Have a 13 Street Glide stage 1 with SEPST. Got the bug and want more. Bang for the buck, go with the cam upgrade or go ahead with the stage 4? Cams would be 254's and will do the hydraulic cam tensioner as well with the cam upgrade. Dealer is saying stage 4 is the way to go.

 

simple answer is a cam swap will reap the greatest return on investment. After that you experience diminishing returns but I will tell you it was worth it to me. When I installed my TW555 ($400 not including install labor) with a high flow A/C and thunder header I dyno'd at 101 Tq/89 hp. After upgrading to a 106" with head work ($1700 not including install labor) I dyno'd at 123 Tq/109 hp.

 

If you are sticking with dealer kits, the below kit is the only one worth the money IMHO. Many knock the Stage !V kit but this package is not a bad one. Of course you could do better with the aftermarket but, if sticking with a dealer package.................

 

I have wondered about the "more bang for the buck" question myself. I have been saving up for a stage 4 kit, wanting the torque. I'm not so sure anymore. Everybody is going to have their own answer to the issue of more torque on their bike. What is enough? When are you happy? When do the modifications start meaning less reliability? Sometimes these forums just make me ask more and more questions. I think for myself, I decided (for now) to just ride the hell out of my bike, it goes fast enough to get me a ticket already. Haha.

I do want to follow this thread and see what people think about cams vs stage 4

 

I paid $1,000 for my 255s and install - and that was a special. If I had it to do over, I'd buy the 107 kit from Fuel Moto and pay someone to instal it. Probably be in it for $2500 when it's all said and done, but you'll make some nice numbers - check out their dynos on their website.

 

I have been going through this decision myself. I sometimes wonder why not just twist the throttle? I mean...I never turn the throttle all the way but I still want more power.

 

All the stage IV kits I have seen use the 259E. The 254 is more a stage 2 type cam. If you are going stage IV you need dyno tune or a very good map for it to run correctly. You can do a stage 2 with the harley download or a canned map. In my opinion there are lots of better stage II cams than the SE. Since you already have the SEPST you can put a cam such as the TW555 and it is fairly easy to tune. Several friends have them and they are good. If you have to stick with the SE a 211 or 204 is better in stage 2 than the 254. The 259E has too much lift .579 and duration to run anywhere near its potential in a stock setup. It is a bear in the Stage IV setup. The TW777 or 888 are a little much with out the compression boosted to 10 to 1+. The stage IV with a good cam is going to give you 15 to 20% more power over a Stage 2. Hope this helps. The stage 2 may satisfy you for a while, but the Stage IV will satisfy me a lot longer and I know the next step up is out of my budget. To each his own.

 

Hi, do you have dyno numbers for your bike just want to compare cams . I have EG 103" with SE259e cams, SE air intake, D&D perf. pipe ... after dyno got 110hp and 119tq. 259e cam works from 3000rpm up , than feels like rocket bike

 

Did you just install cams or do the stage IV. that looks like stage IV numbers. If not stage IV did you use stock springs? Not wanting to start a fuss just wondering if you can use stock springs with the 259E. Every one I have seen used the Stage IV kit. I was thinking of putting them in 2010 FLHTK with stock springs if possible.

 

Those are not normal #s without headwork (about 10 high on both #s) but if you got them and are happy, good on ya.
Most Stage 2 103s (A/C+exhaust with254s) get around 100tq and 90hp. Stage 4 should be around 115HP & Tq. Up to you whether the difference is worth the extra $2K or so?? Of course ya can do better $ & power getting away from SE parts.