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Comp Cams Book Grinds- Hydraulic Roller Cams
Pontiac V8 Comp Cams Book Grinds- Hydraulic Roller Cams
Known Numbers — Comp Cams Book Grinds- Hydraulic Roller Cams for Pontiac V8s
These are the COMP Cams Xtreme Energy hydraulic roller catalog grinds for the Pontiac V8: XR264HR, XR276HR and XR288HR, all on a 110 lobe separation with published rpm ranges. Book grinds mean a known quantity, with specs you can look up and compare against anything else on the shelf.
Butler carries them as cams, as COMP cam and lifter kits, and as Butler master kits that swap in a choice of Morel or Johnson roller lifters and a spring package matched to your cylinder heads. COMP's own complete kits are stocked too, with one important caveat about spring installed height.
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1. The Three Grinds
All three are on 110 lobe separation. Lift is shown at both common rocker ratios because the difference is large enough to matter for clearance.
| XR264HR | 264/270 advertised, .487/.495 lift with 1.5:1 rockers or .535/.544 with 1.65:1, rpm range 1000 to 5000. The mildest of the three and the one that behaves most like a stock cam at idle. |
| XR276HR | 276/282 advertised, 224/230 at .050", .502/.510 lift with 1.5:1 or .552/.561 with 1.65:1, rpm range 1800 to 5600. The middle grind and the most common street pick. |
| XR288HR | 288/294 advertised, .520/.540 lift with 1.5:1 or .571/.594 with 1.65:1, rpm range 2200 to 6000. The largest, and the one that expects compression and converter to match. |
COMP describes the common usage for this family as mild street performance to mild race, with modern aggressive roller profiles, reduced friction, low maintenance, quieter valvetrain and more power than a conventional hydraulic flat tappet. The stated limitations are increased cost and a limited rpm range.
2. Which Version to Order
| Cam only | the camshaft by itself, for an engine that already has correct roller lifters and springs. |
| COMP cam and lifter kit | parts carrying a CL in the number include the camshaft, lifters, assembly lube, decals and instructions. One of these ships with COMP's upgraded 85701 lifters. |
| Butler cam and lifter kit | the same grind with a choice of Morel, COMP Evolution or Johnson 2112-OPR hydraulic roller lifters, the Johnsons made in America. |
| Butler master kit | cam plus your choice of Morel 5884R or Johnson 2112-OPR lifters, a Pontiac Pro Billet timing set with billet gears and a nine-keyway crank sprocket, valve springs matched to your head type, ten-degree chromoly retainers for 1.437" to 1.500" springs, locks, seals and a pushrod length checking tool. |
3. The Spring Installed Height Gotcha
This one catches people, and it is worth reading before you buy a complete kit.
| COMP's complete kit | the XR276HR and XR288HR complete kits for Pontiac 265-455 include cam, lifters, timing set, retainers, locks and seals. The 995 spring in those kits installs at 1.700". |
| What that means on a Pontiac head | it will only work if you install longer valves or mill the spring seat .100". Butler states this plainly on the product. It is not a defect, it is an installed-height mismatch, and it has to be planned for or avoided. |
| The way around it | the Butler master kit uses springs selected for Pontiac installed heights instead, with one set for cast iron D-port heads and a different set for cast iron Super Duty and Ram Air IV castings and Edelbrock heads. |
4. What Else a Retrofit Roller Needs
| Valley pan | a stock valley pan will not clear the tie bar on hydraulic roller lifters. An aftermarket or fabricated pan is part of the job. |
| Distributor gear | hydraulic and solid roller cams require a bronze or polymer distributor gear. |
| Pushrod length | check it with the new lifters in place. The Butler master kit includes the tool. |
If you are comparing these against Butler's own Hi-Torq billet grinds, the trade is between a published catalog profile with a known rpm range and a custom Comp grind that Butler keeps on the shelf and runs in its own engines. Both are good answers; they just start from different places.
Not sure what your Pontiac needs?
Call our tech team at 866-762-7527. Tell us your engine, heads, car, and power goal, and we will put the parts together as one combination that works.