cam

is there any point in changing your cam? i have  mk3 2.0 bottom end (48000 miles) 1.8 head mk2 (88,000 miles) and a weber carb. what are the pros and cons?

You should probably talk to engine tuning guys, but from my (relatively limited) knowledge, you already have an engine with good torque (1.8 head on 2.0 block), but you might want to fit a cam with a longer duration (keeps valves open longer) to make better use of the 2.0 capacity, but this might only be a benefit if the head is ported, because it's only meant to handle 1800cc's of capacity(?).

To give you an idea of the kind of changes a cam can make, I should mention that I'm about to fit a pair of cams from a KR engine (Mk2 GTI 16v) to my daily-driver Audi 80 2.0 16v (ACE engine), and the benefit here is that the KR cams have longer duration (more BHP - about 10, apparently) and also open the inlet valves earlier in the stroke (better acceleration) than the ACE ones, which are smoother, but less aggressive.

cheers mate ill look into it some more,
paul