[V8] cam clearence- big cams vs-heads

[Tony and Lillie]

<SNIP>
> All the VW racers I know (including myself) do not pay for  "machining" we
> just clean the edge up with a high speed dremel or die  grinder......no 
> fancy
> machining required!
> As the V8 heads are the same as the 16 V VW motors I can say with 
> certainty
> that very little needs to be clearanced with larger cam lobes- just a 
> couple
> MM's.....pretty straightforward.....though it should be done prior to 
> doing
> the  valve work (you are going to port and change seals- valve job 
> right?), so
> you  can hot tank and clean any fillings out.
> Jack
<SNIP>

Well, not exactly the same. But, the bore spacing, valve angles, etc are the 
same. Everything important with respect to the larger cams, anyhow. So, how 
large of cams can you put on the VW motors. And, more importantly, what's 
the timing spec on those cams. Another thing to consider is what the lobe 
center is. As there is much more of a market for VW 16V cams, I'd say they 
grind new ones with the same specs as stock, other than lift and duration.

As for VW cams directly in a V8 (to answer Dave's question) the firing order 
is significantly different in a V8Q than VW 4-cyl. Running 4-cyl cams, you 
would in essance have a "flat" 8-cyl, much like a Ferarri. That's what Audi 
did with the DTM ,cars, but I doubt you are going to get one of those cranks 
for cheap ;-)

Tony Hoffman