2.2 delta cam installation

[Aluxes]

Hello everyone. Wondering if anyone has done a writeup on installing some delta cams on the 2.2? I found a write up over on rs2.5 forum, but it is for the 2.5. Not sure of the differences between the 2.2 and the 2.5, pertaining to camshaft installation. These cams are going in an extra pair of heads that are not on the car. Once installed I will swap the heads.

[Fairtax4me]

Remove the cam timing sprocket.

Remove the valve cover.

Remove the rocker shaft assembly. Loosen the bolts 1/2 turn at a time until all are loose. there are 2 alignment dowels which can get stuck. Wiggle the ends to help loose them from the dowels as you loosen the bolts. 

 

On the drivers head remove the cam extension block from the front of the head. 

Passenger head remove the rear cam plug.

Slide the old cam out. be careful not to gouge the bearing surfaces in the head. If the bearing surfaces in the head are damaged the head has to be replaced. Some machine shops can press bearings into the head, but it usually requires that all 3 bearings be done, and it costs alot more than a used head. 

 

Lube the new cam with assembly lube. Permatex stuff from the parts store works fine. Slide the cam into the head, install the end cap or extension. Make sure the cam spins freely. 

Install shims under the lifters in the rocker arms if you have hydraulic lifters, then install the rocker assembly. Spin the cam so the lobes are pointed away from the rockers to ease installation of the rocker assembly.

 

If you have solid lifters do not make adjustments until you install the rocker assemblies. Put plenty of assembly lube on the cam lobes and rollers on the rockers. Make preliminary valve lash adjustments if necessary. A final lash adjustment should be made when the engine is assembled and timing belt is installed. 

[Aluxes]

Ok! Wow thanks for that mini writeup!! Thats awesome! This is going to be fun!! Any advice on if I should even try to install the new heads with the block in the car, or is it way easier to pull the engine?

[Fairtax4me]

2.2 heads can be done in the car but it's much easier to clean the block with it out of the car. It's also tricky to get the final torque on the bolts with it out of the car. If you have an engine lift, it isn't that much more work to go ahead and pull the engine out.

[Bushwick]

What's the usable powerband with the cams and how much power do they add? 

[Aluxes]

The cams are the 200 grind from Delta. They told me usable power band was from  about idle up to around the redline or so. Not sure of the power gains, but with my other existing mods they should be a nice touch.

[Bushwick]

Once you get them installed, please do a walk around video as I'm sure others, including myself would love to hear if the idle is any different. A quick drive running through the gears with a camera on the tach and speedo would be a nice a touch too. GL with the install!

[Fairtax4me]

Idle is very slightly different. The torque cam isn't a high power cut so it doesn't make it lope any at idle .

There used to be some dyno results floating around in interwebz land of a stock 2.2 vs one with delta torque grind cams.

You really only gain a few horses, but the torque band is wider and peak torque occurs sooner . There is also more seat of the pants torque just off idle.

[Bushwick]

One of my Mustangs had a smaller cam that favored low-end and mid-range and had a very wide torque curve (it was something similar to a towing RV cam but in a 2700 pound body). Redline wasn't very high (forget actual number) but man it screamed and nothing else sounded like it. When it had a C4 auto, it'd act like it had a stall converter. Was wondering what a 4cyl. with a cam would be like if it favors a tight profile and early power. 

 

People forget a great, low-end to mid-range cam makes the engine pick the car up and scoot which wins all races below 90mph. And the sound of a healthy engine below 3k rpm is so much more rewarding as it climbs near redline. 

[Aluxes]

Wouldnt one get more power from the cams when used with other mods vs everything stock? Im running some EL headers, intake, MSD coil and Magnecor wires, one magnaflow converter and muffler, lightweight pully and lightweight flywheel. Im gonna add a grounding kit and some Grimmspeed phenolic spacers too.

[Fairtax4me]

With that many mods you should look into getting it tuned.

Add ons will bring up power output but at a certain point you can gain no more because of limitations with the stock AF and spark tuning.

A better tune will allow the engine to make better use of those mods and you can choose a tune that opens up more power in the RPM range you want; Low/mid/upper.

 

 

I can't speak to the sound since I've only run stock exhaust on my cars. I've had this set of cams in my 95 auto wagon and now my 96 sedan with 4.11 forester trans.

In the auto the torque cams made a definitely noticable difference in off-the-line power. Mid range pull was much better until about 5k, then it wasn't much different than stock. Certainly made a difference helping that thing get out of its own way on the hills around here.

 

The 96 I don't notice the difference down low so much, but mid range I can definitely tell, and I can feel a definite difference in part throttle when climbing hills, even with the Outback sized tires.

[Bushwick]

Wouldnt one get more power from the cams when used with other mods vs everything stock? Im running some EL headers, intake, MSD coil and Magnecor wires, one magnaflow converter and muffler, lightweight pully and lightweight flywheel. Im gonna add a grounding kit and some Grimmspeed phenolic spacers too.

 

Only as long as the mods favor the the cam's intended powerband. If you stick a cam on that's meant to make power from 1200 to 5600 rpm, and you stick an intake manifold on designed to perform best from 3500 to 6500, as opposed to one that favors off-idle to 5500, the differences will be noticeable. The 3500-6500 would be OK if the car was strictly a highway car, whereas the other one would make for a better driver and have more usable power in daily driving like climbing hills or accelerating from a stop.

 

I cut my teeth on the 80's Mustangs and studied a LOT about aftermarket stuff for them. A mistake people often made was they'd get the biggest cam that'd fit w/o notching the pistons, stick a 750cfm to 850cfm carb on, run a giant intake w/o the divider, 1 3/4" headers, etc. Those cars were dogs. It's "peak" HP might have actually been 10-20hp higher right at redline vs. the next comparison, but it was too lazy getting there. Running a smaller 500-600cfm carb, 1 5/8" shorty headers, smaller cam with tighter lobe separation and say a redline at 5500, an intake matched to the cam's profile, and the car could be a full second+ quicker in the 1/4. Reason being, everything matched and complimented each other, and the engine is a velocity giant, so it will scoot as soon as you mash it. I remember racing a guy that in a late 70's Nova that had a ton of work into a 350, but everything was favoring top-end power. He didn't win by a long a shot, and I remember feeling bad for the guy as it was the car's maiden voyage and had a ton of work under the hood, but he was lucky to be running high 14's.

 

Same thing happens with people plopping incorrect turbo's for their application. It might "make" 450 hp, but they can barely run a mid 12 in a 3k pound car. Had they stuck a turbo on that favors a usable power band, and the average HP across it it higher, despite say having a "peak" hp rating of 350, it'll be much quicker. Those Tesla cars can hang with Vettes despite making LESS "peak" hp. Reason is they make insane HP/TQ instantly and hold it across the entire gear; in other words, they have a very high average HP/Tq figure.

 

As long as you match your parts carefully, you'll be good to go and should notice some improvement. If the car was extremely light, like say 2k pounds, you can get away with a top-end favoring build as the engine doesn't need a ton of torque to get moving. 

[Aluxes]

With that many mods you should look into getting it tuned.

Add ons will bring up power output but at a certain point you can gain no more because of limitations with the stock AF and spark tuning.

A better tune will allow the engine to make better use of those mods and you can choose a tune that opens up more power in the RPM range you want; Low/mid/upper.

 

 

I can't speak to the sound since I've only run stock exhaust on my cars. I've had this set of cams in my 95 auto wagon and now my 96 sedan with 4.11 forester trans.

In the auto the torque cams made a definitely noticable difference in off-the-line power. Mid range pull was much better until about 5k, then it wasn't much different than stock. Certainly made a difference helping that thing get out of its own way on the hills around here.

 

The 96 I don't notice the difference down low so much, but mid range I can definitely tell, and I can feel a definite difference in part throttle when climbing hills, even with the Outback sized tires.

I would love to get a tune. Ive been searching for the easiest and cheapest route to go. Basically I have been looking for an ecu replacement that can take a tune or reflash as my 97 Imp cant be reflashed. Or so I have been told. I guess a decent piggyback is what I need.

[Bushwick]

I'm surprised the Subaru stuff hasn't been reverse engineered yet. Saab stuff is, and there's a decent following supporting it, even down to guys selling CAN/USB adapters and making a software program that has all the values to adjust. 

 

The best bang for buck you can get is upping your timing under WOT and maybe bumping base timing a bit, but you'll need to constantly run 93 octane. 

[Fairtax4me]

The later Saab CAN stuff is all GM so there are a lot of cars that use the same software.

Older stuff maybe not, but I'm sure the older stuff is similar to other European makers. Bosch's xx-Tronic systems and such.

[Bushwick]

The later Saab CAN stuff is all GM so there are a lot of cars that use the same software.

Older stuff maybe not, but I'm sure the older stuff is similar to other European makers. Bosch's xx-Tronic systems and such.

 

Yeah, mine is Trionic 5, and was before the GM T7 engines were installed, but both systems are reversed. Considering Subaru is so popular, I'm just surprised the 90's stuff hasn't been reversed yet. If someone was really dedicated, they could probably get a T5 ECM working on a Subaru. It has every thing to tune a turbo car OR run it NA, and is fundamentally the same, though I don't think they have cam sensor inputs. Everything else could be altered with the software to "read" the Subaru stuff. A used ECM is $20, plus another $20 for ECM to engine harness, T5 software is free, the CAN-USB adapter is $100, need a 15v DC power supply and clips + loose wires to connect, and a PC to open the software. So, for $180 you can try if you know what's up, or drop $1000+ plus on a stand alone system.

[Fairtax4me]

I remember when Saab introduced the 9-2x they sent an SSM scanner to our service dept. (I used to work at the local Saab dealer) I think it got used twice in 5 years. Every other new Saab used the Tech2 scanner.

 

 

If you want to do some work a Megasquirt can be bought for about $300, but you pretty much have to set everything up yourself and do the tuning yourself.

The best option for a tune is to find a shop that specializes in Subaru tuning and get them to tune it. You might spend $500-1000 but you get a tune from someone who's familiar with the system and can dyno the car to get the most out of it.