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My Road Glide has 253's in it. I'm happy with the power, but what's the difference between the 255's and the 253's?
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06' Road Glide - SE 103", SE Six speed, SE Slip-Ons with Bub True Duals, HD Numbered Paint Set, Street Glide Rear Fender and lots of Shiny Stuff 99' Ultra - SE Intake,D & D Fatcat,Revolution 98",BC Gerlomy Bored Throttlebody,GMR heads, Andrews 37 Cams, Tour Pac Quick- Tach,Sundowner, Hog Tunes, SERT, Sirius 105 tq. 95 hp
If you are doing the cam only, stock compression and stock heads, The Woods 6-6 with a +4 key is THE cam.
Yup, a setup that is overlooked.
__________________ 2007 UltraClassic\103"BB\.030 Cometic Head Gasket\SE 255's Doherty PowerPACC w/vents\Supertrapp SE's\SERT\Bagger Brace M1 15W-50 incrank\Redline MTL in Primary\Redline Shockproof in Tranny My other toy!
Last edited by UltraKla$$ic; 11-01-2009 at 08:50 PM.
If you are doing the cam only, stock compression and stock heads, The Woods 6-6 with a +4 key is THE cam.
I considered this setup 'til I read this thread and started corresponding with the OP. I ended up buying the OP's used 255's based on his comments and those I had gleaned in the past two years reading forums and talking to tech support from various cam mfrs. In that period I did talk to Bob Wood more than once and he was very helpful but didn't try to sell me on something inappropriate for my needs. Rather than spend $525 for the 6-6's w/+4° gear I spent $110 instead on the 255's, as my interest is in performance below 4k RPM. I considered the dyno charts posted by the OP of that thread as nearly worthless since the tuner didn't start the pull 'til 3k RPM, and 2-3k RPM is a region that's very important to me.
Here are some exerpts from Toddnval's comments via this thread and emails from him. Keep in mind he installed the 255's, then changed to the TW6-6 w/+4° gear.
"I rode the bike some more today and I can tell you that my bike was as strong from idle to 3500 with the 255's and actually felt quicker than it does now. I spent $750 changing to the Wood TW6-6, +4 gear, EZ pushrods, gasket, and tune, was it worth it? I did gain alot of hp/tq over 4000rpms but the bike doesn't feel that much stronger by riding it. Am I happy with it, well I think I'm going to leave it as is and buy me a play bike to ease my power needs.
"The throttle response is great with the 255's, it won't take much getting used to though, I just got mine tuned yesterday with the Wood TW6-6 everyone braggs on so much and the truth is the SE255 cams performed right with the Wood until 3750 rpms and the off idle with the 255's was better. 90% of most peoples riding will be below 4000 rpms so even though the Woods cams made better peak numbers, the riding range power is only 2-3hp/tq better than the 255's were. My bike actually feels weaker at the lower rpms, but it starts pulling hard at 3500 now. I got alot of negative comments about using the 255's when I did my build on hdforums and vtwinforums, alot of people said I could have so much more power with a better cam and I argued with them that based on the cam specs the 255's were the best cam available up to 3500 rpms and some told me I was crazy. I heard about the Wood TW6-6 from so many engine builders on these 2 sites talk about how much better the TW6 was so I tried it and I now have the proof that I was right all along, the 255's are a great cam for everyday riding, they are not for hot rodders. I spent $730 to change to the Woods cams and I did gain some good hp and tq but not where I ride at."
__________________ 2007 Street Ultra
Stage 1½: Fuel Moto Power Package, SE255 cams.
If I read that right, he not only changed cams and exhaust, he made other changes as well? If so, I don't think it is a fair compairison.
I personally ride an Ultra and almost always go over 4,000 rpm just getting up to speed to merge on the freeway.
Not trying to get into a debate on cams I'm no expert, but everything is a comprimise. Overall, from my personal experience and from the posters comments, seems that the Woods cam gives more grunt overall.
OBTW aren't the woods cams 380.00 retail? + 15.00 for a plus 4 key from T- Man?
I have heard from many people that the Woods cam often gives you a noisier valve train. There were a few that did not have this issue, but I have heard some complaints.
Anybody want to add to that? The OP is looking for advice, hopefully he'll hear all sides of this? He's talkin' two-up touring, I doubt that he wants to hear clatter all day. I know it's a good performance cam with a nice torque curve, but he wouldn't have to give up much in power to get a quieter more behaved cam.
You have to look at the whole picture when picking cams. Which bike do you have a light Dyna or a heavy ass touring. Do you ride two up. Do you like to ride in 4th gear with the throttle pinned to keep you at the 4000 rpm sweet spot or do you like to ride in the 2000-3000 range. We all turn them up occasionally. I usually hit the rev limiter at least once a ride. Unless you stay on the interstate running 110, you don't stay above 3000 rpm for any length of time. If you get a cam that doesn't start pulling good until 3500, you have a sick dog at the around town cruising rpm.
I'm just saying.................
take a look at any dyno chart. you'll see that the hp and torque cross at 5250 rpm. my thoughts are that a comfortable cam that places emphasis on fat low through midrange cam profiles would be a good choice. sure, you can get more horsepower etc, with higher lifts, longer durations, but are likely to sacrifice real world usable power. looks like the 255's and 54's both achieve that. there are surely others, and "big boyz" heads has a great chart describing cam grinds. there is some valuable information there too.
