Well since I didnt get any response to my post I went ahead and tried this out on my own and I figured I would share my experience.

Lets begin with the original specs for the 232/216 cam set up for my 99 Altima:

’98–’99 Altima
intake cam = 232 deg duration with a 1.6734”-1.6809” lobe height
(intake opens 1 deg after TDC & closes 53 deg after BDC)
exhaust cam = 216 deg duration with a 1.6104”-1.6179” lobe height
(exhaust opens 32 deg before BDC & closes 4 deg after TDC)


I ended up using a 95 altima Exhaust cam for my intake. Here are the specs

’93-’95 Altima
exhaust cam = 248 deg duration with a 1.6699”-1.6931” lobe height
(exhaust opens 60 deg before BDC & closes 8 deg after TDC)

And I used a 01 altima Exhaust cam for my exhaust. Here are the specs:

’00-’01 Altima
exhaust cam = 240 deg duration with a 1.6551”-1.6626” lobe height
(exhaust opens 53 deg before BDC & closes 7 deg after TDC)


The install itself was fairly easy so I will briefly go through it:

-Disconnect neg batt cable
-remove valve cover (get everything out of the way, plug wires, throttle cable)
-remove distributor
-I removed spark plugs to make manual engine turns a bit easier
-Set engine at TDC on compression stroke by manually turning it ( intake and exhaust cams first lobes facing away from each other, and timing marker pointing at the SECOND notch from left on the crankshaft pulley)
-spray some carb cleaner on your respective cam sprocket timing marks and chain to clean off any oil and paint mark your new timing marks on chain links (exh and int)
- I did not remove upper timing chain cover, I placed a bungee cord from the hood to the timing chain to keep tension and not loose timing placement.
-Loosen cam sprockets (you may need to pop the power steering reservoir from its hook to get your socket and ratchet on the intake cam bolt)
-Remove cam sprockets and make sure the bungee cord is keeping the chain tight
-Remove cam caps and camshafts
-Clean off any sludge/dirt that maybe be present while cams are out and there is room
-Clean off and re-lube cam bearings with assembly lube
-Now Install your new 240 exhaust cam exactly as your previous cam was installed...there is no change. lube the top of cam journals and Tighten down the bearing caps, middle one first then work your way out.. in sequence to about 11 ft/lb
-Place the exhaust cam sprocket on the timing chain matching timing marks and then work your way into installing the sprocket on the camshaft and lightly tighten the sprocket bolt. (Make sure your are keeping the chain tight with the bungee cord)
-NOW for the intake cam there are 2 things that need to be done prior to installing it:
1. Cut off about 3/8inch from the end of the camshaft (the old distributor drive end) in order for the cam to clear the rear oil seal
2. Punch the oil plug further in past the last cam bearing oil squirter to keep oil from spraying all over the valve cover. Since from 98 and up they cancelled the 6th cam bearing and we are using a cam from a 95 altima. You can use a deep socket and a small hammer.
-TO INSTALL THE CAM, you MUST TURN THE CAM 8 TEETH COUNTER CLOCKWISE from the timing marks you painted. NOT 4 Teeth but EIGHT. There is a lot of posts online telling you to turn your intake cam 4 teeth counter clockwise if you are installing a Double row intake cam sprocket into a single row intake cam sprocket because in the single row intake cam sprocket motors, the sprocket NOTCH was moved 4 teeth clockwise to match the same 12o'clock position as the EXHAUST CAM when at TDC, and this is true. BUT ONLY IF YOU ARE INSTALLING A INTAKE DOUBLE ROW SPROCKET CAM INTO A SINGLE INTAKE DOUBLE ROW SPROCKET CAM. It does NOT apply to installing an EXHAUST cam (which we are using) as an INTAKE cam. SO AGAIN, AND AGAIN CLOCKWISE 8 TEETH, NOT 4. Very important. you dont want to bend any valves while trying to turn the motor.
-Follow the same steps to install the intake caps and sprocket.
-Turn the engine a few times to make sure everything is turning freely. If you feel ANY resistance at all (that is, if you took your spark plugs out) then do not force anything and start over.
-Tighten down cam sprocket bolts to about 125-130ft/lbs
-Set engine back at TDC and install distributor, take off distributor cap if you suspect the rotor moved and make sure the rotor is facing the #1 cylinder (straight down)
-Put everything back together and Start her UP!!

I have my ignition timing set at 20deg advance (stock) and I went for a ride and I was more than pleased!! Very noticeable power from 3.5k rpm to 6rpms which is as far as i pushed it for now...it felt like a completely different car...very quick! I was on an empty tank and went to the pump to fill her up and i USED PREMIUM gas then came Home and changed the IGNITION ADVANCE To 23deg and i noticed even more of a difference. More top end power. But this is recommend only when using premium gas to avoid knocking...if you use regular then ECM will dial back your advance from a knock sensor signal and you will actually loose power. Needless to say, I changed it back to 20deg advance cause I wont be pumping premium fuel all the time....gas is going back up again!! hahahahah

All this costs me $45 at the junk yard and a couple hours of labor.....let the fun begin....cant wait to throw the OBX 4-2-1 and custom cat back and a custom CAI in there to see what she does....this is going to be a fun build...not bad for the free broken down car!!

Hope this helps someone!!

Now I have a question,

If I make an adjustable cam sprocket for my intake cam and/or exh cam.....could I somehow squeeze more power out of this combo?

I noticed the overlap is longer now with the set up i have....it was 3deg before, now I have 6deg....how does this affect performance?

Thanks!

Wow man, that is very, very impressive!!
Your hack with the bungee cord to the hood with the timing chain is really smart. Have you got a photo of that?

I don't know a lot about the overlap except that it may cause you to lose some of the ability to idle smoothly and a little deficit of low end power. The trade off is might better high end power- which you're obviously feeling the benefits of. If you're idling well at 6 deg and aren't feeling sluggish down low, I'd leave it be.

Would you say your power band shifted noticeably?

Great write-up and welcome to Nico!

frapjap wrote:Wow man, that is very, very impressive!!
Your hack with the bungee cord to the hood with the timing chain is really smart. Have you got a photo of that?

I don't know a lot about the overlap except that it may cause you to lose some of the ability to idle smoothly and a little deficit of low end power. The trade off is might better high end power- which you're obviously feeling the benefits of. If you're idling well at 6 deg and aren't feeling sluggish down low, I'd leave it be.

Thanks man! Unfortunately I got so into the task at hand that i forgot to take any pictures, that will change from now on as I know pictures are worth a thousand words for some. But I just used a medium bungee cord and attached one end hook to one of the "holes" in the engine side of hood (similar to where the hood stand stick goes into) and the other end hook to the chain to keep it nice and snug....Ive done this a few times and it works great. Some people use zip ties but a bungee cords is obviously a lot easier to work around since you can easily hook and unhook it.

And yes shes idling very smooth at around 700rpm and I did not notice a "loss" in bottom end...but Im wondering what combination of cam degreeing/ignition timing would work best maybe to add a little low end balls?

WDRacing wrote:Would you say your power band shifted noticeably?
3500
Great write-up and welcome to Nico!

Thanks man! I didnt notice a loss in the low end just a very noticeable gain at around 3500rmps and up...i havent pushed it past 5600rpms or so just yet...i need to change the idler and the water pump which is making a whiny noise so i didnt wanna blow that just yet lol.