240zip Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 First - Thanks for the help thus far. To recap - I have a 2.8L block with .5mm over flat top pistons and an E31 head with the stock cam. Given I want to achieve 160 RWHP with a set of 42DCOE-8 webers and a header / 2.5" exhaust, it's clear I need a hotter cam. My engine is not yet assembled. The short block is rebuilt and the E31 head was rebuilt with a stock cam. I'm looking at two cam grinds: .480 Lift, 280 duration (232 at .050) .460 Lift, 270 duration (230 at .050) CR is 10.3 to 1. I want max power around 5000 RPM 1. what grind do people recommend? 2. given my E31 is already rebuilt with better-than-stock springs, what else to I need to replace when swaping out the cam? 3. I have a used cam from an E88 and one new in the box from Federal Mogul. Which one should I use. I heard Nissan cams were forged and simply incredible whereas non-Nissan cams were not. Or should I just get a new cam (Isky sells them for about $170). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 If you go for a lift above .460 then the springs will coil bind, so if you're not wanting to completely redo the head then go with the smaller lift. However, if you just wanted to get the best cam for your triples, the bigger cam would be the right choice. There has been a lot of discussion recently about Schneider cams being soft. I haven't heard that about any other cam manufacturer. Regrinding a cam is a cheap and good option, and keeps the original Nissan metallurgy, which is supposed to be very good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
240zip Posted March 9, 2006 Author Share Posted March 9, 2006 I called Delta Cams, they have a 270 / .44 lift and a 280 / .45 lift re-grind for $55 + $3.75*12 to re-do the cam followers (rockers). MSA charges $60 for a set of 12 lash pads. So the price for the re-grind, 12 cam followers, and the lashpads comes to $160. Delta Cams stated the 280 grind is the most popular street set-up and that I should use the OEM cam from my E88 or the one currently in my E31. He stated aftermarket cams are not as durable. So ... it's down to 270 verses 280! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 Get the bigger one, and buy your lash pads from Nissan. $3 each from Nissan Motorsports or Courtesy Nissan, so that will save you $24. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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