Cost of Camming a VTS

7th February 2011, 13:06

Ive done a search and not found any good answers.

Basically I want to know how much it costs to cam a VTS, including labour, camshafts....etc etc....everything you will need to spend from start to finish.

7th February 2011, 13:12

Depending on cams but usually £300-350, then fitting £100+, then remap £450 at chipwizards i think (stock ecu) unless go for pred £500 inc mapping.

7th February 2011, 13:19

Depends on the cam choice. Do many people run PH3s or similar spec unmapped?

7th February 2011, 16:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by jsdvtr

Depending on cams but usually £300-350, then fitting £100+, then remap £450 at chipwizards i think (stock ecu) unless go for pred £500 inc mapping.

So about 900 with stock ecu??

7th February 2011, 16:55

You dont necessarily need it remapping with Ph3/708 camshafts, will run OK without. You just wont get the real benefits out of the Cams without one thats all. But, just to say so you can get the cams fitted then run the car while you save up for a remap...
Will idle rough and might stutter through the early rev range.

£450 seems steep for remapping! I thought it was more like £250?! Or am I dreaming

Remapping will add upto 10bhp with those cams though.

7th February 2011, 17:09

chipwizards is £300 isnt it?

7th February 2011, 17:27

Ive got a recipt that came with the vts for a map costing £450, not at chipwizards though.

7th February 2011, 17:36

Josh, i used to think same but its closer too £450/500 @ chipwizards for a standard ecu

7th February 2011, 17:37

Well i thought wayne charged about £450? I know remapping is about £300+ on a N/A car and takes 3-4 hours if everything ok.

8th February 2011, 20:11

I wouldn't bother camming tbh. Just makes it run crap, lumpy idle. I'd 100% prefer to have a standard 16v with exhaust air filter, much better/easier to drive

8th February 2011, 20:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by benkelsall

I wouldn't bother camming tbh. Just makes it run crap, lumpy idle. I'd 100% prefer to have a standard 16v with exhaust air filter, much better/easier to drive

if mapped correctly it will run fine, and not much hard to drive at all.

but doesnt make it run crap, lumpy idle, if mapped well, and every done correctly will be totally fine.

8th February 2011, 21:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by MJ05LLY

Josh, i used to think same but its closer too £450/500 @ chipwizards for a standard ecu

If that's the case ain't it worth spending a little more an get a preditor ecu?

8th February 2011, 21:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by nickwillyhams

If that's the case ain't it worth spending a little more an get a preditor ecu?

Predator has only been made for Single plugs iirc? So you can't have a 3 plug predator ECU.

8th February 2011, 22:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by JRC1

Predator has only been made for Single plugs iirc? So you can't have a 3 plug predator ECU.

Mines single plug

8th February 2011, 22:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by AndySAXO

if mapped correctly it will run fine, and not much hard to drive at all.

but doesnt make it run crap, lumpy idle, if mapped well, and every done correctly will be totally fine.

Yeh if you go standalone and mapped proper then much better.
But Nick's just going to get his std 3plug ecu remapped which isn't going to give the best idle. Plus 3plug ecu mess up after awhile of being mapped.

8th February 2011, 22:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by nickwillyhams

Mines single plug

Yeah, I was just implying that not everyone can get a predator due to a lot of people having 3 plug ECU's.

8th February 2011, 22:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by benkelsall

Yeh if you go standalone and mapped proper then much better.
But Nick's just going to get his std 3plug ecu remapped which isn't going to give the best idle. Plus 3plug ecu mess up after awhile of being mapped.

Where have you got this information from?

8th February 2011, 22:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by JRC1

Where have you got this information from?

they dont every single time. But theyre alot more prone to fucking up a many poeple know. Single plug seem to be more reliable..alot of poeple to back this up too!

8th February 2011, 22:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by db_sax

they dont every single time. But theyre alot more prone to fucking up a many poeple know. Single plug seem to be more reliable..alot of poeple to back this up too!

Oh fair enough! Never heard of that before thats why I asked

Is there any known reason behind it?

8th February 2011, 23:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by JRC1

Oh fair enough! Never heard of that before thats why I asked

Is there any known reason behind it?

I dont know mate, I have seen and heard of quite a few poeples who have lost thier map

, Ive never really looked into it though as its never effected me

I personally wouldnt map a triple plug ECU if I was ever in the situation though.

8th February 2011, 23:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by db_sax

I dont know mate, I have seen and heard of quite a few poeples who have lost thier map

, Ive never really looked into it though as its never effected me

I personally wouldnt map a triple plug ECU if I was ever in the situation though.

Yeah, does sound quite off putting tbh..

9th February 2011, 09:24

Also my cars now on 81,000 and I probably wouldnt be able to cam it until next year. So the mileage will be quite high by then

reckon its best to just keep my vts engine?

9th February 2011, 13:00

Anyone got any horror stories of this 3plug ecu problem?

I wish i could just get a pred, but since its not avail for 3 plug im stuck as to what to do.... and after reading the 3plug progress thread, it dont seem to be progressing

So i dont know if too...

Map a 3plug (but dont fancy spending 500 quid for it to fuck up) plus im put off that its nealry same price for a pred!!!

or there was a lad selling a remapped 3plug ecu for the mods have/was looking at.
Good idea, bad idea? I thought it was pricey at 300 quid, as i see single plug ecus that are mapped at 100/150 quid

9th February 2011, 14:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by jsdvtr

Depending on cams but usually £300-350, then fitting £100+, then remap £450 at chipwizards i think (stock ecu) unless go for pred £500 inc mapping.

or you could use our own cams --very similar to ph3 = 708,s ,made on new blanks £185+vat
a price that camt be beaten,as for running rough on std ecu --just swing the ex cam al ittle for best idle

9th February 2011, 15:13

I umm'd and arrr'd about camming my vts a couple of years ago - in fact I even bought some PH3's. But time after time I kept seeing posts about how drivability gets naffed up. It's all very well getting 150 hp out of the 1.6 16v when 120 hp is standard. But on the induction side of things nothing has changed and you don't get something for nothing, so something has to be lost elsewhere in the rev range.

I'd much rather stick with my standard cam and nice wide torque profile with modest power than having a much narrower torque profile at points in the rev range I rarely use. It comes down to driving preference but if you want a car that has a wide operating envelope then stay with what you've got (or go for something very mild like a PH1 - I really really wish I had gone for that now). That said if you're going for a tb's and/or remap then ignore what I've just said.

9th February 2011, 18:34

When were talking about low, mid an high range power am I right in thinking,
Low range - tickover to 3500rpm
Mid range - 3500 to 5500
And high range obv 5500k+
Or is the mid range wider say 2500-5500? Sorry to sound dumb but I need plenty of figures in order to decide what I want do with my engine. Cheers

9th February 2011, 18:34

When were talking about low, mid an high range power am I right in thinking,
Low range - tickover to 3500rpm
Mid range - 3500 to 5500
And high range obv 5500k+
Or is the mid range wider say 2500-5500? Sorry to sound dumb but I need plenty of figures in order to decide what I want do with my engine. Cheers

11th February 2011, 21:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by nickwillyhams

When were talking about low, mid an high range power am I right in thinking,
Low range - tickover to 3500rpm
Mid range - 3500 to 5500
And high range obv 5500k+
Or is the mid range wider say 2500-5500? Sorry to sound dumb but I need plenty of figures in order to decide what I want do with my engine. Cheers

Theres no technicallity to it just means low, medium and high points in the rev range so what you've said would be about correct yeah.

11th February 2011, 21:54

You can run it unmapped for a while, I ran mine unmapped for a few weeks and you couldn't tell the difference, apart from the idle being ever so slightly smoother

12th February 2011, 17:38

i have a 2003 3 plugged vts which i cammed with cat cam 708s and run Vems managment system ,mapped at gmc a good while ago and run spot on and never let me down once !

14th February 2011, 16:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by tay56

You can run it unmapped for a while, I ran mine unmapped for a few weeks and you couldn't tell the difference, apart from the idle being ever so slightly smoother

Was that really the only difference?
What kid of difference would you say their is with the cams compared to standard. Small difference, large difference etc

I wish a 3plug Pred would hurry up! I like things simple