I'm investigating getting a new cam for my EL 6. Now it's a march '98 build, so is the EL-AU hybrid.

Speaking with 'arm97', he says getting cams for the hybrid is a very difficult task. Anyone else have a hybrid EL 6 (Jan '98 on) and have upgraded cams?

I'm looking at the new Wade profile (1604 I think it is).

I couldnt imagine why you wouldnt just get a can to suit an AU 4L.

I thought the hybrid, was only AU on the bottom end, with an unchanged EL head. But I'm unsure.

Wonder if the Wade rep, will answer here...

I have a feeling that the Hybrid's received the 1.8:1 rockers

The heads are AU as well. They have the AU cam, rocker gear, valves and springs.

Before I realised I had a hybrid, I tried the 1004 profile. And it did fit in, but when we bolted down the rocker gear, we snapped a rocker in 2. Then we realised something was different...

So I contacted wade, gave them the existing cam part number and was told it was an AU cam, so I swapped it for their AU stage 2 equivalent. I was told at that stage the cam specs were very similar to the AU XR6 cam of the time, and may not notice much difference. I believe Disco Frank has tried this cam as well, and he found that there was no performance difference.

But when I ran mine, it was found the car would not idle. Actually anything under 2000rpm the car would splutter, die and generally run like s**t. Over 2000rpm it ran pretty well.

I let it try and learn itself for a couple of days. Drove to Geelong and back a couple of times, and still didnt learn. So I took cam out the next night. When I put the old cam back in, the first thing it did after I started the car was to shoot a big loads of black s**t out the exhaust for 5 minutes. So I can only assume the car was running mega rich the whole time.

After a chat to the good guys at wade, I was able to return the cam (thanks again). I had further chats with Brendan at Jim Mock's and he told me the cam work required for an AU is alot different than an EL. You cant just slap an cam into an AU and it will work like the 1004 in an EL, you have to do some work to make it happen.

If the results of my car are anything to go by, then I can only assume he is right. I do remember speaking to someone who has a ute with a hybrid motor in is as well, and he tried the cam thing and ended up with the same problems I did, so maybe its a hybrid thing, and not so much an AU thing.

Does the 2:1 rocker gear fit on the hybrid head?

No idea. I suppose its always possible.

But wouldnt the valve stem length be different to suit different rockers.

I doubt it, otherwise the cam would be the same as EF/EL

But one of the main differences is the lobe sizes and placement.

On an EF/EL, the exhaust rocker is larger than the intake (i think its that way round). But on a hybrid, all the rockers are of the same size, which is about the size of the intake rockers on the EF/EL. So all the exhaust lobes are moved about 2mm toward the front of the engine to accomodate.

Otherwise, the cams are identical, as an EF/EL cam will sit properly in an AU head and vice versa, its only when you try to bolt the rockers down are the differences noticable.

what code did you have the your hybrid head? .. was it a 96DD or 96AD??

Just because I sold a EL motor not long ago to a member on here with difference size cam & rockers than the EL 95AD head ..

Is there a way to easily tell (without pulling half the engine apart) if you have a hybrid or not other than build date? Mines a June 98 (6/98), does that mean its almost definately a hybrid or its just random build batches that were hybrid?

They started making them in January 98.

Damn. I was looking at doing a 1004 cam too.

So from what I've just read here, I'm stuffed. My EL was built in August 1998.

So in that case, Would I be better off buying a 98 build XR6 cam rather than a Wade cam?? Theoretically, it should come out of a hybrid motor and should go straight in and offer some performance gains.

They might have still been building the 100% tickford i6 then tho. Rumours are theres some late build Gli's and futura's around with factory fitted XR6 motors because of an EL/AU-hybrid engine and/or parts shortage.

Food for thought