Thread: Anyone mixing sr20/16ve cams for turbo

Hello VVL experts!

I dont post here much as i only run rwd, but i could really use your expertise on this question. Y'all have the best experience when it comes to vvl so i thought i'd post it up here!

The question is already in the topic title.
Most of the time i see people either using 20ve or 16ve or 16ve n1 cams. But it's rare to hear someone using a mix of cams.

I'm in the process of a rwd setup with (on a budget mind you!) an sr16ve head. Now obviously the 16ve cams are already in there. I did buy a set of p11 20ve cams as well.

From what i understand, the 16ve cams suffer from torque down low and the 20ve has a weaker top end.
Could i say use the 20ve intake cam (higher low lobe lift) with a 16ve exhaust cam (highest lift on both lobes)? Has anyone tried this before?

Sure, i know the 20V p12 cams are the best, but those are quite rare these days...
Prob is of course i'm left with a 16ve in and a 20ve ex cam that will be sitting in the garage catching dust until i get a set of 20V's.

Turbo i have is a holset he351ve vgt turbo. So it can be anything between a gt25 to a gt40 if i just lock the position of the vanes. I do want to make full use of the vgt but its a darn heavy tub at 48lbs :o.
Otherwise i'll be using something like a gt3582.

Powerwise, low boost around 450 with a strong low end.
High boost 550 orso. Bottom end is forged with darton sleeves, sr20ve cp pistons, bc rods, stock balanced crank and fly. Running on 98 octane.

Hope to hear the roar of vvl wise men soon! 

mix cams ? thats something new to me, it all have to match your turbine n setups

I was thinking about this also. In for the expertise.....

I remember there was a topic, one of the big HP guys, not sure if it was ashton or coheed, ( i only know them by their screen names, thanks alot for sharing your experience, good stuff to read on (y) ), he was talking about mixing 20V cams with VET cams. Same idea goes for mixing aftermarket cams in this configuration, either 264/272 or 264/256. I have a technical background, have a degree in automotive engineering, but i'm a total noob when it's about cam/turbo selection...so a bit of a push in the right direction from the experts would help me heaps.

if you want drivability for daily use, 264 cams with high lift is good for turbo. if you want crazy power, go for 272.

i personally went thru all these...... stock sr20de, then 262cams, then 272cams, then sr20ve n/a, now sr20det.
of all the setups i tried, I finds my sr20det stock cams extremely powerful and good enough, i only upgraded from gt25 to gt28.

on a personal note, i prefer 262 cams over 272 cams, coz 272 is just too high and no mid or low end torque at all. if its a 272 + turbo it will be the same thing, you wont get power untill 6000rpm onwards. the kind of burst power mid torque you need for daily drive.

i do have friends with 16ve + turbo and some with 20ve + turbo...... all 16ve turbo never really lasts, but 20ve turbo are all good.... u can say 16ve are too powerful n too stressful, imagine u have no mid range and you push your car way too stressful just to reach the power you need.

@^^ I suppose the 16ve cams are known to have an aggresive explosion of torque/power whilst the 20ve cams are not as aggressive? Which in turn creates less stress on all of the engine's internal organs? Were these 16ve's built or stock?

VVL Gods, could u chime in plzz?

Is there a valid reason why no one's attempted in mixing stock VE cams?

I think you looking at this with the wrong mindset.

You can dig up the cam specs of all the various VVL cams and compare lift of low/high and durations. Then you can make an educated guess for what your goals are or experiment as needed.

Cam gears, ya'll need some cam gears.

Oh ya and I found this.



20V, SR16VE (non-N1) cams are OOP.

N1 camshafts are still in production for whatever reason.

For turbo, you should really get cam gears.

it totally depends what you need. if you have a very light car or lightened weekend car, going sr16ve cams is not a problem.

for daily drive u best on sr20ve cams

i do have a friend driving sr16ve N1, still an N/A and he complains the fuel consumption was higher than a sr20ve, NO JOKE.

so are u power mad or just wanna build a regular sr20vet for dailies ?

The first thing i did was compare the specs.

What inspired me to this question were the likes of threads like these:
http://www.sr20-forum.com/forced-induction-mechanical/75689-truth-about-sr20vet-exhaust-camshaft.html
http://www.sr20-forum.com/forced-induction-mechanical/18057-nissan-primera-dyno-now-sr16-cams.html

Except, i can't seem to find conclusive evidence, of which mix of cams is best for low rpm response, which for high rpm, etc. Apparently the sr20vet cams are the best cams for small frame turbos as well as the truck size turbos.
@SR20DET_B14 To answer u question, i want to do both. A responsive engine down low that still pulls strong and all the way up to 8-8.5k rpm.