Camshafts which one and where to buy?

[twin eng, twin turbs]

I have tried various different cam grinds over the years and it all depends on what your after power band and drivabilty wise. In a 1.6 litre the best factory cam is a "E" grind from the first series 1.6 GTI engines with the heron style head which is flat and dosn't have any combustion chambers in the head. They give a little more top end than a "G" grind from later 1.8 litre engines but still have a good torque band in the low rpm. The shim clearances can be adjusted yourself if you have a selection of shims and feeler gauges. With the engine cold the clearance between the inlet cam lobe and shim is 0.25mm to 0.35mm and the exhaust is 0.30mm to 0.40mm. The autotech 260 is a great all round cam for street and will give more power than both "E" and "G" grind factory cams. You can use your original valve springs they slip straight in as well. Schrick and tectonics are my pick for cam manufacturers. The best cam i have used would be the schrick 272 (big $) and this does require some die grinding to give clearance in the head due to the extra lift. Combined with 40mm twin webbers, 42mm inlet, 35mm exaust valves heavy duty valve springs and massive porting it totally transformed performance making strong power to 7500rpm. 160+ hp

[Jarred]

I have tried various different cam grinds over the years and it all depends on what your after power band and drivabilty wise. In a 1.6 litre the best factory cam is a "E" grind from the first series 1.6 GTI engines with the heron style head which is flat and dosn't have any combustion chambers in the head. They give a little more top end than a "G" grind from later 1.8 litre engines but still have a good torque band in the low rpm. The shim clearances can be adjusted yourself if you have a selection of shims and feeler gauges. With the engine cold the clearance between the inlet cam lobe and shim is 0.25mm to 0.35mm and the exhaust is 0.30mm to 0.40mm. The autotech 260 is a great all round cam for street and will give more power than both "E" and "G" grind factory cams. You can use your original valve springs they slip straight in as well. Schrick and tectonics are my pick for cam manufacturers. The best cam i have used would be the schrick 272 (big $) and this does require some die grinding to give clearance in the head due to the extra lift. Combined with 40mm twin webbers, 42mm inlet, 35mm exaust valves heavy duty valve springs and massive porting it totally transformed performance making strong power to 7500rpm. 160+ hp

We'll it's for my daily, so I'd like useable tourqe and a top end would be nice,but not crucial. would you recommend the autotech 260 then? DO i need to fiddle with shims to put this one in, or is it more a "plug an play" kind of cam??

[Peter Jones]

You're going to have to set up the shims on any cam you put into a 1600.

Pete

[Preen59]

We'll it's for my daily, so I'd like useable tourqe and a top end would be nice,but not crucial. would you recommend the autotech 260 then? DO i need to fiddle with shims to put this one in, or is it more a "plug an play" kind of cam??

Isn't the autotech 260 a copy of the G grind? Anyway, it would be a good cam to start with. The best thing is to ring the place you want to purchase your cam from and with a rough idea of what you want, ask them some questions and if they have half a brain, they'll steer you in the right direction.

For your level of experience, pick the cam you want and take the head and cam down to a cylinder head shop and say "put this cam in it". It will cost you a bit but if you have no experience and nobody to help you out, it's the safest way.