is there a Cam guide for ca18det??

[themadscientist]

or a T4

[ch187]

god thats sexy. what are the specs on that? when do you peak? and how much is it rated for?

[themadscientist]

.48 on the backside 50 trim compressor. Should do over 300 without breaking a sweat. It responds as quick as my S14 turbo did. I only have it set to like 8 lbs at the moment and I can feel the turbo almost getting mad it can't go higher. I can tell why looking at the map, I just hit the leading edge of the peak efficiency island. Before i got the wastegate working I would let it snap up higher for a second or two and wow, can't wait to get it set up there again! I only want 300hp so I don't see me going past 15-16 lbs when I am done.

[ch187]

we have the same goals and that turbo sounds perfect for me. where'd you find it?

[dash]

I go for the 'make power using boost' philosophy also.Every ca18 beast I observed, grow hairs & claws @25+psi

Good cam info DeeYeah, the regrinds looks to get the job done and may be all we have to work with shortly. It'll be great news (& popular) if we get drop-in 260 & 270 cams that actually 'perform well' and are reasonably priced.Look how DSMs now have a $440 quality challenger to the $700 HKS 264/272° londstanding "benchmarks", so you know its possible.

Some questions on the regrinds;Does the valvetrain remain quiet ?Recommennded HD valvesprings from the VG30DE with the 270s ?Idle quality ?Now for driving impressions.... does torque below 4500 suffer noticably vs stock and is there a pronounce top end pull increase ?

themadscientistwhen you get the same response from a T04E as a T28, makes you think, "why bother with the little guys"... except for bolt-on convenience.A good exhaust manifold can make a differenceDees T28 hookup proved to be a great "stepping stone" turbo though.

dattodude,quite afew ca18s have cams on oz/nz forums, where do they get them ?Are springs suggested with tomei 260/8.5 ?

What gasket are you using with your O-ringed head ?Some of our 2.6 sohc starions run past 34psi with an o-ringed head, ARP studs and a $15 felpro gasket. I plan to try the same formula on a ca18.

[Nunook]

Hi. I(n Poland we find out that if you move intake cam 1 tooth of pulley your torque will increase about 15 to 20 Nm and 5-7 HP. Torque is higher in a whole graph.

IM interested. Is that one tooth advanced??? On stock cams?

There are 48 teeth on the stock cam gear so thats 7.5deg, correct?what is the chance that your valve hits? I had bought tomei cam gears but never adjusted them cause I wasn't able to get the cams I wanted. maybe Ill put it at 5deg adv to be on the safe side.

[niscort]

quite afew ca18s have cams on oz/nz forums, where do they get them ?

Most of the ones in aus would have most likely been purchased through me.. I think i sold in order of 15sets of second hand cams during my years in Japan.. Other than that with the current exchange new tomeis are cheap as chips sourced through places like greenline.jp, neugen and i think rhdjapan is becoming another in wide use.

IM interested. Is that one tooth advanced??? On stock cams?

as replied in the random email thread....

ya, but is he talking about the euro ca?? as the intake cams there are 248/8.5 compared to the jap intake at 240/7.8.. not to mention the actual lobe timing varies, which is basically all moving the cam pulley will do anyhow.

But it can be done to full effect using a jdm ex cam from either a de or det(248/8.5).. research the lobe timings first if not using an adjustable pulley as the ex cams themselves are about 5deg out on lobe timing.

[Chinamandrift]

wow i been gone for a few days ....and so much info appeared on this thread....im liking this....thanks guys ...this is very helpful .......

so no one been able to find a set of cams that will perform well ??? what about the best combinations as we know of so far for best gains?

whats the maximum lift before you have to do some head machining and piston work to make the higher lift work?

how is the idle for 270's or 260's??

[rotorific]

I have got to say that this is one of the more informative threads I've seen.

It really boils down to users setups (mostly Dee) but to each his own eh?

-Gabe

[hydra]

I've been doing quite a bit of research/thinking on this matter, and it appears that the optimal cam specs for a high-powered CA18 with a sub-8k redline (i.e. the vast majority of builds) is ~260 degrees of seat duration with 10.25mm of lift and a LCA of 107-108 degrees advanced a couple of degrees. This would work in conjunction with a short-runner intake manifold to give superb midrange/top-end with a very tolerable 16-17" Hg idle vacuum

[karism]

*Makes Notes*

Wow!I learnt loads in this thread!

Thanks for all the excellent info everyone

Karis

[meminto]

High HP is totally in the eye of the beholder...

As an example, when calcualting what my build required, 10.25mm of lift was not enough and longer duration cams/wide seperation angle shifted the powerband up too far in the rev range...

You need to find a happy medium

[float_6969]

From what I've heard about the Tomei cams, for the 300-350hp mark the Poncams (the ones with the valve timing built in) would be great. From what I've heard you don't get a big loss in bottom end and it helps removes the big drop-off in top end. Plus you don't need solid lifters or springs, and it should still be safe to under 8K while not loosing much power.

[hydra]

Anybody know the 0.050" duration figures of the Tomei cams? What about the stockers? I was using a guesstimate of 45 degrees minus the seat duration, but would like more accurate numbers. Any input?

[DALAZ_68]

thats

From what I've heard about the Tomei cams, for the 300-350hp mark the Poncams (the ones with the valve timing built in) would be great. From what I've heard you don't get a big loss in bottom end and it helps removes the big drop-off in top end. Plus you don't need solid lifters or springs, and it should still be safe to under 8K while not loosing much power.

my number one reason why im goign to get a set...clean my head up and slap these babies on with some new OEM parts....ill see were it goes

[sjbsuperman1425]

I've been reading this for the past 20 minutes or so and became a littleconfused

i've read some people in this thread saying to use 260/8.5mm/ and Hydro Lifters, but the Tomei 260's say to use SOLID lifters. any clearification please?

and for the 8.8mm lift cams, will they work without getting deeper reliefs in the pistons?

Thanks all

[meminto]

Only use solid lifters if the cams are a solid profile (Duration based on specified valve/cam clearance based on measured shim) - Tomei PROCAM...

Only use HVLA (Hydraulic) lifters if the cams are a lash type profile (Duration based on zero valve/cam clearance based on self adjust plunger) - Tomei PONCAM

As an example, if you take a look at the base circle measurement on both the Tomei PON and PRO cams, you will see that the PON (HVLA) cam has a diameter of 32mm (self adjusting plunger) and the PRO (specific measured solid shim) 29mm..

If you were to install the PROCAM with HVLA lifters, you can put 2+2 together...

8.8mm will be fine without machining bigger recesses, but it would also be the greatest amount of lift to use on stock valve springs..

The tomei 260's have two different profiles with two different lift rates...

Hope this helps..

[sjbsuperman1425]

that helped GREATLY thank you!pretty much, when the time comes, i probably do the valve springs and use Poncams, as they were stated to be good for like 350hp or so by someone earlier? thats enough for me, then if i get the urge for more i can always go back right? Thanks for the help with that.

[float_6969]

I wouldn't mess with springs unless you're going to go to a solid setup with appropriate cams. The first reason being that IDK how the lifters are going to like the extra spring tension. I would also think that the extra force needed to turn the cams would equate to shorter timing belt life. And lastly, if you're keeping it under 8K and running poncams, there just isn't any need for it. If you're going to upgrade later, you'll have the head torn completely down anyway. Replacing the springs at that point isn't a big deal.

[sjbsuperman1425]

ok i've been pondering my power goals for my CA and have really started to get kind of confused on what i want lol i know i want atleast 300whp, but i also want some serious boost (no more than 30psi). So heres the question.

Is the installation of the solid lifters that big of a thing to overcome? Its pretty much put it in, check clearance, and drop in?

also, Tomei sells Procam Lash Type camshafts. can these be used with Hydro lifters?

lastly, Pistons. With a high lift, the recesses need to be deeper. How do i know how much more recess there needs to be? Use Modeling clay? or could i factor how much more lift i would be getting and tell, say CP Pistons, too add that much more recess than orginally on my pistons i order?

I dont mean to make this a "tell me how to build my car" type of thing. But i am staying on topic i believe lol. Plus im new to the whole "lets worry about valves hitting the piston" type of thing lol. But its the love that drives me

[meminto]

Modelling clay would work fine to check the clearances...

Arias used to make forged pistons with deep recesses (I have some) but they havent now for maybe eighteen months - two years or so...

I am unsure of exactly the work required as I have never researched using honda pistons, but I do know Arias Honda B18 pistons have very large recesses (Looks similar in depth to mine)..

You will need to check all measurments (Skirt length, piston diameter, gudgeon diameter etc..), compression ratios and so forth..

Looks like a marketing thing Tomei has done they would have been poncams..

[hydra]

Remember that valve clearance is only an issue at or close to piston TDC, and is mostly a function of the cam lobe profile and lobe centerline, NOT the overall valve lift. A quick inspection of my spare Euro 4-port head reveals that you can lift the valves several millimeters (over 3mm) and they'd still be flush with the cylinder head deckline, and this doesn't even take into account the 1.2mm head gasket thickness. In other words, I wouldn't worry about piston valve reliefs on the CA18DET unless I were running race cams on a really early LCA...

Anybody have 1mm or 0.050" duration numbers for any of these cams btw?

[sjbsuperman1425]

so pretty much i could run 260 cams with 8.8mm lift and not have to worry to much about the reliefs on the pistons?

[meminto]

Remember that valve clearance is only an issue at or close to piston TDC, and is mostly a function of the cam lobe profile and lobe centerline, NOT the overall valve lift. A quick inspection of my spare Euro 4-port head reveals that you can lift the valves several millimeters (over 3mm) and they'd still be flush with the cylinder head deckline, and this doesn't even take into account the 1.2mm head gasket thickness. In other words, I wouldn't worry about piston valve reliefs on the CA18DET unless I were running race cams on a really early LCA...Anybody have 1mm or 0.050" duration numbers for any of these cams btw?

Agreed, when he mentioned high lift I guess I assumed that he was looking at greater than the common 10.25mm lift measured from the industry standard.. (0.006 or 0.050 depending on how your engineer was trained lol)

I don't consider anything 10.25mm and below high lift... Sorry, I will rephrase..

I don't consider anything below 10.25mm and above 8.5mm high lift, higher than stock (depending on your model), yes, but not extreme...

You can buy an off the shelf cam from Tomei, as an example, that would come very close to being a bolt on modification, with most piston brands not having an issue with clearance at tdc, even with thermal expansions and such... I would assume the R&D team at tomei should know what they are doing, like most other big name manufacture's

8.8mm will be fine, even 10.25mm will be fine (although with 10.25mm I would still check to be 100% certain)...

Modified by meminto at 5:34 PM 10/18/2008
Modified by meminto at 5:44 PM 10/18/2008

[sjbsuperman1425]

thanks for the info, i'll consider that when i eventually get my cams lol. man the CA family is great!

[sjbsuperman1425]

Just to add further on what mad and datto said, since you are looking for the 300ish h/p range, focus more on an useful and efficient 300ish h/p as opposed to a high-revvin' 300ish h/p. Please don't knock the stock lifters just yet. In case you don't know, I have a daily driven 350+whp sentra that sports stock lifters and heavy duty valve springs and this thing revs and holds above the desired 8500rpm that most kill their engines to achieve and theirs plenty of power all the way 8500rpm. Dee

i know this has probably been covered by float, but would you say Tomei Poncams and Springs would be a good investment for under 400whp? Thanks pplz

[float_6969]

The cams are a good investment. The springs are superfluous for those cams.

[DALAZ_68]

springs are what?

[dnl61]

ok so I am in the boat with most of the other people in this thread about my power goals. about 300rwhp (This is not a max hp level for the engine just a starting point). just to make sure i can run a tomei 260 duration with a 9.25 lift on intake and a 270 duration with a 10.25 lift on exhaust and not have to worry about having the valves contact the pistons? I have a set of cp pistons with -.100" valve relifs if that makes any difference.

[float_6969]

springs are what?

You don't need springs for poncam's. I forgot that I need to use words with less than 2 syllables when I'm talking around you.