New cams

Hey everybody,

I am sorry if I am asking a question that has been beaten to death, but I tried to look through the archives and could not find much to clarify my situation. I am currently in college, and over winter break and summer vacation, I plan on completing my intake and exhaust by getting an Ebay CAI, porting and polishing the intake mani and head, and getting a Tsudo header to go with the 2.5" tsudo catback i already have installed.

The next step that I see to get some power out of the car is to get a new set of cams. I've been looking around on ebay, summit, crane, hks, etc, and for the most part have found cams only for the 4g63 engine. When I have found cams for the 420a, I do not know which would be best for what I want out of the car. I am trying to squeeze as much power out of the car short of turbo'ing it (don't have the expertise, the time, or money to invest in something all at once like that, or a dyno at my disposal to tune it). I do not want to lose any driveability and keep gas mileage as high as possible (I get 35ish +/- mpg at the moment).

So I guess my question is what set of cams would you guys recommend? And is there a need to replace valve springs or anything else with this install?

Secondly, do any of you guys know of any good shops in northern NJ that could do the port and polish job for me?

All information you guys could provide would really help, and I thank you in advance.

By spending the amount of money your going to spend on all that, you could have a gst/gsx/tsi running 12s if you take the time to read about turbos. Dyno isnt needed if you get DSMLink.

Why does every response to a 420a tuning question have to involve buying a 4g63 DSM? I love my car, even if it isnt turbo'd, and it does not bother me that in the long run it will cost more to make the same power, there is a lot of sentimental value attached, and, like many other N/T DSM owners, its just not something we want to do.

Why does every response to a 420a tuning question have to involve buying a 4g63 DSM? I love my car, even if it isnt turbo'd, and it does not bother me that in the long run it will cost more to make the same power, there is a lot of sentimental value attached, and, like many other N/T DSM owners, its just not something we want to do.


Well I think most of us understand that somewhat being sentimental. So why not just take the money you would put into your N/A and buy a GS-T/GSX and just keep the NA.

Just fixing up the na, is like paying 3 dollars for a fifty cent coffee.

It just doesn't make sense.

Why does every response to a 420a tuning question have to involve buying a 4g63 DSM? I love my car, even if it isnt turbo'd, and it does not bother me that in the long run it will cost more to make the same power, there is a lot of sentimental value attached, and, like many other N/T DSM owners, its just not something we want to do.


Because its smart?

Ok... I hate these threads. Good question, bad response. Dan, check your PM.

N/A is a different category than having a turbo. Sure, these suckers come with 140hp stock. Turbo, 215. Right there, there's a big difference. 2 totally different engines. If I wanted a turbo, I would have bought one to begin with, or would have sold my ESi and bought one by now. Guess what... I don't need one. I don't want to kill myself just yet.

I love my ESi. It's a great car. 420a engine is cheap to work on, parts are great price, and it's fairly easy for beginners. This was my first car, so it was a good starting point. I always say Im selling her, but when someone gets serious about buying, I turn down all offers because I dont want to see her go in the arms of another man.

Sure, it's easy to buy a GSX/GST/TSI, but so what? The man wants power out of 420. So do I. It's fun, educational, and did I mention fun. I don't need an 11 second street car. Why does anyone need that? I haven't been to the track yet, and my street racing is at a minimal. If I build an 11 second car, itll be a drag car, track only. But that's long way away, and I would buy muscle for that long before I even think about buying an import.

Blah Blah Blah, no one cares. I do. We're here to help each other, not to put down other peoples investments. Ricers we are not. We do our work in a repectable way. These engines have potential (as my art teacher would say) even without adding a turbo.

I'm done.

Not as many people have seriously upgraded their 420a's, so there's not as much knowledge out there. I'd recommend a specialty site like http://www.2gnt.com/nuke/index.php for 420a performance specific questions.

Here's an upgrade path: http://www.2gnt.com/nuke/modules.php?name=Sections&op=viewarticle&artid=51

Both sides are right on this debate. Power for dollar the 420a isn't the engine to mod, but if you're going to do it anyway, there's no need to take crap for it.