Cam worth it.

[dubes1982bmw320i]

I was looking to get a new cam to upgrade my 320i. But it the performance upgrade really worht the money?

[witeshark]

I think it depends on whether your gonna change the engine management to the new cam. But I believe in leaving BMWs stock

[Fox]

not really unless you go forced induction or new pistons.

[joshh]

Unfortunately you cant just change the cams and have lots more power. The motor works as a unit. Every part must match every other part to function its best. So throughing cams in there is not going to work. You may get some good power out of it if you match up all the parts. I.E. is the Intake manifold going to have the right runner lengths, will the plenum on the intake manifold be the right size to support the new cams, do you need new spings for the cams....it goes on for miles. Theres no sense in spending the money and not getting all you can out of it. Plus dyno tuning is something I would never do without when building a "built" motor.

[gotKRAUT]

i suggest a cam if you have intake exhaust headers basically everything and you are looking for that final bolt on to finally open EVERYTHING up...i just helped my buddy throw in a cam on his 325i that already had intake headers exhaust JC Chip MAF conversion 40% lockup 4.10 LSD MSD ignition and throttle body...on dyno before and after there was a 21 HP difference after the cam swap...so my advice is do every bolt on first then cam...and dont do the cam unless you plan to rebuild the head at the same time....no point putting in a new cam with stock head internals...upgrade the valve springs valves 3 angle valve(5 angle is pointless...dyno proven unless you are running forced induction) ETC

ohh and fox by the way there are several different types of cams designed for Non Modified, mild tuned NA, Highly Tuned NA, and Mild and Highly Tuned Forced induction.....though im sure you knew that :P

[Fox]

yea, and they are $600 and dont offer much. For $600 you can make a supercharger setup.

[schneider252]

most of u guys are all talk and no go imo

[joshh]

So are you trying to say that you can just add a cam and get lots of power?? Then I know what file to put you under.... or

Or are you refering to something else?

[Halon]

I've heard you should actually, if you're going to build your motor, get all the internal motor workings done first. If you want to increase displacement you need to get your engine bored first. "Start from the oil pan and work your way up.", otherwise you'll find yourself rebuying parts. :-/

[gotKRAUT]

Originally posted by Halon@Sep 4 2004, 12:32 PM
I've heard you should actually, if you're going to build your motor, get all the internal motor workings done first. If you want to increase displacement you need to get your engine bored first. "Start from the oil pan and work your way up.", otherwise you'll find yourself rebuying parts. :-/

wow then my last 4 cars never existed lol...i always start with bolt ons and see if they add enough horsepower or if i need to bolt in a cam....and NO its not as easy as bolt it in...if you read my above post you will see that...lol but YES they do give you AWESOME power for the money...but they wont do anything unless you have alllll bolt ons done and you install it with higher rev valves and valve spring...you will experiance a longer smother power band and more HP all around..

[Halon]

I've actually heard that if you get appropriate valve springs, valves, rocker arms and rocker arm retainers, you could make the m10 rev to about 8 or 9 thousand rpms with appropriate fuel managment. I don't know if thats the engine in question anymore... but just sayin - thats my engine. It may not be the fastest engine in the world - but it does what I want it to do. and thats nice. Gotta beef up my suspension next - I'm starting at the bushings and then working my way out. :P