V8 Cam shaft

[denzil]

I have a discovery 1 3.9 V8 which I love to bits, over the last year I have carried out a few mods these include a straight  throught
exhaust with four branch manifolds. I would like to change the cam in the next few weeks (122000 miles) but I am a bit confused
as to which cam to fit ie Piper, standard or high lift ect,ect.Has anyone  on here any advice to offer (please) ,I checked the compression
and its 160psi give or take 5psi,also I have a megasquirt to fit when I pluck up the courage.

[lambert]

Given what you have done so far i would go for a cam with some teeth but as to which i would talk to the manufacturer and ask them what they offer that matches the rest of the mods .

[denzil]

Thanks what a good idea  dooh. I will ring Piper and Kent lets see what they have to say.

[Rossko]

Get clear in your own mind what you are trying to achieve before asking.  e.g. A maximum power race cam makes for rough idle and poor low speed pulling, and would be a right pain in an everyday driver.  Perhaps you want the opposite - low down torque is usually more appropriate in a Land Rover.  But its you to decide.

[denzil]

Thanks for that Rossko ,to be honest after I changed the diffs to 4.12 to compensate for the 33in tyres I was really pleased with the
performance.I would be happy to fit a standard cam but I keep getting offered Britpart and a really don't want to fit that make. Who
else makes cam,s for V8 other than Piper or Kent?.

[Range Rover Blues]

If you have a sports exhaust and decent filter you have gone about as far as the standard 14CUX can go, if you want a naughty cam then you'll need to get saving for a chip to go with it.

The piper one has good reviews although there are others avaialble, best to pick a cam and chip together (also possibly a bigger MAF meter) even if you fit them as money allows.

Of course a NEW stock cam will make some difference, as will just replacing the timing chain with one that's not now stretched, poor fuel economy is, I'm told, the first sign of a worn cam (or stretched chain).


Now if you are megasquirting, well that opens up a whole load of possibilities.  For a start use the P38 MAF, it's way bigger.  Also swap the injectors for Bosch pintle types, they respond to over-pressuring the fuel which the Lucas disk-types do not.  Also fit a large-capacity fuel regulator in place of the stock one.

[denzil]

Thank you Range rover blues ,I was hopeing to hear from you I e-mailed Turners yesterday and they suggested a H180 cam ,which I
 will probably order next week with followers chain and wheels, I have a megasquirt system which I need to assemble and fit, its complete with the coil packs and mini dizi  but it frightens the living day light out of me.

P S Is it worth changeing the rockers and shaft at 122000 miles.

[tack43]

You'll be taking them off anyway to do the cam so have a look. Any sign of wear on the shafts - you proberly won't notice any on the rockers - then change the lot. It may be an idea to upgrade to solid steel rockers - the steel pads can sometimes fall off the alloy rockers!
I would be interested to know how you get on with the megasquirt.

Hope this helps and good luck with the mods.

[denzil]

Thank you tack I may strip the engine first then collect the new cam from Turners take all the bits with me  and let them have a look they should be able to tell me what is worn. As for the megasquirt its in a box waiting to be assembled I keep looking at it but for some reason it frightens the living daylights out of me .But when work gets a bit quieter I'll sort the [!Expletive Deleted!] out.

[Range Rover Blues]

If you strip then engine then a new set of rockers might be a good idea, as would new shell bearings.  Any bearing parts in fact!

If the crank is ok and the liners reasonably good it should be good for many years.  Some engine rebuilders recomend replacing the rockers because they harbour metal contamination from previous engine wear, so all your new parts have a limited life.