What cam would you use?

[84turbogn]

I'm gathering parts to put on the national. So far here's my list.
Fuel presure gauge,v2 intakemanifold and intercooler,valve seals and springs, Timing cover,chain and all gaskets. The rest of the car is stock, i will be doing a computer upgrade in the near future. heres the question, while i got this thing apart I'm thinking I should put a cam in it. Any suggestions would be great!

 

[mike85gn]

Hand port the heads and throw in a Speedpro 204/214.

 

[87GNcospg]

Any opions on a 206/206? seems like a mild upgrade.

 

[racemybuick]

I personally am going with the speed pro kit in my 84 t type. I have everything you see in the sig and then some, but no IC. I hear only good things about tunability and idle with this particular cam, so I am going to give it a try. As for the 206, I believe lunati makes one as well as comp, but i dont hear too much about them. Good luck!

John

 

[84turbogn]

Racemybuick, thanks for the reply,but do you think a cam is nesserary for getting into the low 12's with an IC? What are the negitives of putting a cam in? Can't it hurt performance if you go too extreme? If it isn't going to help my performance I dont want to waste, but if i'll eventually need to change it, I'd rather get it out of the way! Thanks guys!

 

[racemybuick]

As I understand it, a bump stick (cam) is one of the better mods to take you into the 12's and eventually 11's. The Lunati, and comp cam's are kind of mild compared to the other cams rom them like the comp cams 212/212, and such. A I hear it, the 204/214 has the best idle and drivability for the hot airs, but if you go for the IC, the 206 should be ok. Cam's only hurt performance when they are too big for your combo. Then again, if you dont upgrade the stock cam, you may not reach your goal. I would try to get the car together and run with the cam in it. If it gets you to where you wanna go, leave it be, you can always upgrade later...But if you leave it out now, and find it difficult to attain your goal, it is much harder to install a cam when the motor is in the car.

Good luck...Hope this helps!

John

 

[turbobooster]

ok say u have a stcok engine and ur goal is running 12's along wit all the other upgrade that have to be made what is a relaible cam?
to put in now to with stand 12's as u build it up ?

 

[racemybuick]

I believe summit has a few reviews for camshafts for the buick GN, and Federal Mogul also has a few review and choices. By december of this year, I plan on having the Speed Pro 204/214 split duration cam in my car. THis will be the first time for me, so I am only going on what many other people have told me that they have done. For a better responsse to that question, I would put this question out in the general tech forum. You will get a ton of opinions there and those are mainly people who have already done these mods!

John

 

[FJM568]

Are you completely rebuilding the motor or are you just bolting on the parts??? If you're just bolting on the parts and the stock cam is okay and not wiped, then leave it in...You can go deep into the 11s with the stock cam...These turbo motors don't need a cam like an N/A motor does...A bigger turbo and more boost is all you need...

Don't say I didn't warn you if you do decide to change the cam...If you don't break-in the new cam correctly, you will have bigger problems later...Also, make sure you get all traces of anti-freeze out of the oil pan from the timing chain change...Anti-freeze and bearings don't play well together...

 

[racemybuick]

FMJ, I understand that it takes about 1500 miles of break in? Is that correct? I also understand that as you slide the cam in, you oil each lobe with the cam lube? I know you lube it up good before you are putting it in, but do you also di it as you put it in? As per lifters, what is the best set for our cars? Rockers? I already have a double roller T.C., and I am in the process of picking up the cam from speed pro. Just looking for suggestions to compliment.

P.S., my motor is being torn down to freshen things up, so while I am at it, I might as well make sure I do it right the first time!!!
thanks a bunch!

John

 

[FJM568]

Generally, the cam break-in is in the first 20 mins or so...If it doesn't break-in properly, it will be wiped by 1500 miles...

Lube it up before you put it in...Easier that way...Use either assembly lube or oil on the bearing journals and the cam lube on the cam lobes...

After the motor is assembled and in the car, before you start it, pull the cam sensor and pre-oil the motor...Make sure the oil pump is packed with vaseline to prime it and spin the oil pump clockwise with a drill motor until you get oil pressure showing on your aftermarket gauge...If you don't have a guage, once you feel the drill motor bog down and really start to put a load on it, keep it running for at least a minute...You want to make sure that you get oil everywhere in the motor before you start it...Put the cam sensor back in and set it, and bolt everything back together and turn the key to the on position so that the fuel pump starts and runs for about 3 secs...Make sure the fuel pressure is close before you start the car...The motor should fire up and run...If you have to crank it over anymore than maybe four or five revs, then stop and figure out what is wrong...The motor should start up just like it would if you had just driven it and shut it off...If it don't start and you keep cranking and cranking and cranking, you will wipe out your cam and then you will have to tear the motor back apart and start all over again...That is why I suggested in the other post that if the stock cam is still good, to leave it alone and save your money...

 

[cool 84]

I'm a big fan of the 206-206. I only went with the 212 because I'm running a 4.1L. This cam will work fine in a stock motor and a pretty heavily modded one. There is no downside performance wise, no loss of low end power and mine was quiet. I've never lost a lobe on any cam. Just follow the break in.

My car passed smog cleaner than stock when I was running the 206 and there was no change in idle. In fact, my dad's car pulls 20" of vacuum at idle. Don't know if I would go bigger than a 212 if you have to smog your car.

The stocker will take you deep into the 11s. The bigger cam will make your goal easier to reach without sacrificing any drivability as long as you stay fairly small.

I've tried a lot of cams and the only one I didn't like was the 204-214. I ended up giving it away to a member of this board. Everyone else seems to like it. Maybe it has something to do with my car being intercooled.

 

[turbo6x2]

Originally posted by 87GNcospg
Any opions on a 206/206? seems like a mild upgrade.

Weber 206/206 is a nice cam depends on what you want to do. But this is a nice one for the hot air.

 

[Matto]

I popped in a 200/200 cam, but havent started it yet, so we will see.

Ive heard nothing but good things about this cam as well.

 

[mike85gn]

I just ordered up a Comp 206/206 from Cotton's based on glowing reports from cool 84 and others, seems to be a good choice and give headroom for 11.00's with an intercooler. Not too radical, either.

 

[Jerryl]

I am going to purhase a 212/212 cam.
What other mods (injector size, boost pressure, stall) are recomended for this cam?

The heads and intake are blue printed and stock turbo is installed.

 

[Chad Oliver]

I really like the Comp cam.

If your using a stock turbo ,IMHO, you'll want to keep the stall close to stock. 36lbs injectors and a custom chip burnt for the set up. The boost and fuel pressure are recommended by the person that does your chip (typically they send instructions with the chip).