Turbo camshaft advice

[Guest alex12582]

I have an 83 280zx turbo engine. It was bored to almost 3.0 liter,ported head, upgrated turbo, exhaust, intake, intercooler,..... and 300zx ECU setup. I'm now running 11 psi boost and pushing 190 hp. How much HP would I approximately get with high performance camshafts? Is it even worth doing this on a street driven car? Also, which would you recommend out of the two below?

Thanks, I appreciate it.

http://www.zcarparts.com/store/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=10-0921&Category_Code=PEM01

http://www.zcarparts.com/store/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=10-0922&Category_Code=PEM01

[Phyte]

I have no real experience, but from everything I've seen online about this the stock cam is the best cam you can have for a below 400hp L28et. I've heard countless times not to waste money on head porting and cam if your goal is below 400hp. I'm sure someone else can chime in on this.

 

Phyte

[fl327]

Leave the cam alone and get a small hybrid turbo, youll be happy you did.

[turbobluestreak]

I was told by the guys at rebello that the factory a spec cam found in the 240z's and in some early 280zx's with n47's on a stockish set up will be "b!t(h!n" Now go figure if any of you have seen the specs between the factory 81 b spec vs the a spec vs the 82-83 turbo I belive J spec some one corret me if I'm wrong. But the A and B are almost identical which makes the A spec work, thank god I had a n47 zx to donate me a A spec.

 

 

 

tbs

[MrWOT]

How much power would you get? Well, that's entirely up to you and how drivable you like your car. Also, keep in mind turbo cams are entirely different from NA cams, you will want a minimal amount of overlap even at fairly high rpm. I agree with the above though, a cam is not something you need to worry about until you have tuned the rest of the motor, If you are pushing 3 liters with 11psi you should be making much more then 190hp, somethings fishy, especially with ported head, IC and intake/exhaust. Also, you have to keep in mind what you want your boost threshold to be (not to be called 'lag', lag is different) the size of the turbine housing will also play a direct role on what cam profile you select. Is the car going to be a daily driver? Rev range? Write down what you're looking for out of your car (and how much gas you can afford higher overlap eats ALOT of gas) then decide

[Z-Gad]

Definately do a turbo change before the cam change. You will gain TONS more with that mod.

[Guest 1SickZ]

**THread Hijack**

 

I'm in desperate search for a turbo cam for my car.

 

Basically looking for a little more power.. and to get rid of that heat out of the cylinder..

 

im making a good amount of power (over400hp) in my vg30.

 

im also running a .63 turbine housing and not sure how much more it will flow. and im not wanting to change the housing.

 

my max torque is right now @ 3700rpm. i relly dont want o get into the 4000rpm range with a new cam like to stay right at 4000 or under ... while increasing power and flow.

 

Stock specs and some aftermarket specs can be found here http://z31.com/cams.shtml

 

and

 

Stage 1 MSA Lift(In/Ex): .420/.420. Duration(In/Ex): 260/260.

 

Stage 2 MSA Lift(In/Ex): .427/.427. Duration(In/Ex): 270/270.

 

And JWT specs

 

S1 .440"/260 DEG

 

S2 .473"/266 DEG

 

 

i have no clue whats a good cam for my use. i don't give 2 shits about gas milage. if it reads empty you still have to fill it whether it gets good gas or not.

 

im also using stock manifolds so i know my flow is limited there as well as with the turbo..

 

 

Help me please.

[Lockjaw]

A cam change is not a bad idea. The stock NA cams don't run as well as the stock turbo cams, from my experience. There are 3 stock turbo grinds, J which is 81 -82 turbo manual, B which is 81-82 turbo auto, and M which is 83 turbo manual or auto and including hydraulic. I have personally never seen a J, they seem to be sort of rare I guess, but have run a B and an M, and I like the B grind.

 

My B pulls pretty strong up to about 6000 or so. I switched to a mild crower, 218 degree's duration @ .050 and .428 lift on 110 LCA, and it will bump the limiter pretty hard in the first couple of gears, although JWT has made that a fairly graceful affair. I haven't dyno'd the car though, so I don't really know what the differences are, although I can say I haven't noticed a loss in bottom end or response, and there is more in the midrange and upper RPMS.

 

If you don't have one already a 3 inch mandrel exhaust is your best bang for the buck mod.

 

As for your hybrid depending on what compressor wheel you have, it may need more boost to really perform. I know my turbo that had the H3 compressor wheel did not really start making me happy until the boost was up around 14 or so psi. The 60 trim I have now is much better at lower settings, and really comes alive when its up around 16 or so. Since you did not specify what your specs were, I don't know what else to tell you there.

 

Several manufacturers make cams, just depends what you want to spend. You can get one like mine from Comp cams, their 260H, Web cams has a nice turbo one that James is running, some of the guys are running Isky's, I think it all boils down to personal taste. You can also spend some money and get one from JWT (its supposed to be something) or Sunbelt, probably the same technology as JWT. Some of the guys running the new sunbelt cams have been raving about them.

 

Personally I like my cam, its bigger then stock, just enough to make the car sound healthy, but unless you are a Z car guy, you probably wouldn't notice. It idles nicely at 750 with just a slight lope, although I doubt it added a lot of extra power. I suspect maybe 10 to 15. Be interesting to see the dyno when I get it all back together.

 

Good luck.