AI 226/234 first impressions
Sound: The idle is 9/10, ive gotten a ton of complements. Above idle im not even going to rate because it sounds STOCK. This could easily be a sleeper cam with a 1000RPM idle and good idle tune. It definitely has a nice chop at about my 700 RPM idle, but it really isnt anything too wild. It had more lope when i first started it because of a spark plug wire issue.... wont go there
Driveability: I am shocked. With milled heads, thinner gaskets, and a 110 LSA cam with as much duration as I have, i expected it to have some kick. I was completely wrong. I have surge between 1000 and 1500 RPM in first gear, and second in very specific conditions. Beyond that, not bad at all! I can cruise at 55 MPH in 6th gear at 1300 RPMs [actual] and be OK! My buddies LS1 cam is only slightly larger (but has more lift) and his car bucked like a bull before we tuned it.
Power: It is there. My buddies cam was dud without a tune. This one is not. The car seems hit or miss right now [seems to depend on air temperature] but when its on... its on. my 275s BARELY hang on in second gear when rolling into full throttle and I have completely blown the tires off 2nd grabbing the shift hard. The car seems to be happy with about a 6K RPM shift. It doesnt seem to want beyond that. I have accidentally hit the rev limiter in first because it gets up there quick. I still seem to have factory torque or better down low... a little over 2000 RPM is all it needs to sink you in the seat.
Consensus: Well, I am very very impressed by this cam so far. but, at this point I am not sure if it is what I wanted. My car is in every sense a toy, so I wanted it to be just a little on the wild side. I am very surprised at how behaved this cam is, but I cannot argue with the results at all. Im sure its gonna scream with a tune, but at this point I feel like i could have gone with the 230/238. That being said I know its better to undercam than overcam. Midrange power was important for me. We'll see!
The startup videos are on youtube under my SN.
dont have any driving videos yet sorry. Last edited by JoeliusZ28; Aug 14, 2008 at 11:09 PM.
I've noticed my peak shift point being around 6400-6500, tried pulling her to about 6800 at the track once and lost a mph so i stick around that range for the most part, but i must say that i too am extremely impressed with the driveability of the cam yet the choppy idle at the same time.
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Glad you are happy with your choice though, its a decent cam and you should have some fun.
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Im pretty sure if I took it to milan as it is now It would pull a mid 12 first try. hoping for low 12s or high 11s after a GOOD tune if im really lucky.
If you don't feel the car is wild enough at that point, call Ai back for some 200cc heads. With a set of Ai heads and a tune, low 400s should be attainable with that cam.
Glad you are happy with your purchase.
The car was tuned and now it runs like a raped ape. I love the work they did.
The car was tuned and now it runs like a raped ape. I love the work they did.




So time slips it is!