[W126 Coupe] Conversion 380 to 500euro

[Dan Landiss]

David G. Cole wrote:
> It is a good point of concern. Stu Ritter is fairly set in his opinion
> that aftermarket cams do not hold up, performance or otherwise. He has
> installed a fair share of aftermarket cams, only to have them chew the
> lobes off in a relatively short amount of time.
>   

I would not go so far as Ritter and generalize to ALL aftermarket cams 
for MBZ, but I do have anecdotal evidence.

Iskendarian ground a set of cams for my 450SL and they ran fine for a 
few days. As described, the lobes wore down. A local metallurgist 
declared that the heat treating was defective and Isky agreed to have a 
look at them.

Isky declined to comment on the quality issue, but they did say that the 
cam follower angles on the 450 head are so severe that unusual loads are 
placed on the lobes. They bought me a new set of stock cams and 
followers but declined any further experimentation with regrinding for MBZ.

I wouldn't say it can't be done -- after all, MBZ does it. But any 
aftermarket grinder should be advised in advance of the heat treating 
issues.

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"Progress is brought about by doubt, not accord."  --John Amos Comenius, 17th century educator
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