Hi there.

I have been reading up on Cam changes for the B series Engine and came to a rather suprising conclusion:

I have a stock B200F high compression engine, common in Europe. It is has 111 hp output and is thus very close to the B230, 116hp. Reason for the 2.0ltr version are mainly taxation reasons. It is fitted with the same M cam as the B230F.

Like so many I rearly go over 3500rpm so I am looking at increasing torque rather than HP (I don't think my engine ever delivered more than 85hp in its life, purely because I never reached enough rpms to develop that - do you rev all the way to 5000rpm?).

It seems the VX and other fancy cams increase the HP figure. Nice but not for me than.

The surpising conclusion from all my reading is that I should be looking at A-cams to achieve my goal: higher torque. There must be millions of A-cams in Europe. Like in Canada they were fitted standard on carb engines all the way till '91. Plenty of those around at the junkyard, you probably get one for $10.

Is this too good to be true, or is there really something to gain for me? Has anybody made this swap and how did it work out. What are the down sides, does it effect the emmisions?

Any info appriciated.

Jorn

hi there i put the A grind cam in my b230 and a redrilled cam gear set it at four degrees advanced. my experience is it is a little slower off the line but at high rpms is really moves the speedometer, like passing where to me it is most important. i have a B cam on the shelf i read is a good one also. i will try the B in my daughters car if i get a round tuit. oh yea the b cams around here from the junkyard (mans mall) are fifteen bucks.

You are right about the availability of A-cams (they are cheap and plentiful), but I'm not sure about your interpretation of the powerband. The A-cam will move your torque peak farther toward the redline. The M-cam is about the best choice around for low-end torque in a non-turbo.

The B-cam will behave very similarly to the M-cam below 3500, but it will continue to put out good power where the M-cam falls off. The A-cam moves further toward a high-RPM motor, followed by the K, then the H. Interestingly, the peak torques of all these cam grinds are very nearly equal - it's just the location of the torque peak in the RPM range that determines the peak HP number.

If low-end response is what you want, I'd stick with the M or B cam, and put in the lowest rear-axle ratio you can get. For the 240, 3.91 is commonly available, and some earlier 240s even used a 4.10.
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Speed Racer, '83 240 R, '74 164 E, '93 940 OL1 (Manchester, CT)