Costs vs gain??

[pjo046]

How much will I gain by having a ported and polished P90 head with a high performance camshaft with new rockers, pads, etc but with stock valves, compared to a stock P90 head?

 

I am talking on a turbocharged engine, with, say 18-20 psi of boost, TEC3 engine management, T3/TO4B hybrid, large intercooler, 550cc injectors, 3" free flow exhaust etc. I know you can't give me any numbers, but an estimate perhaps?

 

The question is if it is worth it, costs versus gain? What do you guys think?

Or is this just a waste of money if I am not trying to get beyond 350-400hp?

[Cal Poly Zmanaustin]

On a turbocharged vehicle I don't think you would get much for your money by increasing the valve sizes. In your case you are porting the head and going with a more aggressive cam. If you tune it right you could get up to 60 more horses from that change IMO. Just a guess. A bigger TB might help take advantage of that too. I remember some readings on the P90 that if you increase the intake valves on a NA motor you could yield a 15% inprovement in flow without touching the exhaust valves. The exhaust side of the P90 breathes pretty good already, so a cam with the exhaust you currently have would reap a significant change. I think it would be worth it and you would be happy with the result. I had an L28et with T3 hybrid turbo, Spearco intercooler,Z31 ecu and 420cc injectors and I was getting about 340hp at 14lbs of boost. This was running a stock cam. I had plenty of power and thought about a more aggressive cam. All my resources at the time told me that would put me near 400hp. So with bigger injectors than what I had and running more boost you probably don't need it and could still get there. I am guessing with the change you could get there with less boost. Sounds like a cool project. Good luck.

 

Mark

[pjo046]

Yes, I already have a 60mm TB from a 240SX.

 

How does a SCHNEIDER 274F performance cam Part #17033, Valve Lift 480/480, Duration 274/274, with matching component Kit sound?

Would this be a good cam for my setup?

[pjo046]

And with all this, would you go with a 1mm HKS headgasket, or keep the compression as low as it is?

[Scottie-GNZ]

IMHO, you have all the right key components (hybrid turbo, Spearco and TEC3) to make 350-400hp w/o opening the engine. I think the stock cam is fine for that HP and even though the porting would help, I would spend the money elsewhere. I would invest it a WB02 and depending on how the car is to used, sticky tires. No point in having all those components on the engine and not have it properly tuned. No point in having 350-400hp and not be able to ut it to the ground.

 

Others will think differently but I believe in maximizing what you have before upgrading and 350hp is not the limit of your setup unless you are trying to do this on pump gas.

[JMortensen]

That cam seemed a little long on duration to me, so I looked it up. It is a N/A cam, NOT a turbo cam. You need a turbo cam. They have 3 turbo grinds listed:

http://www.schneidercams.com/cams/50.htm

 

FWIW if I had a L28ET I'd for sure put a cam in it. The engine is capable of a lot more than 5500 rpm, but the cam isn't. My N/A smacks against the 7000 rpm limiter with a cam and triples.

[pjo046]

Well, it's only that I have a chance to buy a P90 that is freshly rebuilt with that exact cam kit in it, and it is ported and polished, and decked. Comes with stock valves.

 

I would have to pay a total of 900$ for it. It has not been installed after the rebuild, so the cam kit is brand new. Is this cheap or what? Remember, those heads are hard to get at hold of here in Norway. And is that cam with those specs not any good at all for my engine? It's not better than the stock cam?

 

A new cam kit alone costs 400$, and the machining job here in Norway would cost 500$ easily, maybe more. And, if I buy it, I can take the P90 I have now of my engine and sell it for probably 300$ here in Norway. So then my total for the above mentioned P90 head would be 600$. What do you guys say? Take it or leave it?

[pjo046]

Scottie, what is a WB02?

I am planing on using pump gas yes. But here in Norway, we have 98 octane at the pumps. 8) Hehe.

 

Well, I will be using 17x7 rims with 225/45 tires, I have a 3.54:1 R200 with C/V's and Ross' adapters, I have a freshly rebuilt T5 tranny, Fidanza aluminium 12lbs flywheel and a SPEC Stage 2 clutch. I have Ross' coilovers, and Illumina inserts, I have Toyota 4x4 front brakes, Green stuff performance brake shoes in the rear and stainless steel lines all around. Have strut bars front and rear, urethane bushings all around, blitz supersound BOV... Hmm. Might be forgetting something, but think I have covered everything now.

 

What else do you recommend using the money on instead if overall performance is my goal? Mind you, it's for the streets, not track or drag.

[Guest JAMIE T]

WB02= Wide Band Oxygen sensor. That would be my guess.

[Thumper]

You are going to need bigger tires. I would not put a n/a cam on a turbo motor to much valve overlap, especially a high boost turbo motor. If you want 350hp don't spend the money, but if you want 400hp without pushing the boost limit too much, then I would invest in a cam and valve job at least.

[Guest Magic]

I converted my N/A to turbo, used a P90 and am still using the original NA cam. Its probably not optimal for peak power, but my setup does provide a very broad and smooth transition of power as the revs rise. The tuner was very impressed with the driveabilty, said it was very nice no need to change the cam if you are using it on the road. Track or performance would be different.

 

I run 14psi through a T3/T4 with internal wastegate and aftermarket engine management. On a hot 30deg day, it put out 180 rwkw which probably isnt that good but is adequate. Came at 5,500rpm.

 

I am thinking about a dedicated turbo cam - there might be some serious gains to be had,just the $$$.

 

But you can use the NA cam on a turbo and have fun too, I dont start to hear the turbo til about 2,500rpm and before this it just sounds like a N/A L28. great if you like to appear as a sleeper.