Cam Choices that would allow me to run N/A but let me go For

[Cragrobbo]

Hey guys.

The title says it all what would a g ood cam be that will work as an NA motor but allow me to turbo later on down the line if I feel like upchanging.

To hand I have a 110 engle and a 120 engle.

Thanks

[Dan Dryden]

Hi Craig, there has been much debate about cams on this thread:

http://www.shoptalkforums.com/viewtopic ... s#p1213541

My opinion on cams has changed over the years and I will be inclined to go for a N/A cam rather than a "turbo grind", such as a TCS Cam on my next project.

What size engine are you building?
What do you plan to use it for?

If I were you, I'd select the cam which will provide the performance you require from your N/A motor..... Adding a turbo will still add a heap of HP whatever cam you use.

[woodsbuggy1]

I have much to learn on this subject, but I think it depends on how much of the time you plan on being on boost. I have been running a w100 engle in my 1776 offroad buggy for 2 years with FI and 8lbs of boost and it has worked well. I am currently building a 2276 with FI and turbo with a DRD 280 turbo cam (112LC) otherwise same as a NA cam. However low end torque is important to me, that is why I chose a small cam and plan on the turbo to give me more top end. It all depends on your goals and having the proper combination of parts to get you there.
Good Luck
Kenric

[miniman82]

Rule #1 about cams and turbos: if you like a cam without boost, you'll like it even more as soon as you push it past atmospheric. I've heard all the arguments:

"you'll push the intake charge right out the exhaust as soon as you start boosting with an N/A cam!"

Pure BS, don't listen to people who parrot that stuff.

'Turbo cams' are marketing jazz to sell parts to people who don't know what they need, so do some looking around and make an informed decision.

You posted what cams you have, but nothing else relevant about the build. Provide more info, or you'll get BS advice.

[Cragrobbo]

Thanks again guys, I knwo this may not be directly related but what are you buys doing about oiling your Turbos, I was thinking of going eternal and not havint the turbos connected to the sump in order to maintain a cool engine

[Clonebug]

The oil going thru the turbo is not going to give you temp problems.

You are lucky to be on boost for 15 seconds at the most and then you are well on your way to getting in serious trouble.

I use boost for about 5 seconds max while driving to and from work. By that time in 3rd gear I am well over 70-75 mph with a speed limit of 45-50 mph.

I would guess by the time that frothy little bit of oil gets back to the sump it's not going to be much higher in temperature.

On my turbo engine I have been fighting too cool of oil temps.

Easiest way to get oil is through the sender port and the exit has to be as straight down as possible depending on where your turbo is mounted.
I drain mine into the 3/4 valve cover and have done it that way for 4 years now.



Biggest issue is a large enough drain hose. 5/8ths is pretty well trouble free.
Gray hose is the drain.

Mine is a buggy so your YMMV.

[Dan Dryden]

Thanks again guys, I knwo this may not be directly related but what are you buys doing about oiling your Turbos, I was thinking of going eternal and not havint the turbos connected to the sump in order to maintain a cool engine

My turbo oil feed comes via the oil pressure sender. It drains back into the side of my CB sump extension.
The extra heat generated in a turbo motor comes from the increased combustion, not the oil passing through the turbo.
Your best bet is to install a decent sized external oil cooler, placed in the path of some good air flow.

[The Newf]

Love the FK-8 with 1.4's on my 2234.

[madmike]

W120 in my 2276

[slowsixtyduece]

Cam: as was stated previously, just about any n/a will work fine for both turbo and n/a. The only thing a turbo is really doing is forcing more air into the engine, which will *usually* push the power band up approx 1000 rpm. So, if I want to make a lot of power and torque down low (6k and below), stay away from large duration extremely high lift cams. FK-8's are proven to make great power on 2 liter motors with both n/a and turbo, usually with some sort of fuel injection although not always. I personally dont see a reason for much more than 300 adv duration and .600" lift for a street driven turbo motor, but thats my opinion (and Im on the conservative side). An Engle 120, Web cam 86a, and so on are good cams for street operations, coming in with a little less dur and lift than the FK-8. They should all work just fine without a turbo too. A lot of your cam selection will depend on how you drive the car and want it to respond. Do you like a ton of low end grunt or would you rather ring it out to 7.5k rpms to get the power you want?

Oil temp: this will be related more to engines state of tune and air intake temp than with the hot oil generated from the turbo itself. If you are concerned, get yourself a Setrab oil cooler with a fan and put it in a strategic location where there is some air flow. But more importantly, make sure to use all OG tin, make sure its ALL there, even the little pieces. Finally, consider cooling the inlet charge down with an intercooler or water/meth injection.

[miniman82]

It also depends how you want the engine to run. I wanted an engine that idled like a stock 1600 with the same or better economy, so I put a CB 2241 in my 1915 turbo EFI engine. Also keep in mind the static compression ratio and induction style plays a big part in how it will run off boost, draw through and low compression with a big cam will run a lot worse than the same engine with port injection. I have super low compression to accommodate big boost, so I was restricted in how much duration I could run before idle quality suffered. If you don't much care about how it ticks over you can run a big cam if you want, I just think the loping is annoying since you don't need a huge cam to make big power with turbos anyway. Leave that stuff for the ITB/NA crowd.