Brain Crower cams, looking for anyone using and what they think.

[mcdonne32004]

Brain Crower cams, looking for anyone using and what they think. I'm getting 264's w/ the bc springs and ti retainers.

[Irukandji]

My friend bought the 264s (262s?) and installed them on his n/a KA just for kicks . I have the dyno charts somewhere, but he gained about 8whp, but the gains will be substantially greater once he turbos.

Quality wise, Brian Crower cams are top notch. I don't really have much else to say about them.

[snappy]

Do Not Buy BC Cams!!!!!! I purchased a set for my 91 DOHC 240 and my intake cam broke when I was tightening my cam bolts... So I called BC and they sent me a replacement, they didn't look like they were lining up right so I called and talked with Brian Crower himself and he told me to switch the intake and the exhaust cam and then try it....

Instead of doing it myself again I decided to let a mechanic do it, the same day I get a call back from the mechanic saying that the cams don't line up right and he didn't want to be responsible for them snapping. I call Brian back and told him what my mechanic told me and then told Brian I wanted a refund. I sent the cams back and got a call from Brian saying that the cams look fine but that he was still gonna give me a refund.

Brian also said that he was gonna refund the original shipping costs because I was out and extra 37 bucks for the cams I had to keep sending back so he could look at them. He said he'd cut me a check because it'd be easier than refunding my card. I wait 2 weeks and NO check, I called Brian back and in his own words said, "I guess I can send the check out today." <---- I was like WHAT THE FUCK? I GUESS I'LL SEND IT OUT TODAY?

Three days later I get my check, and in the memo part of the check he wrote in big letters "LESS SHIPPING COSTS," which means he didn't include the shipping cost amount in the check.

BRIAN CROWER IS FULL OF SHIT AND HIS CAMS ARE GARBAGE

[crazyikimasho]

Mattback is currently in the process of a cam comarison between brands. I dont think hes done yet.

Do Not Buy Bc Cams!!!!!!

care to elaborate?

[snappy]

Very funny............

[driftenthusiast]

I have some coming in on monday, 264's and springs. il post up before and after charts.

[skate07]

Brian crower sucks dick, he takes forever to get ahold of and it took me 5 weeks to get the cams. He also is a dick because he thinks he's better than anyone because hes an overglorified machinist who thinks he's hot shit because he makes 100,000 dolalrs a year... which in my book is still middle class... hhaha, dont buy his cheap shit

[Inlandsilvia]

i got a set of 264's and springs and retainers..fit perfect and works perfect...gain about 14whp because of the cams...I think they are perfect for the price...didn't have any problems of them not wanting to fit. of course g-dimensions did the install they just took their time and they went in no problem.

[KrazyZenki]

I have BC 264s, springs and ti retainers and Ive had no problem with the install or customer service. I have called and talked to Brian Crower himself on several occasions and sometimes at great length. He's a great guy in my opinion and the cams are high quality.

Snappy just curious did you ever set the cam down with the cam gear on it or set the cam down on an uneven surface? Cams are known to warp and bend if they are set down in such a manner. I believe XAT and enjuku are both using bc cams with no problems.

[silsx13]

BC cams are great- Installed them on my 92' 240sx late december of last year along with the BC Crower Valve Springs and have had no problems with them at all. I've run it at Drift events, gymkhana, etc. and haven't had a single problem come up. With the 264 cams, the KA now revs like a champ all the way up to 7K w/o a problem. Streetability is good too- no lumpy idle, just smooth revving.

For the price and the quality, I'd say the BC Cams and Valve Springs are worth it. :)

[kognition]

I recently trashed my SR cams when i threw two rocker arms. The cams were trashed because the rocker arms were chattering between the lobes and the rocker stoppers we installed. I should have listened to my mech who is an ex JWT mech and Nissan Master Mech to stay away from rocker stoppers.
Because i have been trying to budget my company dollars this year, (saving for some land to erect one of those metal industrial buldings on) i did not want to get the JWT C2 cams right now. So my mech dropped in KA cams into my SR. I ran the digital callipers over them and they were .5 mm taller than my SR cams.
And they were free, so he installed those and a Brian Crower valve spring kit with the Ti retainers. He asked me why i didn't go with a JWT valve spring kit, and i said that because the BC's were more affordable.
I have a track event in a couple weeks, and i will be trying these BC parts for the first time.

[steve shadows]

you were running KA cams on the SR? and your wondering why they failed at Higher RPMs? ...dug cam ramp angle and profile mayeb dude...

Havent tryed his cams yet but I will be trying out his 280 big lift cams very shortly (on the order or two-three months new race motor prepped).

Ive only used HKS and by proxy Tomei camshafts in my experiecnes.

I think most of the people who are snapping his cams are just incompetent or inexperienced in proper engine building or installation and are just giddy with excitemet trying to snap (literally) their new "plug and play" (see his site lol) cams into their head.

[projectRDM]

you were running KA cams on the SR? and your wondering why they failed at Higher RPMs? ...dug cam ramp angle and profile mayeb dude...

Havent tryed his cams yet but I will be trying out his 280 big lift cams very shortly (on the order or two-three months new race motor prepped).

Ive only used HKS and by proxy Tomei camshafts in my experiecnes.

I think most of the people who are snapping his cams are just incompetent or inexperienced in proper engine building or installation and are just giddy with excitemet trying to snap (literally) their new "plug and play" (see his site lol) cams into their head.

Bingo. Getting mad because you broke a $500 cam doesn't change the fact that you're a ignorant clod for not installing it properly. Anyone knows a hollow cam, no matter who's name is on it, is damn easy to break if you muscle it in the wrong way.

[snappy]

Yeah but when a certified mechanic that's been in business for over 10 years looks at the cam and sees that the cams don't line up what are you to think? Maybe he was getting his supply of materials from someone else. Who knows, but don't be jackasses when I obviously did what I could to get the cams to work.

And Brian (Fuckhole) Crower might be nice when he hears great things about his cams but when cams start snapping and mechanics are saying they aren't lining up- Brian is at fault.

[jspecusa]

I've work with many mechanics, some are great doing rebuild, some are great at trouble shoting, some are great at custom fabrication.
Some certified 20year mechanic has never even work on a SR20, maybe get a second opinion before sending those cams back from someone who's good with sr?
From my past experience selling parts most of the problem is from install error, most people don't point finger at themselve, well who would it's 2007.
Take this customer for example had his car tuned for 350+hp, tow the car back saying it's a bad tune job and the motor frozed.
Took the customer to the cockpit show him the peak hold on the tech, it says 11,000rpm.
Finally he admit he downshift to the wrong gear, but he wasn't going to blame his $$$$ oops on himself.
I got alot more stories....

[mcdonne32004]

i wouldn't fault the menchanic one this one just yet, he may not have had the proper info on the engine. i'm friends w/ a nissan master tech and he wouldn't know an sr20deT engine if it fell on him. maybe he had only the us spec for a steel head cam install instead of the specs for an alum, could have just tighten it a little too much and thats all it took. all i know is that i take my car to an sr20 shop, they'll know the car and the motor, and save me the headaches.

[Brian W.]

IVe been using/ installing/ and selling Brian Crower cams for a long time now, mostly in nissan motors and i have had ZERO problems. Brian Crower is an awesome guy from my experience.

everytime i call him(2-3 times a day to check stock) he answers the phone personally(everytime)... not some random sales guy.




I buy alot from him and hence get good deals and i pass them on to Zilvia members...

http://www.zilvia.net/f/showthread.php?t=131567

[KrazyZenki]

Brian Crowers cams are made in bulk so if in fact your cams didnt line up properly the whole batch should be that way. Wheres the other hundred people with this story. I think you or the mechanic warped the cams in handling them, which is of no fault of your own as me and my buddy are pretty experienced mechanics and didnt realize the care a hollow aluminum camshaft requires when handling until recently. But coming on a public forum and bad mouthing a retailer for your one experience is childish and wrong. He should have handled the refund better we got it.

[snappy]

^^^^ True, and I have heard other stories from some new people I meet at car meets that my group has. In fact, my buddy told me just yesterday that a guy 2 towns over had a pair in his Civic for about 4 months and his snapped. Im just going off of what I hear, it's about 50/50 right now between the cams being good and bad- so all i'm saying is take that into consideration and if you do decided to get the cams and you have a little doubt in installing them then take them to a mechanic who knows how to work on your engine.....

Also, I got the stage 2 cams for my KA and my mechanic has worked on my engine before with no problems so I think he knows whats up.

[amplifi3d]

I've been using brian crower cams for a while now and I've had zero problems whatsoever. I also have sold 30-40 sets and they have had no problems. :love:

Snappy, you talked to brian crower and he personally sent you a refund for his product? You sound like an ultra whiny douche.

[snappy]

Yeah he sent it 2 weeks later after I called him and then he decide to send out the refund... Oh and it's not whining if it's a legitimate complaint of the product and services that I received- it's making other people aware of what happen to me since mcdonne32004 was asking..... Duh, ya Turd Sandwich.

[OBEEWON]

I recently trashed my SR cams when i threw two rocker arms. The cams were trashed because the rocker arms were chattering between the lobes and the rocker stoppers we installed. I should have listened to my mech who is an ex JWT mech and Nissan Master Mech to stay away from rocker stoppers.
.


Can you give a reason why you wouldnt use rocker arm stoppers? Im on the fence about getting some.

Also does anyone have any expirience with the 274(272?) BC cams? I have a 2871r (.86) and dont want a super peaky powerband, but im shooting for over 400whp.

[818_99G20]

I got my BC stg. 2 Cams in a bout a week from ordering back in february and no problem. I bought them from a Vendor in my other forum and They were shipped from BC warehouse. My BC stg. 2 Cams were installed on my G20 with greddy cam gears, and Greddy rocker arms stoppers. The guy that installed them had no problems installing them. Theyre great quality, Lumpy Idle though hehe. Been driving them for about 350ish miles and no problems at all.

bang for your buck $$

Just my 2 cents

[kognition]

It's personal preference really. They do work. It's just that they sit so close to the cam lobes that if and when you break a rocker arm or two in my case, the rocker arms will grind the cam lobes since the rocker stoppers act like a steel wall preventing the broken pieces from just bouncing off safely into a corner somewhere. My mechanic warned me nicely about it before i put them in. So i would rather throw a rocker arm than destroy another set of cams again. The rocker stopper was bent to $hit too not to mention a bent valve. So i wound up
replacing the springs, valves and rocker arms with new ones.
http://kognitiondesign.com/scratchedcam.jpg

Can you give a reason why you wouldnt use rocker arm stoppers? Im on the fence about getting some.

Also does anyone have any expirience with the 274(272?) BC cams? I have a 2871r (.86) and dont want a super peaky powerband, but im shooting for over 400whp.

[CKAMC]

high loppin cams should have solid lifters...

mild work = rocker arms.

interesting post fellow premie

[Brian W.]

yeah i dont normally use the RAS in motors we build here.



im running hte BC stage 3 (272/ 12/5mm) and though i only had it running for a second i could tell i was gonna like them. My SR goes to 9000 rpm though so its a more useable powerband for me. with stock redline id prolly stick with the stage 2s if you DONT want a peaky powerband.

[kognition]

Sorry i said KA cams were installed, my mistake . They are not KA cams, they are SR NON TURBO cams. They have a slightly higher profile than the turbo version. KA wtf am i saying :loco:

high loppin cams should have solid lifters...

mild work = rocker arms.

interesting post fellow premie

[OBEEWON]

It's personal preference really. They do work. It's just that they sit so close to the cam lobes that if and when you break a rocker arm or two in my case, the rocker arms will grind the cam lobes since the rocker stoppers act like a steel wall preventing the broken pieces from just bouncing off safely into a corner somewhere. My mechanic warned me nicely about it before i put them in. So i would rather throw a rocker arm than destroy another set of cams again. The rocker stopper was bent to $hit too not to mention a bent valve. So i wound up
replacing the springs, valves and rocker arms with new ones.
http://kognitiondesign.com/scratchedcam.jpg


Thanks for the info. Thats pretty much my reason for not wanting to run them. Pretty much the damage done to the rocker arms would be less than the damage to the cams and valves then.

[steve shadows]

It's personal preference really. They do work. It's just that they sit so close to the cam lobes that if and when you break a rocker arm or two in my case, the rocker arms will grind the cam lobes since the rocker stoppers act like a steel wall preventing the broken pieces from just bouncing off safely into a corner somewhere. My mechanic warned me nicely about it before i put them in. So i would rather throw a rocker arm than destroy another set of cams again. The rocker stopper was bent to $hit too not to mention a bent valve. So i wound up
replacing the springs, valves and rocker arms with new ones.
http://kognitiondesign.com/scratchedcam.jpg


haha, ok...

maybe your using to tall of a lift.

12.0 mm is too much for almost any setup i could track down on zilvia and yet people just see "264" which they think hks stage 2 (which is 11.5) and bolt them down. That .5 mm does make a diff in changing clearences but not that much in power with a smaller compressor.

Make sure the flimsy, cheap rocker arm stoppers are not bent either. I have seen these bend when improperly installed or misplace and will have more impact on eating the camshaft.

ps. every motor ive seen with violent rocker arm failure (which isnt many on ther order or 2 now) ruined the camshaft, whether it was a stock cam, hks cam, tomei or bc.

cheers.

[steve shadows]

high loppin cams should have solid lifters...

mild work = rocker arms.

interesting post fellow premie

they arent necessary, but they are a good precaution. I know people who still use rocker arm stoppers with solid lifters (sort of redundant yeah).

Solid lifters should also be paired with camshafts that have a ramp angle and lift that is appropriate for the change in dynamics with said mod. This will allow more torque power and smoothness in the operation of the valvetrain in general.

man there is so much stuff i want to try now!

[projectRDM]

i wouldn't fault the menchanic one this one just yet, he may not have had the proper info on the engine. i'm friends w/ a nissan master tech and he wouldn't know an sr20deT engine if it fell on him. maybe he had only the us spec for a steel head cam install instead of the specs for an alum, could have just tighten it a little too much and thats all it took. all i know is that i take my car to an sr20 shop, they'll know the car and the motor, and save me the headaches.

All SR/KA heads are aluminum. Where did you find a steel version?

[kognition]

Steve,
You have my mechanical situation confused with this members thread i think.
I threw two rocker arms a few months ago after violently shifting way too early into 2nd. Stock SR internals.
I did not want to jump for new cams just yet. So my mechanic happened to have a set of non turbo SR VVTC cams. I have the blacktop lowport "notchback" which has the VVTC (did i pronounce that right?) anyway. He said i would see light HP increase, but i was more concerned about having it ready to track.

haha, ok...

maybe your using to tall of a lift.

12.0 mm is too much for almost any setup i could track down on zilvia and yet people just see "264" which they think hks stage 2 (which is 11.5) and bolt them down. That .5 mm does make a diff in changing clearences but not that much in power with a smaller compressor.

Make sure the flimsy, cheap rocker arm stoppers are not bent either. I have seen these bend when improperly installed or misplace and will have more impact on eating the camshaft.

ps. every motor ive seen with violent rocker arm failure (which isnt many on ther order or 2 now) ruined the camshaft, whether it was a stock cam, hks cam, tomei or bc.

cheers.

[mcdonne32004]

don't mind me, i'm retarded