4kq MC cam & Febi-Bilstein lifters

[Aaron Sherrick]

Last weekend, with the help of a friend, I installed an MC cam (thanks
Chris Semple!) and new Febi-Bilstein lifters (thanks Greg Galinsky!).  A
new valve cover gasket and cam seal was also installed.  The total cost
in parts was around $125.  The MC cam is definitely a noticeable
performance upgrade for the 4kq.  And the lifters....I still can't
believe my engine is so quiet!  No more ticking here.  I should have
taken the list's advice and replaced the timing belt and water pump.  I
was right there, and the belt looks original (it looked shot to me).

The MC cam upgrade isn't a huge performance increase, but it's
definitely noticeable.  It didn't seem to take anything away from the
low end.  The area of improvement seems to be in the 2000-5000rpm range.
In particular it really blows through the revs from 2000-3000rpms.  It
didn't seem to add much top end, but it is slightly better.  For the
money I doubt you'll find a better performance upgrade for the 4kq.  I
think the cam added about as much performance as when I advanced the
timing AND installed my Stebro exhaust.  Just think how fast it would be
if I had painted the valve cover yellow....

Aaron
'86 4kq
www.lehigh.edu/~amsk