Brian Crower Stage 2 Cams [INSTALLATION]

While being just five pounds of metal, it single-handedly decides the volume of air in and out of the motor. Brian Crower Cams has taken the import scene by force creating up to five stages of cams for unyielding motors. We got our hands on their stage two cam for our Project 350z and dug right in! Note that installing camshafts is a long and tedious job and sadly the way the 350z loads the camshaft the engine must be pulled adding tons of time to the installation. So to keep the article under novel status we have cut down the process. Purchasing a factory service manual such as the Chilton’s Nissan 350z Manual is recommended as it will let you reference anything needed on the motor.

First order of business is to disconnect the battery. Remove the strut bar, intake assembly, cooling fan. Drain all fluids and remove all hoses going to the front of the motor.

Once the motor is removed you will need to remove the upper intake manifold. The lower manifold and fuel assembly can stay put unless you plan an upgrade while it’s apart.

Remove the a/c compressor, power steering pump, and alternator. You have just enough room to move them to the side and not disconnect completely.  Now remove all remaining brackets on the timing cover. Then next remove the Timing cover which you can see completed above. Now remove the timing chain and primary timing sprocket assemblies (for those who always wondered how VVT worked, this is how variable valve timing is controlled).

Now we can take off the valve covers and look at those useless factory cams. Remove the camshaft position sensor and intake valve timing control solenoid. (Be very careful not to let any metal shavings or magnets near the camshaft position sensor.)

Loosen the camshaft bracket bolts in several passes to alleviate the pressure and prevent any possible damage or bodily harm. With that complete you can remove the factory camshafts.

This is the new Brian Crower cam that we are going to install. It is a Stage 2 High Performance/Race camshaft. The cam has a short duration but is a very street-able camshaft for daily driving and performance. The camshaft has a slight pitch or lope at idle which you will notice after installation. You can run an OEM spring which we opted to do with the BC cams.

Now you have to repeat this on the other bank of cams to complete the Brian Crower camshaft installation. You just do the installation in the reverse of disassembly with the exception of aligning the new camshafts. Consult your factory service manual for the correct alignment procedure.