My 396 stroker has a reasonably streetable (I think) roller cam with 230/236 duration, 112 lsa, .520/.530 lift. I'm using 1.6:1 rockers so those numbers are slightly higher. At light engine loads the motor bucks to the point of being a drivability problem on the street - especially since it is a six speed. If I give it just a little gas or there is engine braking occurring the bucks stop. It revs fine, and the bucking seems more related to light engine load than rpm. If it is bucking at 1200 to say 1800 rpm all I have to do is touch the gas a bit and it stops. (This seems to be a common rpm when cruising on side streets)

My pcm was reprogrammed by Bryan Herter. It runs rich in the idle circuit 16, with split blms. I have triple checked everthing over the past year but can find no leaks, misfires or sticking valves. So is this just the nature of the cam? Are false lean at idle and surging under light load just something I must expect with a cam like this?

 

Well, I guess I'm not the only one in the dark about this subject since there have been no replies.
For everyone's general information, I called the tech line at Comp Cams after posting the thread to ask them the same question. They told me that the cam I have is very streetable and should not be giving me any cam surge trouble! The tech guy told me about a friend who has the 306 cam in his 383, which is more aggressive than mine, and he was able get it to be totally drivable.
He did mention that his friend's mail order tune was not up to the task though, and he needed to have it re-tuned on a dyno in order to get it right. I will try sending a DataMaster log file to Bryan Herter and hope he can do something for me. Dyno tuners adept with factory pcms are unknown to me in the Northeast region (Boston).
So there ya go. We should expect to have a streetable, stout motor with the cam I spec'ed above. If anyone has a similar set-up as my motor with a bin file that works I would be greatful to receive a copy!

 

I have a cam with the same duration and ls numbers, but higher lift in my 383. I am also using the AS&M Monoblade with a factory intake. Bryan made my initial tune, and it has been very streetable. It will sit and idle around 800 rpm at a stop and then respond instantly. I have a small amount of surge in 4th at 45 to 55 mph (1700 to 1800 rpm), but it is very liveable. Perhaps an auto with 2800 stall helps absorb some of the surging, but I think you should be able to get it to run decent. I love the way this thing idles. I also do not have the split blms many have.

Try playing with the timing in that range to see if it helps.