288/280 vs 280/272 cams.

[M3KVU]

Hi guys , looking to fit cams to my M3 over the summer , which would be best for fast road ?

Also what are the pros and cons of each set , and how much am i likely to gain ?

My current spec is , CSL air box and tune , SS V2 headers , SS cats , SS resonated centre and SS LWR back box.

Thanks in advance.

[Cubieman]

Interested as well.

[Obioban]

I think the 280/272s are a better choice for cars that see any street use.
-Better power below ~7800 rpm
-can reuse stock followers, which makes install much easier (and cheaper)
-smoother idle

I wouldn't be tempted by the 288/280 setup unless I was doing an increase compression ratio and/or stroker and/or high revving (8700+ rpm) build. For a "normal" (full exhaust, CSL intake, etc) bolt on build, 280/272 is the way to go IMO.

[Grke46m3]

Has anyone seen premature wear on stock followers with 280/272? I have 90k miles and the only thing setting me back from cams is the additional follower cost.

[Obioban]

Has anyone seen premature wear on stock followers with 280/272? I have 90k miles and the only thing setting me back from cams is the additional follower cost.

I'm 40-50,000 miles into my 280/272s, reusing the stock followers, and have seen no increase in wear (assuming wear can be seen in valve shim adjustments). I've only had 2 shims out of spec since I put them in.

[cozmo kraemer]

I'm 40+k miles into my 280/272 cams, and I reused stock followers on a 135k mile engine at install...so 178k overall. I just had the head completely redone and the followers checked out.

[terra]

I'm somewhere between 10 and 15k on my 288/280s with stock followers with no abnormal wear to report.

[Obioban]

I'm somewhere between 10 and 15k on my 288/280s with stock followers with no abnormal wear to report.

That makes me wonder why schrick says they’re required for the 288/280s but not the 280/272s 🤔

[BMWahba]

I'm glad to hear that I can reuse my followers with my Schrick 280/272s. To answer your question on how much is there expected to gain, from various people I've talked to that have done the install (of course there is a ton of variance depending on supporting mods etc), but probably expect between + 15-20 hp on a good tune.

[M3KVU]

I'm very lucky that I have Paul Smith aka Polclaude here to dyno tune it after.

[Obioban]

I'm very lucky that I have Paul Smith aka Polclaude here to dyno tune it after.

I was going to have him tweak my tune this spring/summer, but doesn't seem like I'm going to go able to get on a dyno this year, at the current rate...

[Slideways]

Has anyone seen premature wear on stock followers with 280/272? I have 90k miles and the only thing setting me back from cams is the additional follower cost.

This owner was not so fortunate when reusing his existing followers:

[Obioban]

This owner was not so fortunate when reusing his existing followers:

We will see (I asked him in the comments), but I be the actual issue was he didn't move the oil valve over from the stock cams when he installed the cat cams (cat cams, unlike schricks, don't come with it). 800 miles to failure implies a lack of lubrication, to me.

[Slideways]

We will see (I asked him in the comments), but I be the actual issue was he didn't move the oil valve over from the stock cams when he installed the cat cams (cat cams, unlike schricks, don't come with it). 800 miles to failure implies a lack of lubrication, to me.

Are these not the valves?

[racinghart]

The stock cams on his car didn’t come fitted with the pressure regulator valves however he did put a set in the cat cams before he installed them. I wonder if the stock rocker arms were worn down already prior to the new cams install based on the high mileage of his car.