[Ram Air IV Jack]

Originally Posted by tom s

Mike Jones has had some posts on SpeedTalk.The way the lifter was s ground and also the way the cam lobe is ground seems to be more of a issue than hardness.Tom

Cliff Ruggles spoke about this and said there is only one cam manufacturer in the states now and the rest are made overseas. I've heard Comp Cams are junk and that explains why they are so cheap in price. Crane was the last big USA cam manufacturer to fold years ago.

This was an interesting video, but I have a question on that hardness test. How deep or how many thousands of an inch is the surface hardness being tested? Cams at one time were casehardened and once that surface wears off, the cam begins to wear considerably. I'm guessing that the Chinese cams have less surface hardening material vs. the USA made cams which explains why so many are cheap to buy. If true, will that hardness test pick that up?

I think most of us are not surprised that the Chinese cams /lifters are not precision ground as pointed out in the video. This issue along with less zinc in the modern oils explains in part why so many cam failures are being reported with flat tappet bump sticks. IF the Chinese cams have less casehardened material, that could be any other issue. Regardless, Chinese made parts are cheap and overall, mostly inferior to what we used to see made in the USA. That is why NOS prices are through the roof now.