cam upgrades

[Chip]

are there any issues regarding passing emission tests with the Ireland or schrick 284 cams?
are the 284 cams basically just plug and play, or is there a need for additional modifications?

I need to replace my head gasket and will be doing some upgrades and maintenance to the engine. I will probably send the fuel injectors out for reconditioning, have a valve job done, possibly port the intake/head, Don Gale's banjo bolts, new cam and associated springs yadda yadda, replace cooling hoses behind the head (all front hoses, water pump and radiator have been accounted for), paint the valve cover, and any other unknowns that might pop-up. Did I miss anything?

Thanks

[Jeff N.]

[QUOTE=Chip]are there any issues regarding passing emission tests with the Ireland or schrick 284 cams?
are the 284 cams basically just plug and play, or is there a need for additional modifications?

On emissions - maybe...where are you located? In California you may have some considerations ....

I wouldn't assume the Schrick and the Ireland cams will give you the same result. The Ireland is a regrind of the stock. The Schrick is a grind from a new billet. While I've never seen the profiles side by side, I've heard enough about the driving differences to suggest they are not the same. Martin has the IE in his car and it didn't seem to make too much of a difference really. Passes emmissions here in Washington State fine.

Joe S who's occasionally here put in a Schrick in his car and seems to like it. He upped his FP a bit seems think that helped get from from the cam. I think Joe's also running a MAF conversion but I can't recall for sure.

I think you need to determine what want to get from a cam. The bigger cam will basically trade some bottom end for some top end. On these heavy cars, I think you need to really consider if that is what you want. You can recover some bottom end by also installing a lightened flywheel (e28 stock or a lightened E28) was well as stepping down the rear end to a 3.64 or 3.73. This of course assumes you have a manual and not an auto...



I need to replace my head gasket and will be doing some upgrades and maintenance to the engine. I will probably send the fuel injectors out for reconditioning, have a valve job done, possibly port the intake/head, Don Gale's banjo bolts, new cam and associated springs yadda yadda, replace cooling hoses behind the head (all front hoses, water pump and radiator have been accounted for), paint the valve cover, and any other unknowns that might pop-up. Did I miss anything?



If I was going to do a few upgrades on a stock motor, I might consider doing this when I had the head off:

- do the injectors and seals like you planned.
- verify the fuel pressure is correct (check your FP regulator)
- have your intake manifold dipped to get the gunk out of the intake runners
- port match the intake to the head but NOT port the head
- put in Don's banjo bolts
- verify there's no significant lobe wear on the cam
- have new guides (if needed) and seals installed
- replace every signal vacuum hose
- put in a new cap and rotor

Call it good. Oh - and stuff in a Mark D. EAT chip if you already haven't.

Why NOT port the head? Well - the E28 motor has a much more restrictive intake port and and less cam then our cars. They respond well to porting and a mild cam upgrade. The e34 motor is better aspirated from the factory and there's less margin for improvement. If you don't plan to upgrade the entire intake / exhaust track, you likely will gain little for all the cost. I know - I put on a hot head (ported) with a cam on the stock bottom end and saw my performance DROP. It wasn't until I upgraded the bottom end to add more compression and displacement that I got the performance gain that I expected. And mine's still not 100% correct - I could use a different cam and a better flowing exhaust to better realize my mechanical upgrades. Oh...and be ready if you do what I've done to have to start to look into custom chips and the like as you move away from the maps and timing profiles that the stock ECU serves up.

Anyways...have fun but plan carefully. It's not as easy as everyone would like to make it sound.

Want real power? Buy a TCD turbo kit.