I have the new S2s with like 2000miles on them and they have seen like 8200 or so at the track in 4th, I have kiggly high rev valvesprings with titanium retainers

 

Im not sure you can say that because, apparently when they change the design, the problem is solved.......

Weather or not there is an "outside force", the DESIGN of the cam is not holding up to the force, therefore the design is FLAWED (material, dimensions, etc).... FP cams and the new kelford and GSC cores have not failed therefore, one could conclude the design is better.....

I still do not understand why the "outside force" you speak of is only present in the OLD Kelford, GSC, Cossi Cores , and the stock cores are not breaking.....

We have seen at least 4 failures already, with many different set ups, including one set up that was stock valve springs, stock mivic tables, stock rev limit.....

You can keep them in your car, but I certainly wouldn't want a ticking time bomb in my car..... there have been enough fail to convince me there is a problem..... Lucky I have an 8

 

Although three sets of camshafts having problems is not a huge issue unto itself, the fact that one shop [TTP] has seen three issues indicates a serious problem. Unfortunately we will likely never know what the real issue was [or still is], so caveat emptor [buyer beware]....

The most concerning issue for me is that none of the aftermarket companies I have dealt with have QC programs like an OEM / OEM supplier. Camshafts are tricky because a proper QC would require checking hardness, using a cam doctor, and a fixture -- all of which would add significant time and cost to the equation [which generally can not be supported by the relatively small volume of aftermarket parts sold.]

 

Two of the sets were a wholesale customer of ours.

 

this was our third set we saw break from one of our customers. its actually the 4th set we've seen broken, but one of them was installed by a shop in AZ.

this is a cosworth M2, with cosworth dual valve springs. car had these springs and retainers in them for over a year with no problem. after installing the HTA86 turbo it lasted 2 days. it broke at the rev limit which was 8400rpm if i remember correctly. so you can imagine, the mivec gear broke into many peices, the exhaust gear is broke, belt is gone, belt cover is gone, broke an inner spring, belt valves and pistons have impact marks on them. (sorry, iphone pictures)







to date, we have seen a GSC S2 cam, Kelford 272, Cosworth M2, and the Cosworth M2 installed from the shop in AZ (that one lasted one day from being installed... he was still breaking in his new motor, low revs, no boost)

 

I have an evo8 and just wanted to say I feel sorry for all the evo9 guys this is happening to. It just sucks that so many people have bought a nice set of cams from legit companies and their distro networks and see such a widespread problem like this. I hope its not a deal-breaker (evo-wise) for people and the last straw, it just hurts to see the carnage pics and stories. Have faith; your evo will run again!

 

Solution: Buy FP cams.

After seeing all this coming out I'm even happier that I bought a set of FP4R's. If I had anything but in my car they'd be removed immediately and I'd demand a revised set (with the new cores) or a complete refund. Failures like this are unexcusable and they should especially not be blamed on the user or installer.

 

Also, I really hope these cam manufacturers are cover all costs associated with the destroyed engines. What sort of experiences are people having when dealing with these failures?

 

The companies IF you are lucky will offer to send you another set of cams. The rest of the damage is on YOU.

 

Wow...thats really ****ty. I can't imagine forking over thousands of dollars due to their sub-par product design. With a destroyed engine I would think a new intake cam would be the least of my concerns.

 

exactly why no one should support any of the vendors or makers until they cover ALL costs associated with the damage done by the faulty design even though it wasn't intentional that would only be the right thing to do.

 

I'm trying to catch up and got through about 10 or so pages of this massive thread, but are there NEW cores now that are not breaking? Are these the only ones on shelves currently or is it just a crap shoot whether or not you'll get a NEW non-defective core or the said motor-destroyer cam?

I really like the Kelford 272's power output/price ratio, however I will not consider it if there is a chance I will get a defective cam. If someone could bring me up to speed on current cam quality status - that would be great. Thanks.

 

the new core and old core are visibly different. just look at the grooves for the mivec when you get a new cam. if it looks very deep with straight cut edges, it could be an old cam. the new ones are not nearly as deep, and have radius on the inside of the groove. you can measure the groove depth with a calipers and we can confirm.

 

I'm not sure what everyone else has, but we only have the new version on the shelf. If you have any questions, let us know!

Thanks,

Michael

 

Valvetrain harmonics are still a number one suspect. The one that broke had really stiff valvesprings in it, is revved to 8500+ frequently, and makes 546whp. There are alot of outside forces acting on the valvetrain that you might not be aware of. Since you brought up a really old post after I already acknowledged a problem, I can add that I still have 3 years on my S1s (in circulation, old design) and now almost 2 years on my S2s. It is obvious that the foundry had/has something of a QC issue on the cams that snapped.

As has been pointed out though, the problem is fixed with the new designs in all the cams that have failed. It doesnt change the fact that everything is still acting on that part of the cam. It is the longest unsupported part of the cam and has the most weight acting on the outside edge. It will always be where the cam breaks as the most force applied is right there regardless of what design is used. If the force gets high enough, count it gone...any cam/any design.

I run, will continue to run, and continue to sell GSC, Cosworth, Kelford, Tomei, Greddy, FP, and any other brand IX cam that works. I am not afraid of failures and have seen only the one so far. Alot of the extra damage is how you respond when you hear something start to not sound right. Push in the clutch, kill the motor and coast to a stop without letting the engine turn over and believe it or not you can prevent bent valves.

The one failure we had, the driver was on his game and shut down and didnt even hurt anything. It might sound far fetched but it was so obvious to me that the driver has as much to do with damage control as any failure it needs to be pointed out.