WTB - Paul Burke N21 cam
- Thread starter Sven
- Start date
be careful- the last run was indexed wrong. You may end up hand indexing the rotor.
Paul is a great guy but ....
Paul is a great guy but ....
Thanks for the reminder. I recall you mentioned that in one of our conversations. I may end up going wasted spark so it would not matter. Backup is the Shrick 282/282 or 284/280. I am not sure which comes closest the n21 configuration.
I wish I new what configuration my N21 is as well.
Bearmw
Well-Known Member
Don,
When did the last run of his cams start?
When did the last run of his cams start?
Years ago-
i buy dbilas and Schrick
paul was/is a good guy.
i buy dbilas and Schrick
paul was/is a good guy.
Bearmw
Well-Known Member
I agree Paul is a good guy. I had a lengthy ( par for the course) discussion with him about M30s (and women) when I bought an N21 +2 cam/piston combo from him years ago. I recall having to redo my timing but that may have been due to my subpar assembly. In any case the motor has run great for a number of years and is now destined for my E3. I never degreed it so who knows what the actual timing is.
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Bearmw
Well-Known Member
FWIW here is a slightly different spec N21. The paper has some of my writing on it but the original specs are clearly shown.
I have no knowledge of qualify, but ie can cut an N21 cam with their “new billet” blanks. There are a lot of varying opinions on ie cams, new and regrinds.
Unless I can find a used Alpina 601 cam or equivalent, I am fairly certain that I’ll be getting my cam from dbilas. They are the ongly game in town with a 300 degree cam similar to the Alpina stick.
dbilas-shop.com
I’ve read good things about cat cams also, but they are expensive.
Unless I can find a used Alpina 601 cam or equivalent, I am fairly certain that I’ll be getting my cam from dbilas. They are the ongly game in town with a 300 degree cam similar to the Alpina stick.
dbilas dynamic - Dein Partner für anspruchsvolles Tuning
dbilas-shop.com
I’ve read good things about cat cams also, but they are expensive.
Wish I knew what all this means. Is my n21 similar to a Schrick 2xx?
Had my cam reground to 284 by Schneider Cams in SanDiego. Haven't driven the car yet, but it idles lumpy, which I wanted, and sounds great free revving. This was 10 years ago and the cost was $125 plus the cost of oversize eccentrics. These guys can also grind a new one as they have tons of specs. I may be wrong, but I think they were doing Frank Fahey's cams, but again, I could be wrong about that. Absolutely worth calling and talking with them
Chris - It is probably as close as you are going to get. If I remember correctly from the few, very long, conversations I have with Paul over the years (information overload). He spent considerable time designing a cam that would work better across the rpm range. Importantly, trying to get a flatter torque curve at the lower end of the range. He was after a nice street performance cam and not a racing cam.
Mark - one of the problems with the 290+ cams is their street driveability. It will be great at higher rpms but you may not like the idle.
Mark - one of the problems with the 290+ cams is their street driveability. It will be great at higher rpms but you may not like the idle.
Thanks Sven. Mike’s 3.8 stroker with a Shrick is smoother but maybe it’s due to the motor. Markos is going to install a shaker hood on his coupe with that 300 cam. 
in the old days, long duration and high overlap were part of the nature of sport cams. A acquaintance who built my Alfa race motor said that is no longer exactly true. Some of his latest motors are fully streetable and still achieve 100HP/liter. They don’t last 100k miles though.Thanks Sven. Mike’s 3.8 stroker with a Shrick is smoother but maybe it’s due to the motor. Markos is going to install a shaker hood on his coupe with that 300 cam.
Anyway, I believe Paul was doing similar things as that Alfa guy, which is why his cams were outperforming older Schrick/BMW designs. If we knew who was making Burke’s cams, maybe they can make more once given permission by Paul’s estate.
john
Chris, I have the N21 with high compression pistons, etc.Thanks Sven. Mike’s 3.8 stroker with a Shrick is smoother but maybe it’s due to the motor. Markos is going to install a shaker hood on his coupe with that 300 cam.
Runs smooth, I would love for you to try it out at Hilton Head.
Stan, it’s not bad but Mike’s was smoother.
Mike's was a very special build...
Paul's car was terrific and I recall it being a rocket but do not recall smoothness. or lack of smoothness
Thanks for the feedback @Sven . I have a high threshold of pain for annoying cars. I’ll also be running a Getrag dogleg. l Transmission aside, I’m trying to replicate an Alpina B2S, which put out 250hp on a 300 cam. Don’t ask me how!
I will definitely keep the 272 cam from my 2.8, as well as the factory B35 ~270. You will build a reliable motor and I’ll build an unuseable one with less power.
In reality though, a lot of 2002 guys run carbed cars with a 300 cam without too much pain.Side note. I’m not sure why nobody ever talks about lift also. I’m no cam expert but this seems equally important when evaluating valve springs and piston design.
Bearmw
Well-Known Member
Paul Burke was involved in some interesting discussions on mye28 involving cylinder head development and cams that addressed some of this. If I recall he explained that although similar to an M10 the M30 is more limited due to its head design. That's one reason forced induction is so popular for a high power M30.