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The Great SR20 Cam List & Specs

57K views 34 replies 20 participants last post by  TrIcKd 240 
#1 · (Edited)
I found this Browsing the Sr20Forums

I have found out that the both the SR20DE and DET cams are exactly the except the pins on the Exhaust cam which need to be swaped

May I advise you I DID NOT COME UP with this I just FOUND IT for all the flamaers :D

So here it is :D

SR20Forum said:
The Great SR20 Cam List – V 1.03



I’m working on adding a new section for other assorted valve train components, mostly for valve springs and retainers. Some manufacturers have specs for their valve springs listed, some don’t, so it may be a little spotty, but it should at least cover all the part numbers. I’ll also include other miscellaneous items like cam gears, rocker arm stopper kits, etc.


Wanted: I’m still looking for the following specs, I know some of you probably know them.

Stock 94 intake cam
Old JWT S2 cams
JWT S3 GTi-R cams

-Thanks, Calum



Note: Cam makers are never the most honest people. Its not that they lie straight out, its all in what exactly they are measuring. The problem is even larger here, with most of the cam makers being Japanese. For instance JWT’s advertised duration is from .003” open to .003” closed. You can probably take it to the bank that no Japanese cam maker’s advertised duration is measured exactly like that. Also, a cam is more than just duration and lift. I have assembled these numbers to help provide a baseline, but the amount of faith you put in them is up to you. Hopefully what they can do (and what I went to all the trouble to get them for in the first place) is provide a flavor of what the cam has been designed for.

I compiled this list with FWD sr20s in mind (namely SE-Rs). However, I tried to note when a manufacturer had either GTi-R or roller-rocker grinds available. I did not note if they had S14 or S15 grinds.

I compiled this list for my own personal curiosity only. I included only cams made from fresh billets; no re-grinds were listed. There are still other cam makers out there, if I run across their specs or if someone who knows is kind enough to e-mail me (cjj6558@tntech.edu), I’ll add them to the list. Also I’m sure I’ve made many mistakes. If you spot one, I’d be happy if you told me. If you buy cams based on this list, don’t blame me when they suck!

-Calum

























Quotes heard on the ‘net – take these with a grain of salt.

From Jay Whitley (excerpt from a post on www.sr20deforum.com):

”The RWD and FWD cams are exactly the same and they are interchangeable, no problem. The only thing that is different from an OEM FWD cam and an OEM RWD cam is the length of the dowel pin on the exhaust cam.


The FWD OEM cams (intake and exhaust) both use short dowel pins). The RWD OEM intake cam uses a short dowel pin and the exhaust cam uses a long dowel pin. This long pin is there to engage the crank angle sensor/distributor drive gear.


So, all you need to do use FWD cams in a RWD SR20 is to remove the long dowel pin from the OEM exhaust cam and install it into the FWD exhaust cam. Done.


Any machine shop that resurfaces flywheels can do this. It requires the same tool that they use to remove the dowel pins from flywheels. It is a slide hammer.


I installed a set of JWT S3 cams in my customer's RWD S13 Silvia red top just recently."



From Andreas (excerpts from posts on www.sr20deforum.com):

“As far as cams go they do not work the same NA as they do on turbo. All I will say is this: the S4 works better than the C1 in the racecar. Also if you are going to rev a car high the better combo is more duration and less lift S4 verses higher lift and less duration. The more lift you have the quicker the valve will float. As far as cams go the turbo dictates more than the cam. T78 with S4 is still making power at 8400 and goes linear to 8900 before we start to see any power loss.”


“In my travels of SE-R I have seen to bone stock SE-Rs that have gone up to 9000 RPMs. I was so baffled by this I had to put a NISSAN Consult Comp on it just to make sure my eyes were not fooling me.

It is possible for a JWT comp to go past 8000 RPMs, just have them program it with no rev limiter. It’s that easy. Here is what happens when you go past 8000 RPMS the comp just keeps on thinking it is at 8000 RPMs and can not make any more adjustments, so the higher you go in the RPMs past 8000 your fuel map and timing map will progressively wonder off from where it should be.

I always get my comps for my personal car with no Rev limiter because having the rev limiter kicking at full throttle cause a whiplash effect in the motor that causes the rocker arms to get thrown out. What happens when this happens at high RPMs: broken pistons, bent valves and broken rockers. So as long as you have [aftermarket] valve springs and retainers I would advise you to go for the no rev limiter option. Very useful on High HP Turbo and NOS cars when coming out of the blocks because this avoids power loss and damage to the motor if you run into the rev limiter.”



“You do not need a solid lifter kit to go to 9000 RPMS. The racecar I built is still Hydraulic and the power does not start to drop off until 8700 RPMS. My street car revs to 8500 RPMS I do have C3 cams and if you want a comp to go past 8000 RPMs I can get you one. There are some very simple mods to make your valve train stand up to 8500-9000 RPMS but I will not get into that right now.

S4s work better than C1 cams, that’s not an opinion that’s a fact. S4 cams will give you a much wider power band. For all who say that S4 cam do not work good with a T25 just look at Dougnosser's SE-R in the turbo section. Check out his dyno curve and come up with your own opinion. If you do not know how to tune a car and do not know how these parts can work together then leave the repeated comments alone. All you need to do is know how to match you parts together to make them work together.

As far as cams and valve float goes, the C cams have a lot of lift compared to duration. This causes the valves to open and close at a greater speed. C cams are more likely even with springs and retainers to float valves and toss rockers they will also cause valve float to occur quicker. Easier said the C cams will bounce on the seat. The S4 cam with about the same lift as a C3 but with more duration will hold up better than a C1.

If you are NA use S4, C2 or C3.

If you are turbo I swear by S4 cams. The best all around cam there is.

As far as which C cam I would recommend, that depends on what compression ratio you are running. 9.5-10 to 1 I would run C1s. If you have a 11 to1 compression motor that is stroked or bored out I would run C3 cams.”


“Well here we go, I have know idea who started this crap that you have to run JWT springs and retainers with JWT cams, that is silly. Cams are all made the same, they just differ in lift, duration and the actual open and closing points, that’s it. I have run JUN, TODA, FERREA, and also one with JWT cams with no problems. I have had 2 different sets of springs in the 9 sec racecar, JUN and FERREA, while running JWT cams and these springs ran up to 9000 RPMs with no problems. We have two motors for the racecar: one’s a backup motor and we built them just a little different when it cam to parts and they both worked great. This harmonic tuning bullshit that is supposed to be in the JWT springs is all shit. [It’s] just JWT and others trying to sell a product. I am a great JWT fan but I do know when the shit is laid on too thick.”


From Rob Cadle (excerpts from posts on www.sr20deforum.com):

“I wouldn't run C1's on an NA car unless your prime objective was drivability with no loss of low-end power.

They cost a lot for the power they produce. I think that they are the ultimate smaller-turbo cam, though (a GREAT T-28 cam).

If you stay NA, get C2's. They lope, but they are livable, and they gain 25 whp over the stock cams.”



“Andreas is right: the bigger the turbo, the bigger the cams you can run (as a very rough generalization).

Overlap only hurts you if you are back-pressuring the engine. If the engine is in cross-over, or has very little negative delta P, you can run huge cams without mercy... the overlap will work even better on a turbo car than it will on an NA car as long as you are in crossover.

I think that C3's would be badass on a turbo car with a *very* large turbo. This is drag-race only kind of stuff. Take exhaust manifold pressure data if you want some guidance on the kind of cams you should use. If your exhaust manifold pressure (*BEFORE THE TURBO*) is less than or equal to intake manifold pressure throughout the engine's operating range (hard to achieve), then big cams are no problem.”

OK now I have to fix the table :(


Source - http://web.utk.edu/~cjohns32/camlist.htm
 
#28 ·
one of the guys from the sr20 forum gained as much as 30 wheel torque with 262 cams and cam sprockets.

so i guess that answers my question for the most part.

what is the highest lift cams you can go with, without having to do any valve train modifications?
I've heard the 262s which is why i've decided on them, but if the stock valve train will permit it, i'd like to go with something even more aggressive.
are the 262s really the biggest you can go with stock?
 
#29 ·
The gains is all gonna depend on the turbo setup. Purchase cams based off the size turbo and rpm desired. A good rule of thumb is this

250* Cams - 3000-6500rpm - 35-45 lbs/min Turbo
260* Cams - 4000-7500rpm - 45-55 lbs/min Turbo
270* Cams - 5000-8500rpm - 55-65 lbs/min Turbo
280* Cams - 6000-9500rpm - 65+ lbs/min Turbo

Dont buy a large duration cam and a small turbo. You will never get the flow from the turbo needed for the cams to be effective. And same goes with using too small of a cam for a big turbo. The cams will choke what the turbo is trying to produce at high rpm. With my engine i run a T67 turbo and rev to 8500rpm and run 270 cams and i make power clear to redline. On the street, my powerband is strongest from 5k-8500rpm. I could make more power with 280 cams because of the size of my turbo but i dont want to rev my engine higher than 8500rpm on the street so i stick with 270 cams.
 
#34 ·
I've used Piper cams on Evo's before when I was an active import tuner. They are a solid product and I used to import them. Just beware that going for massive cams will also eat your bottom end torque alive. My shop Evo couldn't get out of it's own way until over 4k rpms (I mean, it would get raped by a Civic that low), but it came on like a light switch at 4,500 rpm and would spin to 10k rpm (with a race port, solid lifter setup and nasty Piper cams) and was still gaining torque at 6krpm. It would also thump your chest when it was idling if you got within 25 feet of it.
Don't try to compare cam duration numbers between manufacturers either. It's sort of like comparing results from different dynos.
Likewise, if you want to flow more, lift is typically better than duration; as long as the head you are using continues to flow more at the increased lift.
Also, overlap isn't really listed for the cams; another very important factor.
 
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