 204 seems to fit the bill for me. There's just too bloody much info out there!
I'll have about the same set-up as you also except I'm pretty sure I'm gonna go with the SESPT with a custom tune.
But this is a good thread to start over here as is seems most of the "which cam is best" threads I found in the mechanical section favor the baggers. Your 255 cam is popular there due to the tons of low end grunt to get a heavier bike moving and/or haul two up all the time on a heavier bike. I'm thinking you and I don't need that. But...hopefully we'll get even more feedback, but for everything I've found, the 204 seems to fit the bill for me. There's just too bloody much info out there!
I'll have about the same set-up as you also except I'm pretty sure I'm gonna go with the SESPT with a custom tune.
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Road Warrior
Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 1,584
Likes: 520
From: VA
If you go with an SE cam it will have the same base circle as the stock cam. So you can use the stock pushrods.
Tourer
Joined: Aug 2014
Posts: 331
Likes: 0
From: East Texas
Like others have said, I've done so much reading about cams, I'm just about sick of even thinking and talking about it. BUT! I have made up my mind that when I do change out from the stock cam, I'm gonna go with the SE204. I just think that cam will fit me and the Breakout just right. I also want to go with the perfect-fit pushrods.