Performance Cams?
 

Anyone found a good source for performance cams lately? The only places I've seen lately are Webcams and Megacycle. I'd really like to NOT spend $500 on a set but I also don't want the hassle of sending my stock ones out for a regrind. That is, unless someone has an extra set they are willing to sell cheap... hint hint.

What was the difference between the 97-99 and the 00-up again?

I had a pair of Yoshimura Stage 1 cams installed (had them re-timed slightly for low and mids). I picked them up cheap in eBay. Not sure if Moriwaki still makes them or not as they are another source. Good luck

somewhere posted here are the spec differences in the yoshi vs. moriwaki vs stock cams. You might get a lot of the difference by simply altering the timing of the stock cams with slotted sprockets. really cheap except all the labor and PIA factor

I have two sets of extra cams I can Part with one set. I am not sure what to ask for them. You would not happen to have some extra side covers would you.

Stumpy

I seem to recall someone also mentioning the possibility of doubling up on the cams (ie. using two intake or two exhaust, forget which now) as one is slightly more aggressive than the other. Of course they would have to be re-timed, but that and a well-done indexing of all the cams would surely help....

Nothing that I know of.


Sorry, I don't. Send me a PM with what you want for a set.

Degreeing the cams is part of the equation, but I need more than what the stock cams can provide. I'm likely going to go big enough to require new springs, which is ok. While I'm at it I might even mill the heads (because of those darn JE bastages) to bump up the compression - another reason to degree the cams.

Thanks for all of the responses. I guess the best option is to have a stock set of core ground to the spec I want.

I wish I knew of another source than those mentioned but do not; do you have JE pistons installed?

The chap who did the work on my heads had them milled 0.015" (along with doing the ports and cleaning up the "hot spots" from the combustion chamber). I am running the Yoshi cams and stock pistons and can put 87 octane in it no problem (as per the tech's recommendations). She runs real nice too :)

No, I don't. I bought a set a few years back only to find out that my cases needed bored. When I tried to exchange them for an overbore size those STUPID, ROTTEN BASTARDS at JE wouldn't take them back, nor do they (at that time, I've not checked since) make any overbore sizes. What kind of crap is that? They are dead to me.

Those @#%, $%$% what at JE?.

I can't understand why they weren't more helpful.

Maybe because they get about 1 order every 6 months. Last I heard they had a minimum quantity of 4 for OS VTR pistons.

I can't wait to order my custom RC51 pistons. Yeah, they'll be expensive.

I am glad to be back into bikes....
The last motor I built for my drag car cost me almost 16 grand. And yeah, it had JE pistons. But the crank was almost 3 times the price of the pistons. I will be glad to pay 1500 dollars for crank, rods and pistons for a bike.

Have you looked into the price fior a torque plate, to hold the cylinders true and simulate the head being torqued down while boring and honing?

It's just a thermally stabilized plate of steel with one big hole and 4 little ones, surface ground on 2 sides.

It will probably make 2 forged, custom pistons look pretty reasonable.

The pistons I was GOING to use were stock, off the shelf, catalog items. I don't know why they would make a 'standard' piston without also offering service sizes. My biggest issue was that they would not let me return them because you could see where I had measured with the mics. Of course, nobody measures parts before they use them, right? Of course not. These marks in no way would affect the function of the pistons, you could barely even see them. The guy at JE was a real dick saying that if there was any sign at all that the parts had been removed from the package they would send them back to me... at my cost of course.


Try Weisco or better yet Arias. I've had much better luck with those guys. They also have 4 piece minimum order (seems to be a standard) and their prices are about the same. It's the customer service that makes them stand out.

I always wondered why they didn't make overbore sizes. I think it's because there was a small market for racing parts and an even smaller one for rebuilds.

I have also wondered why they build to the minimum bore spec, when the blocks are bored to the high end of the spec. They all tend to have the maximum skirt clearance.

I've heard that Wiseco pistons fit better. I like the quality of the JE parts, other than the skirt clearance - which is a big deal. I have bought 1 set of pistons and didn't have to deal with any product service issues. I can see your point.

The last I checked Wiseco stopped making pistons for The Super Hawk and no longer have them in their catalog..they may still have a few sets in inventory if you find out let us know.

Just a little input on piston clearance. Most of the places that i have dealt with as far as engine building go, when reboring, have you purchase and bring in the pistons prior to boring the cylinders. This way they can set the optimal skirt clearance for any piston. As for just replacing the pistons, you are at the mercy of sizing, and calling around to find out who has the pistons the size you need for your bores is probably a good idea.

That's true.
But I disassmbled my engine after the crash and measured the skirts after ~15k miles. They hadn't changed at all. So running on the high end of the tolerance for skirt clearance had no ill effect. A heavy crosshatch probably would have caused much more wear. They are a big bore, so you can run quite a bit more clearance than you would on a small-bore i4.

I didn't think they ever did. VTR pistons are going to be custom parts, but I'd pay $400-600 for a set of 4 custom pistons from Arias, Wiseco or Ross without any hesitation. JE won't ever get another dime of mine!