2023 Milwaukee-8 114" camshaft testing

[Jamie Long]

Sharing the results from our latest series of camshaft testing for Milwaukee-8 114" engines. (Mods - if this needs to be moved to a different section please do so)


In this latest 2023 round of Harley Davidson Milwaukee 8 cam testing we installed and evaluated 10 of the latest, most popular bolt in M8 camshafts. The grinds tested are marketed as performance cams for 107″,114″, & 117″ engines.

Our test bike was a 2022 Harley-Davidson Road King equipped with 114″ engine and RDRS, the bike was equipped with a H-D Ventilator Stage 1 air cleaner with Fuel Moto BMF air cleaner element, stock throttle body with S&S 55mm intake manifold, Fuel Moto 5.5 fuel injectors, Jackpot RTX full length 2/1 exhaust system, and each cam was fully tuned with Dynojet Power Vision. The tests were performed over a four day period in our climate controlled dyno cell in no particular order. The following cams were included in this test:

Cycle Rama CR-480
Cycle Rama CR- 483
Star Racing 30/30
Fueling Parts 472
Ward Performance WP-475
Zippers Red Shift RS-472
S&S Cycle 475C
Wood Performance WM8-22XE
Wood Performance WM8-22XD
Wood Performance WM8-777XE
The chart below represents and overlay of each of the cams tested




S&S Cycle 475C

The S&S 475C may have been around for a while now, but it's still a solid performer. This cam has a really good mid range hit and pulls thru the upper RPM's really well. The huge amount of exhaust duration can be make the 475 a bit soft on the bottom and tuning can be a bit finicky (pick your exhaust wisely). A high point of the 475 cam is it's price which the lowest of each of the cams tested, a great value.





Zippers Red Shift 472

Zippers originally designed the RS-472 to complement the SE engine kits, however it lends itself very well as a stock bolt in. This cam delivers a great combination of torque and horsepower and it comes on nice and early. One aspect we really like on the Red Shift cam profiles is the attention they give to the open & closing ramps which really helps minimize valvetrain noise and wear.



Star Racing 30/30

Star Racing's 30/30 has become a very popular bolt in cam that offers great gains in horsepower & torque on both sides of the curve. Really nice all around camshaft and we especially like the smooth power curve it produces. This cam however is on the high side of the price spectrum with the highest retail price of the camshafts tested.



Ward Performance WP-475

The Ward WP-475 is the newest cam of the group and straight from Rick Ward's playbook; quick acceleration with an emphasis on horsepower. With a little RPM the WP-475 hits especially hard and really likes RPM, it showed the second highest horsepower of the group and is right up there with the torque. Great overall curve, may potentially be a little soft on the bottom with some exhausts.



Cycle Rama CR-480

The CR-480 is a well known performer with the M8 crowd. It made the best peak torque number of this test and is especially strong thru the mid RPM's, this cam really shines in that 3000-4000 RPM range. Where it sacrifices a slight bit of early torque and high RPM power compared to some others, it puts that power right in the middle making it a really fun cam.



Cycle Rama CR-483

The CR-483 tested very similar to the CR-480, it was slightly more rev happy otherwise was fairly identical. Really the same overall characteristics, this cam also shines thru the midrange and put up big torque.



Wood WM8-22XE

The WM8-22XE is one of the most popular M8 bolt in cams available, this cam not only made the earliest torque of the test but also the best average power throughout the curve. The XE did not make the highest peak numbers however it really puts the power down early but also stays in there late, its very responsive & really shines over the entire range.



Wood WM8-22XD

The WM8-22XD cam is essentially a hot rodded up version of the WM8-22XE cam which gives it a bit more attitude. It exchanges a little early torque from the XE in exchange for a bit of high RPM horsepower. The extra exhaust duration also gives it a more aggressive idle.

Wood WM8-777XE

The WM8-777XE is somewhat unique among this group as it was designed as max effort bolt in, this cam has significantly more intake duration than the others tested (as much as +32 degrees more). The 777XE made the most horsepower by a pretty wide margin, it also made the least amount of peak torque; the curve is also the flattest & smoothest of the test. Low RPM's are still surprisingly stronger than several of the others, this combo loves RPM's.



Fueling 472

The Fueling 472 is a cam grind that really falls right in the middle of in this test; and that's a good thing. It makes very good overall power on both sides of the curve and shares the power characteristics we like. The 472 has a really nice curve and its also a very easy cam to tune.



Additional information:

• Results will vary based on different conditions, difference components, different tuning, and different test procedures. What this means is if you have a different bike on a different day in different conditions with different parts the results will not be the same.
  
• Different components, different results. Different components can & will affect the results for each of the camshafts tested; sometimes greatly, sometimes hugely! For example the exhaust system can completely change the overall curve and characteristics of each of the camshafts in this test.
  
• When comparing dyno charts do not base your research on the single highest or best dyno chart you have found by searching the internet, rather base your info on an assortment of charts from known sources and use a common denominator. Its also important to understand many times the charts that are being shared are apples to oranges comparisons, some of them aren't even the same brand chassis dyno. Also be sure to reference the conditions on the dyno chart which represent the actual temp, pressure, & humidity the runs were performed in as well as the correction factor that's being applied. The primary and most popular correction standard is SAE, however some shops use STD correction which is several % higher than SAE. If you want to compare charts simply ask for the chart to be displayed as SAE if you want to compare to other SAE charts or vice versa.
  
• Read our article on the differences between dyno charts and tuning shops here>> https://university.fuelmotousa.com/article/the-differences-between-dyno-charts/
  

[Ohio HD]

Good info Jamie.   

[Will-Run]

Thank you Jamie.

[JSD]

Thank you Jamie 

[biggzed]

Thank you Jamie. It is not lost on us how much time/money it takes to do this testing. Really appreciate you guys for doing this.

Zach

[DTTJGlide]

I realize these tests were on a stock 114, I'm wondering how the Star 30/30 would work on a 107 to 114 Stg 3 @ 11.1 C.R. Trying to decide between a 30/30 or S&S 475 to replace the SE 498.