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XP cam or 1.9 roller rockers

K

kurupt305

New member
what up so im in a pickle now not sure whether I want to buy a cam or some rockers. Im good with mechanics but don't know about taking my daily driver apart lol my goal is to hit high 12s low 13s in time so I really want to know is how many of yall actually installed your cam yourself? Or how many paid a shop to do it if so how much and what kind of shop are they? I know I can put in rockers myself but cam seems more extensive I would be keeping the motor in the car due to that I don't have a cherry picker. Not sure if I can hit high 12s low 13s with 1.9 rr and a stage 2 intercooler
 


To compare 1.9 rockers to an XP cam would promote the false notion that the two are comparable.
XP cam is better and there is no comparison.
 
doing the cam in the car is not difficult at all. It can be done in a weekend by a slow guy, or a long afternoon by a mechanically inclined person. Just make sure you disconnect the int steering shaft before you drop the cradle ;)
 
have you done a cam swap yourself a lot of ppl say its easy and have never done it by the way I have an 05 gtp now sure if that matters now when I line up the timing marks on camshaft gear and crank pulley is there anything else you have to do dial in anything as far as degrees for timing? Ive been told dropping in jus the rolles and a pulley drop ill be happy for the st like I said I want to know the simplest cheapest way to hit low 13s high 12s besides using nos I want the power too always be there
 
kurupt305 said:
have you done a cam swap yourself a lot of ppl say its easy and have never done it by the way I have an 05 gtp now sure if that matters now when I line up the timing marks on camshaft gear and crank pulley is there anything else you have to do dial in anything as far as degrees for timing? Ive been told dropping in jus the rolles and a pulley drop ill be happy for the st like I said I want to know the simplest cheapest way to hit low 13s high 12s besides using nos I want the power too always be there
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Between danomite and I... there's been a few cam swaps done LOL
 
I tell you what man it would be awesome to have someone to help me here in south florida but the only guy I know says doing a cam isn't worth it for the price and head ache to just do the 1.9 rr he told me to just go turbo lol ;( ir to do the rockers
 


well of course turbo is the way to go, but you certainly wouldnt be disappointed with an xp cam. mine took me to 356whp. I am 100% certain rockers wont get you anywhere close to that.
 
well i was a GM tech for a while. On one of the in car cam swaps i/we did, i was just there to help out a novice. Did it in a long afternoon. Id swear there has to be a write up for this for you to use as a guide. And there are plenty of people here that would be more than willing to help walk you thru any hiccups you may encounter.

previous mods were: IS 2.5 heads, gen V w 2.6, fsic, full exh, e85+meth injection, every and all supporting mods.
 
I know cam over rockers but for the money and hp and ease of installation yourself and parts and what not is it really worth it
 


kurupt305 said:
I know cam over rockers but for the money and hp and ease of installation yourself and parts and what not is it really worth it
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A bit of info from me...I thought the same thing and bought a set of used modified 1.9 some years ago think hey rockers are a easy install and I should be happy...wrong. Wasn't impressed by the gains and wanted more..at this time I found a use low mileage vs cam and thought what the hell. Sold those 1.9s and bought the VS for the same. It's not to much more work and the additional parts aren't expensive.

If you were to do rockers you would want to do springs, valve seals, vc gasket if yours aren't in great condition.

Cam.. Valve springs, valve seals, vc covers, coolant elbows, oil , timing chain and dampener I'm sure I'm missing something but that's the basics of what you need.

Did my cam install in a few hours in my driveway..no fancy tools or anything just simple sockets, breaker bar, beer.
 
comp g do you still have the vs how much more of an better increase in power did you feel over rockers also on avg what did you spend with all parts
 
kurupt305 said:
comp g do you still have the vs how much more of an better increase in power did you feel over rockers also on avg what did you spend with all parts
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I never dyno'd or tracked it to give accurates number but it was quite a noticeable difference. I preferred having power in the low to mid rpm range since I was city driving a lot vs the rockers that seem to only give more power at the higher RPM range. I still have the VS in the car now fixing a few things and getting ready to hopefully put in back in the road here's in the next few weeks.

-$200ish for cam
-$35 for valve springs and retainers
- timing chain, dampener, valve seals, vc got from advance and I tend to abuse the whole coupon code thing and pick up in store vs buying from ZZP.
-$12 for beer <<<< very important, very important.
- I also pulled the heads when I installed the valve springs and dropped the heads off at the machine shop to have them checked for cracks, decked, etc etc..wasn't needed but I figured why not. (New headgaskets as well)
 


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