ALL CROWER CAM OWNERS MUST READ!!!!!!

[Chris@AMS]

The Crower camshafts are designed to work with both the FWD and RWD KA24DE. FWD cars drive the dizzy off the back of the camshaft. RWD cars do not. You MUST remove the dizzy drive from the camshaft if your installing your cams in a RWD car.

Use a hacksaw and cut the drive off the camshaft. Be cautious of the bearing surface next to the drive. You must not nick or mar this surface in any way.

As usual, you can contact us at the shop during normal business hours if you have any questions.

Thank you for your purchase.

[Florida240sx]

So therefore I need to cut mine correct Chris?? Is this on one or both cams?? BTW what kind of shipping did you use?Regular 3day ground??

[KATwo40]

Are you kidding me??? You mean to tell me that when you spend hard earned money on new cams, you have to get out the dang hacksaw to make them work???

What a freakin' rip. Imagine tryin' to get some warranty work on that deal.

(Customer): "Uh...I sawed off the end of the shaft, then the front of the shaft broke"

(Customer Service): "Well, you sawed off the cam! We can't warranty that!"

Nice.

[Nismo_Freak]

Chris, it would be best to secure a release from Crower about the issue so that warranties are upheld as mentioned before.

[Poor_S13_Driver]

I agree with KAT. However im glad some steps are being made in aftermarket cams, and hopefully in the future we will not have to "hack" some metal of of them but none-the-less progress is better than no progress, and everyday i check the forums to see if new S Chasis AMS products are becoming avaliable.

[fiznat]

Yeah thats pretty lame if you ask me. At the LEAST I'd suggest that AMS cuts the cams themselves and sells them ready-made for RWD applications. Seems pretty weak to have to spend that kinda money on brand new cams, and then take a hack saw to them right next to the bearing. Very poor.

This information should have been available to people BEFORE purchasing. This is a hell of a thing to find out after already spending the money on these things.

[scarboroughdub]

yeah i would agree that the seller should take car of this issue, a hack saw is pretty brute and may not leave the bearing surface completely smooth, you may need to use sand paper afterwards to clean the edges of the cut point.

[Florida240sx]

Just spent $420 on cams that I have to cut I got sold on the product because it was a direct fitment nothing needed. If I would of known I needed to start doing things I just would of went with the V3's. But I got the V2's because no need for modification........Things happen but still a little upset.......

[KATwo40]

This is what happens when everyone gets hung up on a name. Everyone sees "Crower" and "AMS" in the same conversation and automatically thinks "WHOA! Must be t3h AW3SOME-EST product EVAR!!!" When actually, it's a pretty nice set of cam lobes, lobbed onto a fit-all shaft, then stamped with a name, coupled with a well-known distributor and sold like hotcakes.

This is NOT the way you retain full customer trust. From now on, people such as Florida240sx will think twice and thrice before purchasing a Crower part, and before purchasing from AMS. That's too bad.

[scarboroughdub]

in all fareness to chris and ivan, im pretty sure this was not intentional. i know u guys may be upset, but the bottom line is the price is still good and they are suppllying a product that is rarely availabe.

im sure the next batch or from this point forward things will be resolved so i say we start a how to on this and get by it.

[Titan]

Hack saw?

You must be joking. Why not chew it off?

For anyone who purchased these cams, please take them to a qualified machinist. Where they can be chucked up in a lathe and turned down properly.

Then charge the labour cost back to whomever informed you the cams were drop in.

Now I say "whomever" because I do not know the full story on who sold them to whom.

But if AMS sold these claiming them as "drop-in", I would highly recommend they do what is professional and pay to ship them back to their own shop. Where they can be turned down and sent back.

[KADreams]

I would not suggest using a hacksaw so close to a micropolished bearing surface. Take the cam to a good machinist to have it modified.

[MarkEmark]

Wow, that is just plain ridiculous...that's analogous to buying a set of performance valve springs from Ferrea and then having some guy named Bob call and leave a message on your answering machine telling you to cut one coil off of each spring; a jigsaw ought to do the trick.

When I got my cams from PDM Racing in February of 2003, they were the only KA cams available; but they were ground from my existing cams, after knowing all of the thicknesses of my shims/current valve lash so as to require no new re-shimming; it was sort of a hassle, but nothing beats the quality of a true custom grind by a reputable cam company (Colt Cams).

BTW, what is everyone doing about shims if these are billet-ground cams (e.g., all have the exact same lobe profile)?!?! Better check your valve lash carefully after installing them...

[HolyShiznit]

I have trusted Ivan ever since he appeared on the scene, I built my motor around his advice. Please don't attack AMS/Chris/Ivan with this. It's not there fault Crower sucks. The first run of the V2's and the V3's were designed for RWD only. Crower spent almost a year fumbling around like idiots trying to get "blanks". I could guaruntee that they didn't mention the fact that they made the RWD cams out of FWD blanks to AMS.

It's bull**** to jump all over AMS and them for something that they probably honestly didn't know about. Knowing there track record this will be sorted out, but if your gonna be mad at someone be mad at Crower as they have now tarnished AMS's rep.

[Jookmasta]

yes, i think it would be fair to give them a call and see if they can do the "modification" to the cams before they ship it to you. by far i know that a hacksaw is not the most accurate tool in the world and it would be a shame for a 400 set of cams to go down the drain due to some lack of skill with a hacksaw................

[KATwo40]

I have trusted Ivan ever since he appeared on the scene, I built my motor around his advice. Please don't attack AMS/Chris/Ivan with this. It's not there fault Crower sucks. The first run of the V2's and the V3's were designed for RWD only. Crower spent almost a year fumbling around like idiots trying to get "blanks". I could guaruntee that they didn't mention the fact that they made the RWD cams out of FWD blanks to AMS.

It's bull**** to jump all over AMS and them for something that they probably honestly didn't know about. Knowing there track record this will be sorted out, but if your gonna be mad at someone be mad at Crower as they have now tarnished AMS's rep.

How many times have you seen a recall posted on an internet forum, along with directions on how to fix it yourself? NONE. Perhaps AMS would post something along the lines of "...Do not install, we'll contact you ASAP and arrange for shipping the item back to us for the modification..."

[fiznat]

It's bull**** to jump all over AMS and them for something that they probably honestly didn't know about. Knowing there track record this will be sorted out, but if your gonna be mad at someone be mad at Crower as they have now tarnished AMS's rep.

Youre right, AMS most likely didnt know about the cams needing this modification. They know about it now though, and they need to do something to make it right. Whether they offer a refund for everyone, or take the cams back so that they can be machined properly, AMS needs to do much better than simply suggesting that people take a hack saw to the cams.

I sent an email to Ivan asking what the plan is for this-- let's wait and see what AMS decides to do before everyone gets all crazy. AMS is a reputable company and Ivan has a fairly long history with us. We owe them at least a little bit of time to come back with a better suggestion for fixing this mistake.

[9sec240]

I am very sorry for not mentioning this mod earlier... I had compleatly spaced this off till sombody asked if there was dizzy drive for the FWD guys.... Its been over a year since I have installed a Crower KA cam and had to mod it...

This modification is truely easy to do. A hacksaw cuts thru the dizzy drive dogs very quickly. You can wrap the cam in a couple of rags and hold it gently in a vice and cut thru it in about two minuets. If you prefer, you can use a cutoff wheel or a grinder to remove the dogs...

If your uncomfortable removing them and we have shipped you the cams, you can send them back to us and we will modify them free of charge for you. If you are ordering the cams and want the dogs removed, please let us know and we will do it for you.

Again, I am sorry for not remembering earlier.

[halnfl]

man ya'll are acting like u have to repin the cams and some crazy ****. Its an AFTERMARKET part, its not AMS fault that Crower didn't have seperate blanks for the RWD guys. It's not like u haven't had to modify other things to make them work. If the gain from the cams is worth it to u and u have some skill obviously(or u wouldn't be turbo'd) than stop complaining and cut the thing. Just wrap tape around that journal and use a cut off wheel. Or just do it the super JDM pimp tite way and cut a hole in ur valve cover(recommended method).

[Chris@AMS]

I've taken a couple pictures to illustrate the small amount of material that really needs to be removed.

Here you can see the length of the dizzy adapter with the slots in it.

Here you can see the available space for the cam in the head of a rear wheel drive car.

As you can see, you really don't need to chop off the whole section in the back of the cam. There is about 1/8" that needs to be removed so that the cam does not interfere with the seal for the valve cover. As Ivan said earlier, if you are not comfortable with this please send the cams back and we will make the necessary adjustments for you. We apologize for the inconvenience and are sorry that this was not made clear BEFORE the sale of the cams.

As always, do not hesitate to give us a call if you have any questions. (847) 709 0530

ThanksChris

[Florida240sx]

What method did you use to remove the 1/8th''Could I just take the cams and put them against a bench grinder and shave them off. Or is cutting wheel the best bet? What is the least room for error? I've had a bad track record of hacksaws slipping off and cutting me......

[s14det]

I just put my V2's in and I used a dremel to cut about half of it off and then used a bench grinder to finish it off. It took about 10 min or less. I used electrical tape and wrapped that sucker up. The metal is not super hard and cutting it with a dremel (black wheel) it went right threw it. Then on the grinder, if you just put a little pressure it grinds it right off. Just take your time on the grinder and it will come out just fine.

[klattr1]

yea what scares me is that some people cant grind off 1/8" metal off the end of a cam but yet they are doing a cam swap (timing everything properly, checking valve clearances, etc) lol

[Florida240sx]

So it's not that tough then....Grinder it is.

[fiznat]

Only question I have left is does performing this modification to the cams void the warranty from either Crower or AMS?

[scarboroughdub]

what about balancing

[KATwo40]

what about balancing

BINGO!!!

This along with Fiznat's question about warranty are the two major concerns.

C'mon guys, don't get me wrong here. I'm not saying that AMS is a bad company or anything. I'm just saying that maybe a product should be backed a little better, especially when you find a problem like this.

I own multiple businesses and would NEVER advise a customer to fix a mistake that either I made or my supplier made. When problems occur, I step up, fix the problem, then take it up with the supplier, if that is the case. This way, my customers have ZERO concerns with warranty and product integrity.

[9sec240]

Nismo_Freak, Fiznat. Warrantee is not affected by the mod. I talked to Crower and asked them about the drive dogs and they said to cut them off..

scarboroughdub. There is no need to balance the cam.

KATwo40. Did AMS or I do something to upset you? It seems that you have a beef with either Crower or AMS or me and I am not sure why. I apologized for not remembering about the needed mod sooner. If I had, I would have notified everybody prior to purchasing the cams about this and gave them the choice of doing it them selves or having us do it at the shop. I let everybody know PRIOR to them even recieving the cams that this is an issue for RWD cars... I have posted in EVERY forum what is needed to be done to fix this issue... I have stated that if they are uncomfortable with doing this mod, they can send the cams back and we will mod them free of charge. I am not sure what more we can do to better address the situation than what we are doing right now. BTW, did you even purchase a set of cams from us?

To everybody else that HAS purchased cams from us.

I am VERY sorry for the situation. If you feel that myself or AMS are not doing EVERYTHING we can to address this situation PLEASE let us know... I want you all to understand that we are here to SUPPORT the 240sx community and make owning and modifying your 240sx easy, enjoyable, and as inexpensive as possible..

Thank you.

[Craving4Boost]

everyone has to stop crying and stop treating Ivan and AMS like their boost designs or something. at least it wasnt something wrong with the piston and they told you to reopen the block and redo everything. it's a little simple cutting. i dont even have these cams but if i were to purchase them and AMS didnt offer to cut it for me...then so be it..bring it on...what the hell can a little cutting hurt. they offered to do it for FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE. we have been waiting for these cams for the longest time and the only thing we can think about is a little thing that needs to be cut. stop acting like you guys want Ivan to come over to your house and hold your hand and cut it for you.

Honestly, if Nismo_Freak can be nice about this situation and provide NICE input, then YOU ALL CAN.

No offense Nismo_Freak...but you know its true

and for everyones information...the only reason im not buying these cams are because i dont have enough money..REGARDLESS of this simple modification. I'm not saying you guys do not have the right to have this situation figured out...im just fed up with the attitude.

[fiznat]

Alright, I think everyone (including me haha) got their word in on this subject. I'm not going to lock the thread because people need to know about this, but lets not let it turn into a huge ***** session. The cams need to be cut, and AMS will do it for you for free if you arent comfortable. End of story.

If you have a specific question relating to this subject feel free to ask, but please no more angry rants!