Having bought a new engine my thoughts turn to a new camshaft.

Could you V8 owners tell me what cams you have and your experiences with them??

I've got a 3.9lr Rover V8 thats been thoroughly done over by V8 developements. Top hat liners etc etc etc. I am also hopefully going to go down the EFI route. I am looking for a cam with great drivability and some mild power gains I think.

Thanks for you help in advance.

I have a Viper Hurricane cam. Its a bit less performance than the Viper Typhoon.

Mine has good all round power, and the power band comes in at 3000rpm, and lasts to 6000rpm, where bouncy valves limit the revs.
Personally I would not rev a RV8 over 6k, unless you have a lot of work done on the engine.

Good torque figures are useful, as with the right gearing it will pull like a demon!

Mine is:
9.7:1 compression
Viper hurricane cam
Webber 500 4 barrel carb
Mild opening up of the inlet ports.
and a generally full rebuild, ie rebored, new bearings etc etc.

Make sure you have got a GOOD oil pump.
Its worth checking and replacing.

Mine does 0-60 in 5 sec flat. and has just on 200Bhp. Which is more than enough in a Se7en.
Bear in mind my Viento is a good 100+Kg heavier than your average Se7en, due to it being a lot bigger.
Worst thing about a RV8 is finding a decent LT77 box to mate up to it. Most are well worn by now, and rebuilding them is not cheap.

Find an R380 if you can, but these are newer and more pricey.

Just my 2d's worth.




EDIT:

I use www.v8tuner.co.uk - Paul is a decent bloke, prices are very good, and will even talk you out of buying things you dont really need!
Other good site is Real Steel. I preferred to use Paul.

[Edited on 23/3/2010 by wilkingj]

WilkingJ,

Do you have standard lifters with your viper hurricane?

Also would you recomend a oil cooler?

[Edited on 23/3/10 by Irony]

You can use the standard lifters wth that cam (or even some of the wilder ones) providing you are not revving your engine over 5,800 rpm for any length of time. Otherwise you would be advised to use bleed-down lifters (which some people don't like) and which tend to rattle annoyingly

You want to be lloking for a cam which produces abit more power but still gives a good idle and brings in the power at usable revs - you don't want to revving the nuts off your RV8 all the time.

Have alook at all the offerings from real Steel, RPi, V8 Tuner etc and then talk to them (esp Paul @ V8 Tuner) for their recommendations for YOUR application. You could also talk to Jim @ JRV8.

The problem is there is no one right answer - it depends on your car, the state of tune of your engine and the type of driving you want to do. I suspect it won't matter too much in a relatively lightweight kit car.

Ref the oil cooler - many will say you don't want one as it doesn't do your engine any good to run it too cool. Others will say if you fit one then you should have a thermostatic valve fitted to your oil pipes. Again it really depends on your car - if the engine bay os crowded and there is little chance for hot air to escape from under the bonnet then an oil cooler might be a good thing. I certainly use one in my V6 Robin Hood, simply to try and help the engine with cooling. I also have one on my RV8 Cobra but the benefit there is less clear.