Google is an amazing tool. I was on a quest to look for performance cams for my 1.9DOHC and i ran across this link (http://www.importperformanceparts.ne...ms-saturn.html )
(scroll down about half a page and you will see the cams for sale).... A company named "Gude Performance" that makes cams for a few models of saturn to include the SOHC. I must say that this looks pretty darn legit. Is this for real??? If so, im really interested in these.

 

Silvercoupe,
I have been looking for cams for mine for a while and this is the first time I have seen this company listing for Saturn.
A twin cam application is about $500.00 plus having to supply a core. That makes sense if you think of it.
However if I buy and I have from Iskenderian a cam shaft for push rod engine with lifters is about $150.00 plus shipping arriving at my house.
I need to look at the specs. given to see what if any advantage there is or like you say if they are real. Dunno, never heard of them before. I need to look later and will so I will get back.
What if anything is the value. At $500.00 it is pricey for a twin cam motor however it has been my experience a cam shaft does more for performance per dollar spent than any other single modification. And before I would ever consider and exhaust modification such as headers and cat back at some where around the same price spent I would buy these cams. If they are any good.

 

Considering how hard it is to find parts for saturns i got a bit excited when i saw these. At the same time since it IS hard to find parts, anytime i come across performance parts i question the legitimacy of them. First to see if the company is popular, how long theyve been around, how much they charge etc. And like you said, price is a big thing, and "you get what you pay for" rings pretty true especially for engine parts

 

Please keep this thread alive, and let the rest of us know what you find, please ...

 

given that there is no "tune" available for the stock PCM, would one run into problems with modded cams on an otherwise stock engine?

No, I don't know much about cams -- hence my question.

 

Ill keep this thread going as i get more and more information. I wish i had the money, id probably buy them now and use my car as a guinea pig to see who good these things are. Possibly by the summer, if this site is still selling them i will definitely have a set of these in my pocession. Idk much about cams or tuning them either...I just know that it gives it a wicked aggressive idle and makes the build rev really quick. id have to take it to the performance shop downtown and have them do it or get a program that shows me how to do it. The side claims that their race series cams will get you up to 8000rpms, which is pretty cool considering the stock DOHC is around 6900rpm

 

the 1.9L makes its power at around 5000rpm (or at least thats where i feel it kick in at) which isnt that impressive since you only have another 2000rpms left before redline. Big block V8's can do that hahaha. I think as small as the saturns engine is 8000rpm's is more ideal from a performance prospective, buuuttttt reving that high leads to 2 problems i can thing of, you gas mileage is gonna go way down of course, and you have a good chance of blowing a gasket or cylinder walls. On the contrary this company claims that you wont have to worry about damaging a stock engine soooo..... *shrugs shoulders*

 

ummm

rev limiter

 

There is a fair amount of Tolerance built into the "Algorithms" used by the Engine control Computers. Those are the instructions the computer uses to run the engine by based on sensor inputs.
A speed density system assumes that at a given speed in a given road gear the engine rpm is going to be a known and air management thus fuel flow is a function of a table built into the Algorithms.
Something that has a Mass Air Flow Sensor actually measures the amount of air that an engine uses and then alters the variables as a function of the actual measurement.
There are no CHIP capabilities on the Saturn Engine Control Computers thus you are limited to what ever the variable limits are built into the Algorithms by the original design.
How far can you go before you run into a problem? It has been my experience that affordable on a budget aftermarket performance parts will not exceed a variable problem
Take RPM. Just how far are you going to go with RPM as one variable before it becomes a problem. What is a number that is going to cause a problem? Do you know what it is and if you did is it a place you are going to normally drive.
Just what good is a 5000 rpm (to pick a number) problem anyway. How many times do you hit that RPM?
It is a number my engine sees rarely thus if that is a problem I probably will never operate the engine in that range and if I do? Knowing it is a problem I can solve it by Short Shifting.
Thus it no longer is a problem. End of concern.
If you are building a performance engine with no control over manually tuning the things and buying a lot of exotic performance parts with no way to use them? You are wasting your money on your car. I have not had a problem yet with engines I have built. But I build smog legal street motors.
They do not see extreme limits.
And if I get close to those areas? There are ways to crutch things. You can buy High Flow port injectors, Mapp sensor off sets to shift the input signal to a different range and a few other ways around them.
As far as I am concerned. Until I actually can find Stock Saturn Cam specifications to compare the specs listed on the recently located Cam listings to see if they actually have a significant number variation to make it worth spending half a grand on in parts plus supply a core, pay for shipping and misc parts needed to install them I would not have the slightest hesitation to install them in my pretty much stock 94 SC2 and not worry about anything. I have done that in the past with other configurations with other cars and do not expect a problem that I can not some how live with or get around with my Saturn.

 

Everynow and then i like to open it up and drive a bit harder than i usually do just for fun and occasional track meets. Besides doing a whole port and polish, boring out the engine and forged pistons there isnt much out there for the 1.9L engine. I figured cams would be a nice addition to the engine internals. Its much cheaper than the stuff i just mentioned plus you get a little boost in ponies