CAM HELP PLAESE!

[ap72]

I'm looking for a mild cam that can work with stock lashcaps and valve springs, I'm just wanting a nice step up, basically the largest cam I can run with a stock valvetrain. Does anyone know of a cam that will work for this?

[Xnke]

Any cam upgrade will require setting up the lash pads. If you skip this step, expect to destroy the cam. Some cams will work with stock .120" thick pads, but any that do aren't generally going to be worth the time and money.

 

You can get cam kits from MSA with appropriate lash pads and springs; but you STILL have to go through and check all the lash patterns to make sure you're not going to destroy the cam. You will ALSO need new or reground rocker arms, or you're going to run the risk of destroying the cam. Some folks don't bother with new/reground rockers and get lucky; some don't bother and wipe cam lobes.

 

Delta Camshaft will regrind your rockers for a reasonable cost.

[ap72]

Is their any place where I can get an affordable set of lash pads? $150 for a set just throws them out of my budget. I was planning on a regrind and lash pads, but it appeared a new cam was cheaper. in regards to the wipe pattern and settign lash I can handle that, I've done some work with Ford 2300 engines, which use a simmilar setup.

[Xnke]

Ok, you don't seem to see the whole cost here...

 

ANY REGROUND CAM WILL REQUIRE DIFFERENT LASH PADS. NO EXCEPTIONS! There are some cams ground on new cores that have stock-sized base circles, and these can sometimes run the stock .120" thick lash pads. Reground cams have smaller base circles and thus must have thicker lash pads to maintain proper cam geometry.

 

Lash pads are 3$ each last I bought some. Not 150$ a set. Courtesy Nissan in Texas.

Rocker arms are between 15$ and 30$ each new, or 3$-5$ each reground. Delta Camshaft, Tacoma Washington.

A reground cam on your Nissan Japan core is about 100$. Delta Camshaft, Tacoma Washington.

 

These are not the only suppliers of these parts. There are others out there.

 

So, total high-side cost using these numbers is 36$+60$+100$, that's 196$ for the cam/rockers/lash pads, not counting shipping. This is what I paid last winter to do the cam in my car.

 

In order to choose a cam, you need to look at the rest of the engine as a whole. Are you running factory EFI on a 1975-1983 engine? If you are, forget the cam. It will only cause you problems. The factory computer will not play nice with a non-factory cam.

 

Are you running SU sidedrafts? If so, you can pretty easily run a larger camshaft; but you need to look at your RPM range, are you dailying this car or is it track-only, what kind of compression ratio you're running, what kind of gas you're running, what elevation you live at and where you plan to drive at.

 

There is a lot more to choosing a camshaft then simply saying "What's the biggest cam that will work without changing anything else?"

 

BTW...the answer to that question is "The stock cam."

[zigzag240]

Check out the Webcamshafts 94a. Ground on a new billet it has stock base circles and uses stock lash pads and springs.I've been running one for 6 years with no issues.

[ap72]

Ok, you don't seem to see the whole cost here...

 

ANY REGROUND CAM WILL REQUIRE DIFFERENT LASH PADS. NO EXCEPTIONS! There are some cams ground on new cores that have stock-sized base circles, and these can sometimes run the stock .120" thick lash pads. Reground cams have smaller base circles and thus must have thicker lash pads to maintain proper cam geometry.

 

Lash pads are 3$ each last I bought some. Not 150$ a set. Courtesy Nissan in Texas.

Rocker arms are between 15$ and 30$ each new, or 3$-5$ each reground. Delta Camshaft, Tacoma Washington.

A reground cam on your Nissan Japan core is about 100$. Delta Camshaft, Tacoma Washington.

 

These are not the only suppliers of these parts. There are others out there.

 

So, total high-side cost using these numbers is 36$+60$+100$, that's 196$ for the cam/rockers/lash pads, not counting shipping. This is what I paid last winter to do the cam in my car.

 

In order to choose a cam, you need to look at the rest of the engine as a whole. Are you running factory EFI on a 1975-1983 engine? If you are, forget the cam. It will only cause you problems. The factory computer will not play nice with a non-factory cam.

 

Are you running SU sidedrafts? If so, you can pretty easily run a larger camshaft; but you need to look at your RPM range, are you dailying this car or is it track-only, what kind of compression ratio you're running, what kind of gas you're running, what elevation you live at and where you plan to drive at.

 

There is a lot more to choosing a camshaft then simply saying "What's the biggest cam that will work without changing anything else?"

 

BTW...the answer to that question is "The stock cam."

 

Modifying the factory computer to work is the easy part for me, well that and cam installation. The hard part is finding good reputable suppliers.

 

FWIW the car is a driver that will be used for friday nights and car shows, so I want something on the loud side, I will also be turboing it down the road (already accumulating parts for a mild 10psi build) so I am look at something in the 220-230 range, about .470" lift and a 108 or so LSA. It will also have a ported head with a valve job, ported stock intake, and upgraded injectors (LT1 takeoffs) I'm shooting for about 300whp on premium (93) pump gas.

 

AND a HUGE thanks for a supplier of lash pads, Its looking like a reground cam won't be as expensive as I thought, which is good since I'm also in the middle of some body work.- Nevermind, they no longer carry lash pads. I've found them for $60 a set from MSA though, still not bad.

Edited August 9, 2011 by ap72

[Xnke]

If you're shooting for 300HP, it is said that the factory "A" grind cam is usable for non-hydraulic heads.

 

And if you think you can hook up a laptop to the factory computer...that's not happening. The factory 75-83 computers are very simple beasts that aren't adjustable easily, you'll need to be extremely good ad soldering and very fluent in RC time constants to make it work well. The ported stock intake is going to be the real buzz-kill there, because it will start running out of air about 5500RPM...incidentally this is about the same time the stock turbo cam runs out of it's power band.