I would like to have cams be my next big mod, but my concern is reliability. This car is my daily driver and it has to stay reliable for a long time. I have done all the regular bolt on’s that I feel are needed. I will not be replacing the plenum, intake or TB, because I figure these are fine for what I want to do to the car. I feel this money could be spent on other things. I am still torn between MHS and Hitech cams. Both seem to be pretty good quality. I am still undecided on Stage 1 or Stage 2, because as mentioned I want the car to have good street manners and still be reliable as a daily driver. I would like to know how your cars have handled this mod and what negative impact it has had on the reliability of the vehicle. Any input would be appreciated.

 

Stock heads, valves and pistons go stage 1 or MHS Stage 2. Different valves, notched pistons, new springs go stage 2.

I personally would go with MHS over Hitech.

 

Choice of cams usually ends up being personal preference. As far as reliability goes, once properly tuned, you should not have any streetability issue with a stage 2 or less. For a DD, I'd steer clear from anything above that. Reliability will not change at all with better cams.

 

If staying on the stock PI heads i'd do either MHS stage 2's or CMS stage 1's.

 

stage 2s na will give you that nice idle plus room to grow if you do any more internal engine mods later on i.e. forged parts.

 

Just my opinion, if you decide to do cams.....get some decent grinds. I'd do stage 2s for sure. You will not sacrifice daily driving but will significantly increase performance over stag 1s.

 

I could be wrong, but most of the time if you upgrade the cams to anything higher then a stage 2, they require intake mods as well. You will need more air flow to accommodate the cams.

 

I'll recommend calling Tim or Andy over at Modular Powerhouse and talking to them about their custom grinds. 01GT4.6 used to run their N/A cams and saw very good results as we all know. I am running a set of their blower cams and trapping higher than a lot of guys even running stage 2 N/A cams. I would highly recommend them.

 

Thanks everyone. I don't plan on going higher then stage 2 so I will make a few calls and see what these guys recommend for my application. If I end up doing this it might not be for a few months or so. Plus I am still looking at moving up to a Cobra.

 

add some good vale springs and retainers while your in there+ it may require it depending on cams