[arthurw87]

Hi guys!

New user here. I'm running a SR20VE CVT in a sentra super saloon.

Was reading through SR20 FAQ. Noticed that the cam duration and lift for both intake and exhaust valves were higher on the newer 20v engine.

Would it improve performance if I swapped the cams over?

Had previously heard nightmare stories about the valves hitting the pistons with such a setup. Is this likely to happen?

 

[IanH]

Where are you located ?
you could swap it out and check the valve clearances and turn the engine over by hand to make sure its free. Not many SR20VE's here in USA, only JDM import conversions.
You could also try some of the SR20 forums see if you get a better answer there.

 

[arthurw87]

Hi, thanks for the reply.

I'm actually located in Malaysia.
Enthusiasts over here are normally able to salvage a lot of scraps from Japan as we're around their region.

The engine came as a full half cut. Purchased it from one of the many "chop shops" around town. Just made the transplant several months ago. So far pretty satisfied; very torquey engine for asian standards as we don't normally have the opportunity to run big blocks.

Looking to mod it down the NA path. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

 

[IanH]

Yes I know, I worked in Singapore for 2 years and had a 1.6 SS Sunny there.
Can you find out if they changed the pistons when they changed the cams ?
If not there is a good chance it will be fine, but i would still recommend assembling and turning over by hand before firing it up.

 

[arthurw87]

The pistons are still stock standard.
Will still measure the valve clearance at TDC to accomodate a set of higher compression pistons which I may add at a later date. (At least thats what some of the other forum users advised)

Turning by hand is probably the most obvious way to check once the cams are in place. Still new to this. Thanks for the advice.

Guess I'll be taking the leap with the cam conversion now.
Here goes nothing...

 

[Dark_Eagle]

if you have a ve and want some nice aggressive cams, search all the sr20 forums for sr16ve n1 cams.

 

[arthurw87]

Yeah, the N1 were the first cams I considered. But they were pretty difficult to find.

I found a nice set of 20v cams (intake and exhaust) at the scrap shop though. Got them for cheap. Anyways, making good progress on the swap. The head unit is out. Polishing some valves now.

Darn, I forgot to dyno it first. Now I got no idea how much hp I've gained (or lost).

 

[Dark_Eagle]

there's a set for sale on sr20forum right now

http://www.sr20forum.com/naturally-aspirated-performance-parts/235301-n1-cams.html

 

[arthurw87]

Hey, thanks for the link. Checked it out. The N1's sound really tempting but USD$550 is a little over my budget. I picked up my current cams for around $150 in the local scrap shop.

Anyways, the cams are all in. Haven't had time to assemble the head back on. Probably will be getting a little outside help with that as still very new to this.

Haha, really excited about my first cam project. The new cam profiles on the 20v is definitely bigger. Its actually noticeable when turning by hand. I marked the difference on the edge of a wooden desk.

 

[Beans]

Your 20V cams will be fine in the standard engine, we haven't found piston-to-valve clearance problems in any of our engines so far and we are using 20V, SR16VE, N1 and Franklin Stage 4 cams.

By 'we' I mean the NZ Primera Car Club, quite a few of us have SR20VE equipped cars. You should be quite pleased with the result over standard and the price you got the cams for is a bargain. They sell for $500 NZD here if you can find them.