cam and head work.

[advdisco1]

Anyone done any cam/head work to there 3.9v8. Dont know if its me or not but mine seems to be gettin abit sluggish over the last 15 thou kms(i got 166 thou on the clock now). ive read about cam loubs wearing down thus the loss of power. I was thinking if thats what wrong with mine id get some head work done and a mild cam at the same time.

Any thoughts ?
Paul.

[Philip A]

If you have an auto there is apparently very little you can do re camming. One of the guys on AULRO put in a mild Rpi cam but had real problems with idle in Drive.

Manuals do not have the same issues.

I did quite a bit of head work on my 3.9 and gained about 7% across the board.

I gained most however by fitting a Unichip which took over engine advance as well as fuelling minimum 15% up to 20 or so at various revs. Haltech chips are now more common as they do not have the same fees to the dealers as Unichip.


At 166KK I would hope your cam is still OK if you have changed oil at 5KK intervals, but it may be worn. A standard cam, chain, lifters and a head service will restore original power but if you want more a chip is the best bang for buck.

Regards Philip A

[def90]

what about if you run n aftermarket computer? wouldn't that help solve idle prob's etc? if you wan to pay the coin that is.

[6.5 rangie]

mate of mine put a mild (towing?) cam in his p38, made a huge difference, went rather well

[Philip A]

Well you obviously will not have idle stability problems if you put a milder cam in than stock.
However most people want more power rather than torque, as with a towing cam you will lose lots of top end.

With regard to an aftermarket computer, they never have the many variations of start programs than a stock one as most are designed for racing . I recall Graeme Cooper telling me that he hated fitting them as he always had complaints as they never went as seamlessly as stock.

Again it depends on how good at electronics and programming you are, you could fit a Megasquirt.
There is however a plug and play replacement for 14CUX now called
http://www.syntek.com.au/index.html
the top model is fully programmable with distributor timing curve support.

Buy one and let me know how it goes! It may be almost as cheap as a Haltech piggy back, and if I were starting now that is the way I would go.
Most of the gains you get are from adding advance by developing a computer controlled advance curve.
Regards Philip A

[nottie]

I have to agree with Philip A on this.
The last 3.9 rangie i aquired from Grimace had the Triumph rover spares tow cam as well as lifters chain and reco heads and I still know where the car is and who owns it. To this day it still has a idle issue and what ever is done it doesnt want to go away.
The car does go really well but i would say about on par with grimaces current car with piggy back haultech.
Once you figure out how to tune the haultech it is an amazing diffrence. Just dont expect much for the fee youll payfor fitting and tuning. They dont take the time to tune properly.

[GRIMACE]

I have to agree with Philip A on this.
The last 3.9 rangie i aquired from Grimace had the Triumph rover spares tow cam as well as lifters chain and reco heads and I still know where the car is and who owns it. To this day it still has a idle issue and what ever is done it doesnt want to go away.
The car does go really well but i would say about on par with grimaces current car with piggy back haultech.
Once you figure out how to tune the haultech it is an amazing diffrence. Just dont expect much for the fee youll payfor fitting and tuning. They dont take the time to tune properly.

Nottie, I still think to this day that triumph may have sent me the wrong cam, as that rangie had a lot of top end power, but felt sluggish down low.

As for Fluffy, with her current tune and on 31's she hammers, I do have a cam and chain etc to be fitted but may hold out until I have more funds to do some head work at the same time.

I def beleive the piggy back chip is one of the single best improvements you can do to a standard rover motor BUT you need to take the time to sit down and tune it.

To date I have prob spent in excess of 20 hours researching testing and changing the ignition and fuel maps on Fluffy and still need to do more, I have only just aquired a AFR gauge, which once fitted I will end up road tuning for another 4-6 hours at the least.

IS it worth it... shit yeah! When I originally picked up the vehicle from the installer it had medium power down low, great power in the mid range (where you spend most your day driving around town) but nuthing up top.
My current map has orsum pull right upto about 4700rpm (still a bit dowy down low when you plant it thou).

I guess what I am trying to get as is if you are keen to spend the time and tune tune tune, then a piggy back chip is great!

Not to mention you can also tune for economy if you wish... my current tune is not as economical as the installers original tune.

Cheers
Grimace

[advdisco1]

Yeah its a manual and i already have a unichip which did make a good increase when fitted( maybe im just used to it now).
Ive also got extractors and 2.5" exhaust. So with a bit of head work and a cam it should make a noticable difference.
Philip are you saying that the plug n' play replacement doesnt need an airflow meter.
Thanks Paul.

[6.5 rangie]

Well you obviously will not have idle stability problems if you put a milder cam in than stock.
However most people want more power rather than torque, as with a towing cam you will lose lots of top end.

With regard to an aftermarket computer, they never have the many variations of start programs than a stock one as most are designed for racing . I recall Graeme Cooper telling me that he hated fitting them as he always had complaints as they never went as seamlessly as stock.

Again it depends on how good at electronics and programming you are, you could fit a Megasquirt.
There is however a plug and play replacement for 14CUX now called
http://www.syntek.com.au/index.html
the top model is fully programmable with distributor timing curve support.

Buy one and let me know how it goes! It may be almost as cheap as a Haltech piggy back, and if I were starting now that is the way I would go.
Most of the gains you get are from adding advance by developing a computer controlled advance curve.
Regards Philip A

towing hence the ?, i was guessing that what it was, but it went a hell of alot better when it was changed, would outrun my VZ onetonner work car

[def90]

i have no problems with my megasuirt and idling issues, however even with a 'mild cam' (not sure what it is exactly) it still doesn't really get up and running till about 3500rpm through to 5500-6000rpms, although 35's and 3.54's doesn't help

i'm yet to get it tuned for more bottom end.

[nottie]

Sam you really need to change your cam unless you plan on getting into some curcuit racing. You will see a bit of a diffrence when the 4.3s are in but Better low end cam will do that motor wonders. It seems to me that its hiding alot of potential.

[Hally]

Sam is your car even going I think we need to have a race am interested to see difference in motors mine stops making power at 5000rpm

[Philip A]

Philip are you saying that the plug n' play replacement doesnt need an airflow meter.

Have a look at the site. Yes the middle one can replace the MAF with a MAP.

Be careful though as a MAP is not as accommodating as a MAF with mods to the engine. It will need a retune to each spec whereas a MAF will accommodate changes within reason. None of them like non injection cams though.
With a manual you have more scope for playing but no 2tonne+4Wd with a 4 L engine will be nice to drive with a wild cam. I sometimes think TRS think we all drive TR8s. I recall several years ago someone bought a "mild" cam from them and from then on no idle in D.
A14CUX will always try to idle at 750RPM on idle and if you want higher you will have to increase the curb idle which will disable the IAC.
Regards Philip A

[waxenwane]

I fitted my 3.9 with the Hi torque number from Crow, port matched the inlet manifold, did a tiny little bit of inlet tract clean up, port matched a set of Headers and replaced the head gaskets with tin's It all runs out into 2 1/4" then 2.5" The cam is not supposed to work with EFI but it goes surprisingly well.
The whole lot is run by Megasquirt and coil packs, dual fuel with dual ignition mapping. I am playing with some fairly aggressive advance though.

The only issue I have with it is it's a tiny bit flat in the midrange, still working on that one.

[advdisco1]

did you have a dyno before and after to give a figure for power/torque gains.
it seems simular to what i want to do to mine.

[waxenwane]

Since my project was to replace a 3.5 I don't. My comparisons are seat of the pants.

[uninformed]

there is a company in the USA that apparently bought up all the buick stuff and now does aftermarket gear for buick v8s which also fit rovers. Last i heard they were developing a new head that was on par with some of the Wildcat heads but at alot less cost. One of the biggest disadvantages of the rover v8 is the head design. Im sorry i dont knwo the name of the company, maybe somebody can chime in and help.

cheers,
Serg

[waxenwane]

The Company is TA Performance. Here is a link to the head on Buick V8 http://www.v8buick.com/showthread.php?t=172229