This is a subject that has been discussed on and off on the Q list. No one seems to have done it per se but opinions abound. The goal is to acheive a power upgrade similar to buying a $300+ camshaft without spending the big bucks. Since I have an 81 5kt sitting around practicing entropy I already have the camshaft. The collective wisdom seems to indicate that a solid lifter camshaft should go in a solid lifter head. So I have the correct donor. If your n/a engine has hydraulic lifters you would want your turbo donor to be likewise. Ned Ritchie did answer me with a simple "yes, the turbo camshaft is a good poor man's upgrade to the n/a engine" so I feel like I should definitely do this. It also occurs to me that I should move the entire head over, since the turbo has bigger valves, with sodium cooled exhaust valves. Only problem is that on quick inspection, the head I have looks to be a bit of a mess, lots of rusty studs, and a few broken ones already visible. Well, at a timing belt and water pump party in the spring of '99, held at fellow audifan Chris Miller's house, I took the plunge. Since the front of the engine was already off to do the basic maintenance, I pulled the cam cover and swapped this baby in. It is an upgrade, chiefly in the high rpm range. I don't seem to have lost any torque, but the engine now pulls smoothly to the red line, where it used to kind of wimp out above 5500 rpm. In fact, it now seems that the rev limiter, if my car has one, might be a good idea! (It does...) Feb '00 update, Still happy with the cam. As more little things get done to the engine, the free revving effect is more and more noticeable, as Alan says in his Schrick report, the tach sees to move faster and faster the higher it goes! |
