do you have to notch the pistons with AFR heads and B303 cam?

[475HP '03 cobra]

well the title explains it....
B303cam and
165 street legal AFR head

will i have to notch the pistons or will the valves clear em?

i heard that the AFR takes about 220 degree duration at .050 but it was from a not-so-sure source

however the B303 has a 224 degree duration at .050 so i was wonderin if any of ya'll have done this and if you had problems?

[475HP '03 cobra]

by the way, i would like to put adjustable 1.7 rockers on too and i've heard they can make a difference in valve clearence, any suggestions?

[Wall96cobra]

You'll be fine with the 165's and b-cam (assuming you have stock pistons/compression) , it's usually only when you have a trickflow head or some other head with a 2.02 valve that it gets close. QWKSNKE actually ran that same combo for alittle while B-cam, 165's and 1.7 rockers, the 1.7 will give you about .030 more lift than running a 1.6 rocker so instead of a .480 lift it will be about .510 lift.

[475HP '03 cobra]

you completely sure about that or do suggest a valve to piston check too?

also what about the 185cc's will they work?, do you suggest them?, and how much more power will i get?

[QWKSNKE]

yes it will work. Like Wall mentioned I ran that combo for quite some time with good success.

The reason you have to check clearance with the trickflows is because they are not a inline valve head. Their valves are rotated enough where they are out of the OEM piston valve reliefs. Max recommended lift with trickflows and OEM pistons is .525

FYI... I ran .544 lift cam with AFR's and OEM pistons.

[QWKSNKE]

Originally Posted by 475HP '03 cobra

however the B303 has a 224 degree duration at .050 so i was wonderin if any of ya'll have done this and if you had problems?

Thought about this statement a little more but first......My above post is referencing 87-up 5.0 cars only. You did not elaborate on what car was in question or whther it has stock bottom end or whatever. I do not recommend this on the 86's because the OEM pistons do not have valve reliefs.

Now about the heads and duration. The heads do not car about duration. they are not rated with duration in mind. Only lift is considered and that is for your valve spring capabilities

[Wall96cobra]

Originally Posted by QWKSNKE

Now about the heads and duration. The heads do not car about duration. they are not rated with duration in mind. Only lift is considered and that is for your valve spring capabilities

Well duration does matter since the more duration you have the longer the valve will stay open so you chances of piston to valve contact would be greater with a high duration cam but the b-cam isn't that agressive so you wouldn't have to worry about it as long as it's a 87-95 stock 302 like you said.

(475HP '03 cobra) If you're that worried about it though just do a piston to valve check to make sure, I can understand you being paranoid about it I mean these parts aren't cheap so you never can be too careful but like I said Lee did run that same setup on his 93 cobra with the stock shortblock.

[475HP '03 cobra]

yeah thank for the information guys it helped alot by the way its a 1992 GT so i dont suppose i will have any problems

just wondering...how much will a .510 lift vs. a .544 lift differ in power?...just wondering...i probably wont change my plans unless its very significant..but i just had it in the back of my mind

[Italian LX]

It's hard to guess an increase in power purely based on valve lift. There are so many other factors including duration, heads, intake, etc.

[Shankin]

That cam will clear just fine. I have ran 202s on a f cam with no problem also. I would go with a f cam before a b cam.