Remanufactured Cams Boost Mileage 50%

Remanufactured cams boost mileage 50% ENGINES Engines 10-1-10 Installing a remanufactured camshaft and a set of 16:1 compression pistons can boost mileage up to 50% on many vehicles, according to a Utah inventor who's already converted 11 vehicles. The idea is to rework your cam so that it leaves the intake valve open halfway through the compression stroke and begins opening the exhaust valve at 30? before bottom dead center on the power stroke. This lets the gasoline engine expand the burning air-fuel mixture 16 times instead of the usual eight, greatly boosting gas mileage. You wind up with 8:1 compression but 16:1 expansion, explains Mike Brown, Draper, Utah. He's used the method on a 1972 Chevrolet pickup with a 400 cu. in. engine to increase mileage from 10 mpg around town and 14 on the highway, to 20 around town and 24 on the highway. He has also converted 10 Volkswagen engines and has seen them go from 24 to 42 mpg. "It reduces wear because of the increased expansion and the engine runs cooler. On the downside, you lose a little low-end torque," Brown explains. He's selling remanufactured cams and he gets the required pistons from an auto parts firm in California. He's in the process of setting up seminars to teach farmers and mechanics to do the rework process themselves. Conversion cost is about $700. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Mike Brown, P.O. Box 88, Draper, Utah 84020 (ph 801 571-9452).

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.