Found out the deal today. The special service tool allows you to remove the shims while the cam is still in place. If you don't want to buy the tool, you will have to loosen the cam bearings and lift the cam up slightly to pop the shims out of the followers. If you take good measurements the first time, you should only have to do this once. As for the shims, I'm told they are a dealer only item and are sold individually. Since I'm going to do this within the week, I'll give a play by play on exactly what needed to be done to get the clearance right.

 

Still trying to find out what the adjustment specs are. The shims are available individually and are $7.70 each at my dealer. They come in sizes from 2.750mm to 3.396mm and there are approximately 20 of them. The dealer says they still haven't done a single valve adjustment yet as there haven't been any newer models that have hit the mileage recommended. My cam comes in tomorrow Fed Ex (hopefully).

 

traveler,

why not put the mazdaspeed exhaust cam in at the same time? or are you not interested in that cam?

please update the shims info. Although, I'm looking into the exhaust cam, I would appreciate all additional info on shims and extra parts.

 

Traveler, before you pull the original cam check the valve clearance all around while cold, throw out any measurements that are out of family, average the rest, and that’s your adjustment spec plus or minus about .02mm. Then pull the cam and measure each shim, record the thickness and location of each. Ensure each shim goes back where it came from too, and install your new cam. Close it up, run it at 2000 rpm till hot, shut it down, let it cool and re-check clearance. From there you can calculate your new shim thicknesses.

You may not need any shims at all, but if you do, make friends with the parts department. Bring a box of doughnuts or a pizza and talk them into a shim exchange. You may even be able to gain the use of a valve spring compressor if you get a cute girl to go with you. Could save you a buck or two.

 

I've got the specs. I went to the dealer today and one of the service writers let me use the Protege shop manual to copy some stuff from. The cold lash specs are .225-.295mm with .26mm being optimal and allowing a + or - .035mm range. In standard it is .089-.0116 in with .010 optimal. Figure .010 plus or minus .001. Or, 9-11 thousandths. The intake and exhaust adjustment specs are identical. Also, it must be done cold. No warm up and re-adjustment. Basically they say to check the valve clearance and only adjust it if it's outside the range. The formula is (removed shim thickness + measured valve clearance - standard valve clearance) which seems like a no brainer. Seems easier to figure out how much more you need to add or subtract, and then measure the shim. Add or subtract that much and put it in.

The special service tool mounts to 2 of the cam bearing supports and compresses all the valves on one side of the head. Makes things easier but you can do the same thing by carefully measuring and calculating the clearances you need, and then lifting the cam slightly and changing shims. Should only need to do it once if you calculate correctly. There is also only one way to set the cam in place according to the manual. #1 lobes should be pointing to about the 10-11 o'clock position and the #3 should be pointing to about the 1-2 o'clock position. This is due to the way the cam will try to push off to one side when you tighten the cam bearings otherwise and this might damage the bearing area.

The torque specs for the bearings are 100-125 lb/in (inch pounds)

I also measured the base circle of the cam and the lobe lift as long as I had it apart. Whipped out the micrometer and got this:

Exhaust
Base circle 1.380 in
Lobe lift 1.700
Gross lift should be .310 (after subtracting the .010 clearance)

Intake
Base circle 1.380
Lobe lift 1.716
Gross lift should be .326 (after subtracting the .010 clearance).

I can't figure duration without a degree wheel and a dial mic. I have a dial mic but no degree wheel that will fit this engine.

As to why I'm not doing the exhaust cam, it seems that not too many people are getting much from that mod. Greatest amount of power gain seems to be coming from the intake cam so that's first, then the exhaust when I feel like spending the money.

I also did some measuring of the exhaust system but I'll post that under 'exhaust measurements' so everyone can see it.

 

I don't believe that anyone has dyno'ed their car with the exhaust cam (at least no one has posted a dyno graph). In my opinion, the verdict is out for the exhaust cam but, I think it would perform nicely with the FS-ZE intake cam. If you have the info, please post the different specs between the Mazda speed exhaust cam and stock.

Good luck with the cam(s)

 

Got the cam today. Will install it either Sunday or Monday. Should have my valve cover back from the powder coaters Monday or Tuesday so will having running shortly after. Found a place nearby with a chassis dyno. I'll make an appointment after it's all back together and see what it does. I don't have a before graph, but these things are all in the 98-102 HP range stock going from what I've read and heard about. I have a K&N drop in and I'm doing some exhaust work that should really wake it up also. See my post on 'exhaust measurements'. I found a big restriction in the factory system that can be pretty easily taken care of.

 

if possible, take pics.

 

Pics of the cam? Or pics of what it looks like while going together? I measured the lift of the J-spec cam and it is within a thousandth or so of the stock cam. Big difference is probably the duration. The lobes are much wider than the stock cam. The stocker has a steep ramp with a narrow tip. The J-spec has a smoother ramp and a much wider tip. Wish I had a degree wheel to get actual duration at .050". Oh well. I'll dyno the thing anyway and see what it puts out.

 

ANyone measure out their valve lash on their cams after install? Anyone have problems after install?

I'm just wondering if I should even bother worrying about the valve shims, as nobody here who has installed the cams has had any problems. I checked with mazda parts and they dont sell a kit of various sizes, you actually have to measure them and order them seperately.
I had always assumed that our hydraulic lifters did not have any adjustment.

Anyways, next long weeking I'll put my cams on and I'll post some pics of the install.

 

I'll be measuring the lash after install on mine when I install it today or tomorrow. We don't have hydraulic lifters, they are mechanical which is why we have shims to adjust lash. I've measured the base circle on both the new cam and the old cam and they appear to be within a thousandth of an inch of each other at worst. Probably won't even need to re-shim. I'll know for sure later today probably.

As for the shims, they are available as individual parts only. The range in size from 2.750mm thick to 3.396 and there are approx. 20 sizes. My dealer has them for $7.70 each so you better be sure of the size you need before you buy them. An assortment would be VERY expensive.

 

I would be very interested in seeing the results of this mod. Im still unsure of going NA or turbo.

Keep me posted.

 

The cam is in. Like I thought, the base circles on the cams are identical so there's no need to re-shim. I've got .010 all the way across which is what I had with the other cam. One less thing to worry about. It's bad enough trying to get the cam timing set. There isn't much space on the passenger side of the engine and trying to get the lower timing cover off to get to the tensioner is a bitch. Lost some skin on a couple knuckles, but it's in.

 

Did you take some pictures of the éngine when it was open?

And how did you ste the timing? earlier?

 

No, I didn't take pics, but the valve cover is still off so I could. The timing belt only goes on one correct way. The ignition timing is not adjustable. There is a crank sensor and no distributor to move. It's all done in the ECU. One of the reasons that people are trying to find a reprogrammed ECU for these things is because the factory timing and fuel maps are not the greatest for power production. I've heard rumors that the MP3 ECU has better maps, but have found no confirmations of this. And at around $1000, it's a bit pricey to be experimenting with. The stand alone performance units are just a bit more than that and you can program them any way you want.