Big heads with little cam?

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Crawdad
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Joined: Wed Sep 16, 2015 4:12 pm

Big heads with little cam?

Post by Crawdad »

Hi all, long time. My "Squishy, dry-sumped 2276" build thread was active a few years ago.

I've got a 2276 with Panchitos, Web 86a, about 9.6:1 compression. My issue is that with the Quaiffe differential (in a Subaru 5-speed), the thing has so much traction that I can hardly break the tires loose in a corner. I want to be able to drift this thing and generally get rowdy with it. But I also like having the super-torquey midrange.

Question: what would be the effect of putting on big heads (Super Pro or Wedgeports) while keeping the small cam (.503 lift, 252 duration at .050)? Would the smallish cam with big heads give me the best of both worlds, or would they be working against each other? Does anyone have experience (as opposed to theory) on this question?
67RA
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Re: Big heads with little cam?

Post by 67RA »

This question has recently been addressed on TS. Even though the title indicated head flow. Brian_e, Altrup and a few others have chimed in to answer the OP's question.
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewt ... p?t=776583
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Crawdad
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Re: Big heads with little cam?

Post by Crawdad »

Thanks!
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ps2375
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Re: Big heads with little cam?

Post by ps2375 »

You could try a less grippy tire. That is what Suby& Toyota do with the BRZ twins to get the "AE86" drifty feel for them. A harder compound tire will have less grip. cause those cars with a real tire made for grip can really handle.
Bruce2
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Re: Big heads with little cam?

Post by Bruce2 »

What R&P did you put in the converted Subaru trans?
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Crawdad
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Re: Big heads with little cam?

Post by Crawdad »

I don't remember the ratio of the R&P but it was the taller option. I had super-grippy Toyo Proxy 225s on there initially. I switched to some cheap all-season 195s in the rear, but it still sticks. Next I'm going to remove the front sway bar to induce some over-steer and see what that does. One effect of the Quaiffe is to induce understeer -- if you have your foot in it, the car wants to push ahead -- which is the whole point, of course. I may need to get my inside rear fully unweighted to induce tire spin. Or... more horsepower! Which brings me back to my original question. The Samba thread has links to head flow calculators and stuff, but if anyone has actually tried big heads with a little cam, I would be interested to hear their story.
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turbobaja
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Re: Big heads with little cam?

Post by turbobaja »

You can also try increasing rear tire pressure to reduce traction enough to enjoy some drifting.
Karl

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Bruce.m
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Re: Big heads with little cam?

Post by Bruce.m »

Power oversteer is only one way to initiate a drift and plenty of traditional drift fans would argue that’s not drifting either. Although big HP is the game in modern drift cars.

There are some great old school drift training videos on YouTube & they are worth a watch.

Not really the question you asked but :)
PhillipM
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Re: Big heads with little cam?

Post by PhillipM »

Easier answer, give the rear more toe out.
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