Component: Camshaft

OE: The stock valve train has: hydraulic lash adjusters and variable ratio slider followers. Several camshaft grinds were delivered stock on the 2.3 turbos. The big cam is a very good match to stock flow,and valve sizes. It can be improved upon after other modifications.The SVOs and 5 spd Merkurs used the "big" cam. Late (85+) TCs and early automatic Merkurs used the "small" cam.

Aftermarket: There are several sources of cams for the 2.3 Turbo. Some of the cams are slider follower and the "bigger" cams are roller follower. There are also several manufacturers of adjustable cam gears. FORD Motorsport sells heavy duty cam belts. For our turbo motors, lobe centerline is the most important, we need it WIDE, at least 112°.

Modifications: Cam observations from the Internet community:

The Engle TCS-65 is different (smaller) than its' specs, and it is a BIG step backwards from an Engle 55.

Crane's 2070 has been seen to be slower than the Engle 55.

Esslingers has been seen to be too big for the street, and requires major changes to maximize it's use.

One of the Ranger roller cam has been hypothesized to be a good small street roller.

Modern Performance's Stage 1 cam has been seen to be a good street cam, and a roller.

Belts:The FMS HD belt is the same as the SVO/Merkur belt. Any belt spec'd for an SVO or Merkur is a "good" belt. Check the discount parts stores for pricing, before paying a premium for a belt.

Camshaft Pulleys:Cams can be retarded for more power with an adjustable cam pulley. Most cars will be faster at WOT, even with a stock cam, if the cam is retarded between 4 and 8 degrees.

The nicest adjustable camshaft pulley is available from:Race Engineering Inc.2602 Park Street,Lake Worth, FL 33460. Tech Line/Sales : 561-533-5500It costs $94 delivered. It features laser cut timing marks from 20 to 20.It is adjustable without loosening the enter cam bolt, which prevents leaks. I've been told that ETS sells the same part.

The FMS Cam sprocket (M-6256-A231) is cheap, at about $39, and features fixed keyways for adjustment to 2, 4, 6 and 8 degrees, retarded or advanced.

Cam Installation: When replacing the camshaft, the following parts would be a good idea. The valve seals are the later type and will stop the "smoke on startup"syndrome. The valve cover gasket is reusable and doesn't leak. Stock valve springs are adequate for most cams unless replacements are suggested by the cam vendor.

Associated parts:

Exhaust valve seals E7ZZ6571-B

Intake valve seals E7ZZ6571-A2.3

valve springs E4ZZ6513-A

2.3 Valve cover gasket F57Z-6584-A

Roller cam E7TZ-6250-C ~$120
Roller followers F1ZZ-6564-A 8 @ ~$16 each

All 2.3L heads FMS Anti pump-up lifters M-6500-A221 8 @ ~$8 each (optional)

Cams, are a problem, because no one has tested or experienced them all. My attitude has been lots of lift, and really mild events. The ranger cam is ok, but it is the same as the automatic Merkur cam in production. The events and lift are the same with adjustments for the diameter of the roller vs the radius of the slider cam follower. So, its really mild. What you need to do is look at the events. Find a cam that has less than 20 degrees of overlap, events almost like production, but more lift. That is what turbocharged engines like. Overlap is the time that both valves are open and fuel/air mixture flows thru the chamber. This is good for cooling a naturally aspirated race type motor, but just wastes energy that should be combusted and used for driving the turbine. Too much overlap is wasteful.

So, what to choose from:

• Nick Manarino does a .500" lift cam with mild events as a roller. It is reported to work very well, but I have no direct knowledge of the trade offs.
• Esslinger has a .500 and my .585.
• Lunati has .500.
• Dave (Compton) has some milder but interesting peices.

Now, let me expound a little. WE ALL OVERCAM FOR THE STREET. I intend on running my .586 cam that Esslinger produces on the street eventually. It idles and runs well, but some bottom end is lost. I'm not sure how much, but I expect that some is lost. You may not like this but I'm going to give you and the other guys in the same boat an assignment. What you need to do is send a letter to each producer you are considering, and ask for a cam event diagram or data. If it is just the lift data, you can draw the circles out and visualize the areas of overlap, and compare one verses another. Compare that data with the production cam and select the one or ones that replicate those events. NOW FOR THE KICKER. Joe uses a ranger roller cam which proves the old addage that if you breathe on it hard enough it will make lots of power. Unless you want to make GOD AWFULL power, this works. You would be happy with Joes engine on the street even without the Joy Juce. So, I'm afraid I have not really helpd much. Just raising more questions than answered, but nobody can really tell you what set up to run. We all need to do the research and make the compromises that we can live with. The cams that Dave produces may be good choices, If I were you I would look at his and choose the smallest roller he makes if they are rollers. Actually that is another topic. We do not necessarily need roller followers if the lift and events are not too radical. Production cams lasted 50K plus when oiling was proper and good parts were used. Esslinger produces an improved slider follower. If you do not turn over 6500 or 7000 RPM, they are fine. I used them with a .500 Lunati cam for the first two years of running my car. (with real high valve spring loads). So, don't be afraid of using slider followers. (saves a bunch of money too) Incidently, my next 2.3L camshaft is on the way and it is over .700" lift. Now everybody think about that.

Esslinger .585 cam history

The .585 lift cam from Esslinger is in fact one that they produced for me in 1993. One of my friends at Ford, a camshaft design engineer, did the analytical work. We were trying to get .600 lift, but could not with the 1" base circle and mild events that we were copying.

The design iterations were. In 1985, Tom Reider, with whom I was working at the time, had the .500 Lunati cam made as a copy of the stock "GT" cam but with .100" more lift. It worked well, and that is what I used from 1990 till 93. Actually went 186 MPH with that piece and an iron head. The new .600 was to be a copy of the .500 but with just another .100" lift. We could not do that due to dynamics, and most of the Ford engineers who are not racers, are much too conservative. At any rate, I have used the .585 roller cam on every turbo motor I have built since, and it works well.

---