Aftermarket Parts - Are Premium Parts Worth The Price?
We Test A Pile Of Speed Parts To Discover
Cam And Head Comparison
The first test uses Dart 215cc heads with the small XR-280 Comp Cams roller cam, the Holley-Dorton single-plane intake, and a 750 Street HP carburetor. Test 2 employs the same as above except with the larger Comp Cams mechanical XR-292 roller cam. The final test is the same combo as Test 2 except we added the Dart CNC 227 heads.
| | TEST 1 | TEST 2 | TEST 3 | DIFFERENCE |
| | Dart 215 | Dart 215 | Dart 227 CNC | | |
| | Comp XR-280 | Comp XR-292 | Comp XR-292 | | |
| RPM | TQ | HP | TQ | HP | TQ | HP | TQ | HP |
| 2700 | 384 | 197 | 350 | 180 | 353 | 181 | -31 | -16 |
| 2900 | 384 | 212 | 345 | 190 | 347 | 192 | -37 | -20 |
| 3100 | 400 | 236 | 365 | 215 | 361 | 213 | -39 | -23 |
| 3300 | 419 | 263 | 396 | 249 | 383 | 241 | -36 -22 |
| 3500 | 428 | 285 | 417 | 278 | 410 | 273 | -18 | -12 |
| 3700 | 435 | 307 | 428 | 302 | 429 | 302 | -6 | -5 |
| 3900 | 439 | 326 | 437 | 325 | 443 | 329 | +4 | +3 |
| 4100 | 448 | 350 | 450 | 351 | 457 | 357 | +9 | +7 |
| 4300 | 456 | 373 | 463 | 379 | 467 | 383 | +11 | +10 |
| 4500 | 456 | 391 | 469 | 402 | 475 | 407 | +19 | +16 |
| 4700 | 456 | 408 | 475 | 425 | 484 | 433 | +28 | +25 |
| 4900 | 457 | 426 | 480 | 448 | 489 | 456 | +32 | +30 |
| 5100 | 460 | 447 | 480 | 466 | 491 | 477 | +31 | +30 |
| 5300 | 456 | 460 | 478 | 482 | 490 | 495 | +34 | +35 |
| 5500 | 448 | 470 | 471 | 493 | 484 | 507 | +36 | +35 |
| 5700 | 438 | 476 | 461 | 500 | 477 | 518 | +39 | +42 |
| 5900 | 427 | 479 | 450 | 505 | 470 | 528 | +43 | +49 |
| 6100 | 416 | 483 | 440 | 511 | 462 | 536 | +46 | +53 |
| 6300 | 404 | 485 | 430 | 516 | 452 | 542 | +48 | +57 |
| 6500 | 387 | 479 | 415 | 514 | 443 | 548 | +55 | +68 |
| 6700 | --- | 428 | 546 | --- | --- | --- | --- --- |
| Peak | 460 | 485 | 480 | 516 | 491 | 548 | | |
| Avg. | 431.3 | 378.9 | 436.4 | 387.7 | 414.7 | 369.7 |
Note: The Difference column compares Test 1 with Test 3.
| Cam Spec Chart |
| Cam | | Duration | Duration | Lift | |
| | (Adv.) | (@0.050) | | Separation | Lobe |
| Comp XR-280, roller | Intake | 280 | 242 | 0.609 | 110 |
| PN 12-771-8 | Exhaust | 286 | 248 | 0.616 | |
| Comp XR-292, roller | Intake | 292 | 254 | 0.622 | 110 |
| PN 12-773-8 | Exhaust | 297 | 260 | 0.628 | |
Both gross cam valve lifts are calculated using a 1.6:1 rocker ratio. Note that actual (net) valve lift equals gross lift minus lash. Lash was set at 0.016-inch intake and 0.018-inch exhaust for both cams.
| Parts List |
| DESCRIPTION | PN | SOURCE | PRICE |
| Comp Cams XR-280 roller cam | 12-771-8 | Summit Racing | $255.95 |
| Comp XR-280 mech. roller cam | 12-773-8 | Summit Racing | 255.95 |
| Dart 215 Pro 1 Platinum heads, pr. | 11611123P | Summit Racing | 1,439.90 |
| Dart 27 CNC heads, pr. | 11971143 | Summit Racing | 2,551.90 |
| Dart 27 CNC heads, pr. | 11971143 | Summit Racing | 2,551.90 |
| Cylinder Head Flow Testing |
| Dart 215 | Pro 1 Platinum | Dart 227 CNC |
| Lift | Intake | Exhaust | Intake | Exhaust |
| | | (w/ pipe) | | (w/ pipe) |
| 0.100 | 63 | 59 | 65 | 53 |
| 0.200 | 124 | 101 | 145 | 110 |
| 0.300 | 171 | 136 | 197 | 148 |
| 0.400 | 214 | 160 | 242 | 178 |
| 0.500 | 247 | 177 | 272 | 196 |
| 0.600 | 272 | 188 | 283 | 208 |
| 0.700 | -- | -- | 287 | 215 |
-

The two-piece Weiand tunnel-ram is assembled using four supplied Allen bolts inside the ma
-

Cam And Head Test
-

Dart also completely CNC-machines the combustion chambers, which is worth some airflow imp
-

After baselining the Comp 280 Street Roller cam and Dart 215 package with the 750 Street H
-

Dart offers the CNC 227 in both bare and assembled configurations. We went with the comple
-

We flow-tested both the Dart 215 and the 227 CNC-ported heads so we could evaluate the flo
Enjoyed this Post? Subscribe to our RSS Feed, or use your favorite social media to recommend us to friends and colleagues!