15 replies to this topic

[nick1989mini]

Hi all.

Currently giving my mini a complete freshen up after being left for 8 years.

Need some help on deciding what cam shaft to buy please?

It's a 1460cc pre A plus with a worn star drive fairly standard unknown cam.

Its getting a specialist components full mappable injection kit after rebuild.

Basically I want the cam to give ok road/MOT driving for stuff like London to Brighton runs, but also good power when AC/DC is playing 😆. At the same time I don't want a cam which you have to rev the crap out of & stress the engine. The engine had lots of torque on road anyway with being long stroke.

Any experience/ideas are much appreciated.

Thanks in advance. Nick.

[Carlos W]

Kent 266 and take advantage of the torque of the engine.

[nick1989mini]

Sounds good, the swift tune kit sw5 is tempting me as well though but not sure Kent cams can be beaten. The swift tune kit looks quite handy as I need an oil pump anyway.

[Cooperman]

Kent 266 or MG Metro - they are very similar.

[Mrpeanut]

SW5 for me. AC Dodd commented on another thread recently that this has a bit more go then the MG Metro cam.

Also consider the Minispares evo1. Specs are 266 ish but with more lift. I'm running one in my 1330 with a very good head. It goes very well and pulls strongly right through the rev range.

[Mrpeanut]

...

Edited by Mrpeanut, 24 October 2014 - 08:40 PM.

[Cooperman]

There is very little to choose between any cams in that range, despite what others may say.

So long as peak power is produced at revs which a large bore/stroke engine can accept, like c.5700 rpm, then it should work fine.

Look at the torque and power curves for each cam, but remember, the best performance will depend on the head, induction, exhaust and build quality.

[mini13]

 with the long stroke I would go for a cam with  more pep, I think an RE 13 would be an absolute stormer in a 1460, but still give good manners

[nick1989mini]

Thanks for the feedback all. Food for thought. The inner devil is telling me to go with a slightly more exciting cam as it's got a big valve polished/ported head etc & I think the injection kit allows for better set up witg MOT emissions but don't want to push my luck.

[mini13]

Its worth talking to SC regarding the cam, I know they have used the re13 on their 7 port demonstrator, and that gave cracking results, might be worth a drive over  to norwich and get them to take you for a spin?

[Cooperman]

Be careful not to 'over cam' the engine. Fit a cam which suits the revs you want to drive at rather than a cam which requires you to drive outside your rev range comfort zone. For example, look at the cam data and, if it produces peak power at, say, 6200 rpm, then be prepared to use up to 6500 rpm a lot of the time. If you are not prepared to rev slightly over the point of max power, then the engine is 'over cammed'. Choose the cam which will work for your engine, not make the engine have to work up to the cam. 

If you want to be driving at between 3000 and 5500 rpm, then choose a cam which gives optimum torque and power at between those revs. It's called 'engineering'.

[nick1989mini]

Good points. From what I can remember the engine was quite the angry beast with plenty of torque steer starting from low revs (old standard cam, points ignition & webber 45) so maybe 3000 to 5500 doesn't sound too bad. I will chat with SC next week to see what they think as well.

[mini13]

this is one of the reasons I sugested the RE 13, its "supposedly" an equicalent in terms of power as the ubiquitous kent 286 that a lot of people stick in as a balls out fast road cam, but the RE13 is a fast opening cam, so it gets the valve open quickly bit with a shorter duration, the result is it makes the power lower down, and has better manners, it's also a fair bit more durable as the nose of the cam is more rounded and less prone to wear.

 

theres also a re13OT (optimum torque) which is a bit more biased to making mid range power.

[nick1989mini]

Cool thanks for the info

[nick1989mini]

Ordered the RE13PP kit off calverST. Spoke with SP & they recommended it for what I want. The RE13OT would be too much. The SW10 from swift tune was recommended aswell though. Cheers for your ideas all. Will update probably next year when engine goes back in.