Date:         Sun, 23 Mar 2003 21:23:01 -0500
Reply-To:     Robert Donalds <bostneng@FCL-US.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Robert Donalds <bostneng@FCL-US.NET>
Subject:      cams and lifters and more power wasRe: lifters for new engine?
Comments: cc: Stan Wilder <wilden1@juno.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

Stan wrote 
Unless you're going to run big valve heads and want to run your engine at
higher than normal rpms, I'd stick with stock.
You can get a mild hydraulic cam and I think most rebuilders install
them.


fellow vanagon types

The best way to make better power from an engine is to increase the amount of air and fuel the cylinder takes in every time the valve opens. Ratio rockers make a minor differance in the top end of the power curve but thats not where van engine need the added boost. 
    Taking in fresh air from outside the engine compartment and decreasing the back presssure are just a couple of simple ways to make an engine breath better. I offer big valve engines for both the type 2 and the 2.1 water boxer engines. The 3mm increase in valve size with the stock port size makes it possible to increase airflow around the valve and boost power threw out the RPM range without decreasing air speed at low RPM. Decreasing low RPM air speeds would make a mess of the low end power Other options to make an engine breath better would be to add a cam with bigger lobes. But I have gotten more than one call from sad lads that put a non stock cam with more than stock lift and duration in there vans they said had to down shift at the smallest hill even when they had a tail wind. The benifits of the stock cam is that it helps the air-cooled type 2 engine warm up fast in the winter and that's a good thing if you drive the van in the winter. But the stock cam also makes the engine run hotter in the summer due to the low exhaust lift of .240ths as measured at the cam. That was not a bad thing when there was a gas available that could withstand the extra heat in the heads. This is no longer the case today's fuels are made to run in a narrow range of head temps. The air cooled van engines does not fit in this range except in the winter when the ambient air temp is low and the cooling system can keep up with even the most severe load. All my rebuilt air-cooled type 2 van longblocks get a high lift 430 intake and exhaust camshaft with about the same as stock duration so as not to freak out the fuel injection and shift the power curve to the top end of the RPM range. This extra air flow helps keep the head temps down but is not a replacement for good old leaded gas. I have also come to the conclusion the air -cooled van engines have to much back pressure with a stock exhaust. One of my employees has recently drilled out the baffles on the 72 bus muffler he installed in his 81 vanagon heater boxes. he is pleased with the extra power and it is just a little bit louder
The idea that you can just replace the lifters with solids sounds simple but for instance the Malhe solid lifters will eat your stock oem cam in about 1 to 2 thousand miles!!!!!!! they are not compatable metals.

 been ther done that got the tee shirt
going faster miles an hour 
I remain   
Bob Donalds 
Boston Engine the home of free flow thought 
http://www.bostonengine.com
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