Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) How Much Benefit is There to Changing Camshafts?

[HeavyHauler]

Hey guys - I've been tossing around the idea of putting a different cam in my engine but I'm really not sure about the specifics. I'm setting up the truck for towing and daily driving and have noticed that Piers apparently makes a cam that fits this application. But then again, I wondered if I might be better off going a different route or having something custom ground, but I really wouldn't know what specs to use.



How much benefit do you see from swapping cams? Is there a significant horsepower gain? Mileage? Or is this basically just a drivability improvement? I guess I just need to know if you think that the gains would justify the expense.



I would appreciate hearing anything you know about them and would like to hear some recommendations on what to use also. I also noticed that Don M also used to make camshafts but don't know if he's still doing it.



Thanks for the help!

 

[PC12Driver]

I've been running the Haisley/Scheid Street Puller cam now for a few months. The truck feels more responsive on the bottom end, smoke is much more controllable, temps dropped about 100* on the top, and I can get 20-40 miles more per fill-up.



The results are noticible, but not as exciting as bigger injectors or a new box. It's not a horsepower mod since no additional fuel is added, but it is a good support mod for you to add more horsepower (fuel). With my mods and the stock turbo (35/12) I'd have to work to break 1400*. With the DZ/14 it takes a while to hit 1300*. So it may be a good substitute for a larger turbo if you're looking to drop the temps a bit but want to keep the quicker spool of a smaller turbo.



I paid $400 for mine, and feel that the cam is worth it for that price. If I paid to have it installed or bought one of the more expensive brands it wouldn't have been worth it to me.

 

[DHayden]

This is what I have gathered about them but I do not have one... maybe some day. The avg mileage gain is 1mpg, any gain is good in my book. EGT's drop around 150degree's. The turbo spool's a little lower in the rpm range and the torque comes in a little sooner and stays in good torque range for an extra 2-300 rpms over stock.

The price to have it installed will cost you the same if not a little more than the cam itself. It sounds like a good mod to me especially for towing but it's not in my near future because of installation costs. I would do it myself but I don't have the tools and shop available to me to make it allot easier than a driveway project.

 

[HeavyHauler]

Thanks for the replies guys - I guess it just boils down to selecting the right cam now. Anything I've heard/read about changing one has been positive, and all of the benefits that you guys described are exactly what I'm after.



This is something that I would take on myself so the installation costs wouldn't be a factor. I've got access to all the necessary tools, and if I got hung up, a good friend of mine is a diesel mechanic with 35 years under his belt.



I wouldn't mind trying Piers' cam. It sounds like what I'm after. Any comments on whether to go with with a factory reground cam or a brand new unit? The price difference is considerable, but I just don't know enough about them to know whether the benefits of a new cam would outweight the extra costs. The reground cam is $575 and the new cam is something like $713.



Whadda ya think? Any other opinions on a different cam to try?



Thanks!

 

[PC12Driver]

Something I just thought about; Van recessed the valves into the head a bit to ensure valve/piston clearance with his cam. This was the first I've heard of this being done. So I guess it could be a consideration if your head has been trued for fire/o-rings. The Haisley cam did have some bigger numbers in it's spec sheet than the others, so that might be some of it too.



Also, Van doesn't sell the cam with tappets. With my mileage (80k) he said I probably wouldn't need to change them out. If my cam looked good, the tappets should be good with that few miles. No sense risking the changeout. That made the install really easy.

 

[Bandit1]

i like my cam, made the truck spool alot faster, and it just seems to keep pulling hard until i run out of safe rpms. even with my tight auto spool up is no prob, we will see with my new turbo that should be here this week. Doug Conrad at ADT took care of my cam when he rebuilt my motor, it is not a regrind, (def stay away from regrinds!!) go with a new cam, it is worth the extra money. give doug a shout he wont steer you wrong.

 

[JStieger]

Hey guys - I've been tossing around the idea of putting a different cam in my engine but I'm really not sure about the specifics. I'm setting up the truck for towing and daily driving and have noticed that Piers apparently makes a cam that fits this application. But then again, I wondered if I might be better off going a different route or having something custom ground, but I really wouldn't know what specs to use.



How much benefit do you see from swapping cams? Is there a significant horsepower gain? Mileage? Or is this basically just a drivability improvement? I guess I just need to know if you think that the gains would justify the expense.



I would appreciate hearing anything you know about them and would like to hear some recommendations on what to use also. I also noticed that Don M also used to make camshafts but don't know if he's still doing it.



Thanks for the help!

HeavyHauler-



I recently had a PDR cam installed in my 3rd gen and reported on the results here if it helps you any:



https://www.turbodieselregister.com/forums/showthread.php?t=132035



Note that a lot of my research on a cam swap came from these 2nd gen forums! I found that the benefits reported on the 2nd gens with cam swaps definitely came true on my 3rd gen also. If I had to do it over again, I would. Aside from the obvious mileage gains, the driveability improvements are really noticeable when you start driving the same roads day-in and day-out after the install and start noticing perhaps less shifting where you used to shift, better low rpm pull instead of it kind of starting to lug etc. Anyway, more observations in the thread above! Sorry for the interruption.

 

[JGK]

... Any comments on whether to go with with a factory reground cam or a brand new unit? The price difference is considerable, but I just don't know enough about them to know whether the benefits of a new cam would outweight the extra costs. The reground cam is $575 and the new cam is something like $713.

I went with a reground cam from Piers. He said that's what he had in his truck and has had no problems!



He said they've ground off twice the material that they normally do and checked the hardness and found it was still just as good, so they aren't anywhere near the limits of what can be safely removed.



For me, I didn't notice that much improvement. Maybe a little. It's pretty subtle. I did it because I was pulling the case off to fix an oil leak and the cam was coming out for that anyway. Good excuse for another BOMB.



-Jay