I just finished up doing a backyard install of my comp cams. The install went alright execpt for a sheared off bolt on the bearing cap, no prob for "Easy out"!!!! I have a few pics maybe they can help the few how to posts that are out there, and I'll add what i ran into....
The cam tool
The Product... stage 1 comp cams I was able to snag for $372 shipped
This is the bolt of the ground that you have to take off
This is with the valve cover off looking from the accessory side
This is a pic of the crank with my fog light harness hanging
Intake gear with cam tool installed
Make sure you are really careful with that valve cover gasket!!! Mine did not last with me... Im not pro though so I might of been a little rough on it... My cover was alittle stubborn to get off.
Make sure you have a GOOD torquewrench, My cheap one somehow sheared off my cam bearing cam bolt off 89in/lbs. Don't end up like this...
It's a pain!!!
Overall, it took me 6 hours to do because i am slow!!! It does have a little lobe at idle... I set it to 1100 for now...
It has an AFR of 15-17 now, and around 13-14 in PE.... this is with my old tune with 93 in it....and 16-19 with stock tune and 13-15 in PE 93 again..... I think these cams would run without a tune... I wouldn't recommend it!
It def has a better pull at WOT, and runs alittle better at 3000-5000rpm range and has a different sound to the exhaust... It runs crappy at when you come to a stop...I can't wait to tune it properly....
I think im gonna take a video of it idling and post it tomorrow....
SWEEEEET!
quick question..
Did you replace your valve springs?
Yea you forgot the valve springs.
Tinkles
2003 Cavalier 1SV
Bagged and Blown
yeah i did not replace the springs just yet.... money and time are an issue but it is my next project... i dont plan on reving high right now because of this, Ive set my rev limiter to 6200 just to prevent me, i know im not getting the most out of my cams just yet. I will take it easy. But I figure the stage 1's are the safest of all the comp cams to run without springs even though lift is still above .300, not to mention the price i was able to get them at... i could not pass that up!
Tinkles wrote:Yea you forgot the valve springs.
the Stage 1 Comp Cams were designed to work with the stock valve springs. While upgrading them is always a good idea it is not absolutely necessary with the stage 1, any others, eys
LE61T PTE6262 Powered 
sweet looking forward to vids
I was trying to align my high beams last night and took a vid of my car idling at 1100rpm with the new cams, it lobes a bit. It's at night and hard to see. I also am recovering from a little cold sorry for the breathing..I tried different angles... I'll take a day video on my next day off...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7oDXnTP8f0&feature=channel_page
I changed my oil after I drilled out those sheared off bolts just in case the magnet I used missed some shavings... Did I waste my money? I'd rather be safe than sorry... someone told me the oil filter will catch them all... and after searching well... I still changed it.
Tinkles wrote:Yea you forgot the valve springs.
Wtf, why does everyone chime in like a parrot *squaaaak* don't forget the valve springs! *squaaaak!* Stage 3's need them, stage I and most II's are fine.
Don't buy from MANTAPART!!
There is no easy ways to get HP, no magic box or gizmo... And if you get more hp, there's no way to make your car still behave and sound like a stock one. More hp usually makes your car louder, more vibrations and harder to drive...but still people hope or think maby there's some magic way to have it all, comfort, stock sound and drive.
Did you replace and torque down the cam gear bolts properly?
FastFireTwoTwo wrote:Tinkles wrote:Yea you forgot the valve springs.
Wtf, why does everyone chime in like a parrot *squaaaak* don't forget the valve springs! *squaaaak!* Stage 3's need them, stage I and most II's are fine.
My blower cams specs are:
Int. Exh.
252 262 Duration
210 218 Duration @ .050" lift
.423 .436 Valve Lift
Stage 1 specs are:
Int. Exh.
252 256 Duration
210 212 Duration @ .050" lift
.423 .419 Valve Lift
Stage 2 specs are:
Int. Exh.
258 262 Duration
216 218 Duration @ .050 lift
.440 .436 Valve Lift
Stage 3 specs are:
Int. Exh.
264 268 Duration
222 224 Duration @ .050 lift
.456 .453 Valve Lift
These specs are straight from Comps' website:
Click this for the link.
Look at the specs, my intake cam is the same as the Stage 1 and my exhaust cam is the same as the Stage 2. The same cams you say "dont require upgraded valve springs".
Intake cam spec card:
Exhaust cam spec card:
What does it say at the bottom of each card? "Springs required", hmmmm. Must be a conspiracy.
Now shut up and go play in traffic.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edited Tuesday, June 09, 2009 8:02 PM
Tinkles
2003 Cavalier 1SV
Bagged and Blown
RufusMegee wrote:I did not end up replacing them but they are torqued at 63lb/ft. I have a vid of my car idling in the day after an oil change.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wy2m8d0TLUA
You should have replaced them and torqued them to 63 ft lbs and 30 degree's rotation.
I used this as my main guide
http://www.ecotecforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9311
I did reference darkstars too, the haynes manual, and a few books laying around here on camshaft operation and replacements. I've been reading up on this for over a year since I am not pro at working on cars, I do not do it for a living. I have an Economics degree...lol... oh yeah...! j/k
I used thread lock... while this may not be ideal, but I've known many people to do this too.... they do have different cars though, not j's. Same with the upper motor mount bolts, thread lock.
I have not heard any complaints about the thread lock from my Honda and Lexus owning friends..lol. I didn't deem it absolutely necessarily, just recommended... def do not want that cam gear to shear off its indention!!
on gm info net it say to retorque the bolts, you dont need to replace the cam cap bolts.
RufusMegee wrote:I used this as my main guide
http://www.ecotecforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9311
I did reference darkstars too, the haynes manual, and a few books laying around here on camshaft operation and replacements. I've been reading up on this for over a year since I am not pro at working on cars, I do not do it for a living. I have an Economics degree...lol... oh yeah...! j/k
I used thread lock... while this may not be ideal, but I've known many people to do this too.... they do have different cars though, not j's. Same with the upper motor mount bolts, thread lock.
I have not heard any complaints about the thread lock from my Honda and Lexus owning friends..lol. I didn't deem it absolutely necessarily, just recommended... def do not want that cam gear to shear off its indention!!
With or without locktite the bolt still needs to be torqued to spec. Hate to see you posting about bending some valves.
(Tom) S/C Fire wrote:RufusMegee wrote:I used this as my main guide
http://www.ecotecforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9311
I did reference darkstars too, the haynes manual, and a few books laying around here on camshaft operation and replacements. I've been reading up on this for over a year since I am not pro at working on cars, I do not do it for a living. I have an Economics degree...lol... oh yeah...! j/k
I used thread lock... while this may not be ideal, but I've known many people to do this too.... they do have different cars though, not j's. Same with the upper motor mount bolts, thread lock.
I have not heard any complaints about the thread lock from my Honda and Lexus owning friends..lol. I didn't deem it absolutely necessarily, just recommended... def do not want that cam gear to shear off its indention!!
With or without locktite the bolt still needs to be torqued to spec. Hate to see you posting about bending some valves.
I torque my bolts according to
http://www.j-body.org/forums/read.php?f=2&i=368262&t=368262
with thread lock.... I appreciate your help and comments, I am not a certified mechianic like you; however, I am not perfect... I might have missed something but there is no need to be constantly negative about things... like i said, I've read about this for over a year... I hope... hope i did not miss something. It is possible, but if i had a problem, I probably would not post on here since people love "flaming" others for their stupidity... This was not intended for a step by step... how to,,, just some pics and vids of things i could not find by searching.... thats all
I'm not trying to be negative, but when you start swapping out internal engine components things need to be done correctly. But have fun with the added power.
-Camshaft sprocket bolt
First pass ………………………............……85 N-m / 63 lb ft
Second pass ……………………..........……30 degrees
(Tom) S/C Fire wrote:I'm not trying to be negative, but when you start swapping out internal engine components things need to be done correctly. But have fun with the added power.
-Camshaft sprocket bolt
First pass ………………………............……85 N-m / 63 lb ft
Second pass ……………………..........……30 degrees
Agreed and done.. as according to the link
sounds pretty good.
JBOK.org / J-Bodies of Kentucky
So what are your goals with this car? Do you think you will upgrade to the LE5 intake mani and/or a larger TB? How are your injector duty cycles on the stock injectors?
I contemplated these cams on my set up just because they're so easy to install, but I'm not ready to drop the money on valvesprings. So I went full bolt-ons, with high flow for top end in mind. ..
I am looking into that intake manifold kit, as well as larger injectors. My student loans just hit me this month and well...... i don't have money like i use to... I've done about 2 flashes of VE tuning... i think I am really pushing the stock injectors to the limit right now... I need to look into larger ones, VE offset is at 130%.
I am not certain on a bored out TB just yet, but ive heard good things from a few friends about this on other cars, not j's. I plan on staying all motor because I do not trust myself to put in a turbo kit as a backyard install... tapping into the oil pan, running oil feeds.... installing charge pipes........ im not comfortable doing all that. But I have a trusty certified toyota mechinic friend if I trust him working on my car lol. he would probably do a much better job than i could.... not many turbocharged stock toyotas out there.
I think you will love the stage 1's if this isnt going to be a drag car... look on ebay for them under the seller speedliquidators. I got mine around 372 shipped and the shipping label showed them coming from comp cam themselves in Memphis, TN.
I hope my vids helped out on what they sound like at idle... i used an LG incite phone to take them... I could only find stage 2's on youtube of a cobalt.
Next time you log, make sure you get injector pulsewidth and injector duty cycle. I bet you maxxed. With bolt ons including the LE5 mani i was at ~ 90% IDC at the stock redline...
Likewise, I bet you would be very happy with the LE5 mani, it will complement the powerband of the stage 1 cams very well!!
Dude that's a killer price on the cams!! Cheapest I've found was 450 +shipping and they go as high as 600!!
I just searched Ebay and that sell has blower grinds for 400 and all other grinds for 450
oldskool wrote:Next time you log, make sure you get injector pulsewidth and injector duty cycle. I bet you maxxed. With bolt ons including the LE5 mani i was at ~ 90% IDC at the stock redline...
Likewise, I bet you would be very happy with the LE5 mani, it will complement the powerband of the stage 1 cams very well!!
Dude that's a killer price on the cams!! Cheapest I've found was 450 +shipping and they go as high as 600!!
You know what... good call!!! ill check that out on the next log. I really appreciate it man! I have 3 books on EFI tuning plus hptuners forums, but I still feel like an amature lol which I am.... I have not read many bad things about that intake manifold.... Looks to be my next upgrade when I get some cash.... I only got these cams because of that price...it was a 2 day sale on ebay... never seen those before, but I could not say no, lol thanks for the help man
oldskool wrote:I just searched Ebay and that sell has blower grinds for 400 and all other grinds for 450
they went up in price!?!......... oh man... im sorry, I got mine the friday before memorial day... keep checking back i guess. Or send a message to them requesting a cheaper price. I did that with the cam tool I bought off there, the seller was nice enough to drop the price 30 bucks, worth a shot i guess? maybe you can talk them into 400 bucks.... mine were 360 because of that 2 day sale I believe it was 40% off or something. good luck!!
