Dou8l3m,
I get what you are saying. I don't mean to come off as defensive, but I don't need acerbic either.
I do have a history. I know the market. I'm limited to what exactly I can say due to 'Vendor Rules'. There is only one time I obliterated those rules to blow JBMorrison out of the water for selling knock-off Bosch nozzles. Last day he was on the club was after my post was put up. I am proud to defend the TDIClub. But I cannot directly attack another vendor for a dubious product, so the rules cut both ways. They are to protect both the good and the bad, just not the blatant.
On the other hand, I have been noted as someone who is deeply involved, do this for a living and am an innovator and producer. Word of Mouth drives my business, as my 'Ma and Pa' shop has produced a lot of great work with very few failures... Thousands of cylinder heads and engines. We have developed our own design for superior H-beam rods, performance upgrades for pistons, exclusive performance piston rings, and that is the tip of the iceberg...
So, when someone comes out disputing our relatively old posts, you could say it's par for the course. But we also do keep current. Can't always lay out every proof or I get banned... vendor rules.
And when you say OCD, my comment is "No, it's CDO... I have to alphabetize it..." And a bit neurotic to boot... I channel my idiosyncrasies.
I've become used to being attacked, like the first time I changed the Bentley book's numbers for a ALH cam sprocket torque from 33ft lbs to 45, you'd have thought I made sacrilege, going against the 'bible'.
Another example: You realize the Bentley makes another mistake on the ALH/BEW piston/ cylinder wall dimensions? They use a 79.46mm piston. It should be 79.44mm. So, yes, I am one to be accurate and in this business, and accuracy counts. I get people upset when I present what to me is obvious.
To lay the question of 'Billet' to rest... I did not say billet is bad. I said it is cheaper.
Your engine is built by the bean counters. So, for them, cheaper is much better.
The original cams in your PD motor as it came from VW were cast steel cams. About the same time, 6-7 years ago for when you don't like my data lag... All of the companies producing cams went to the process of billet for the cost. The difference between billet and cast cam, besides cost, is the billet is linear hardening, whereas the cast cams are directional hardening. That is, when the steel is poured, the tendency is for the pour to freeze first, against the walls of the mold, causing austinetic grain structure, which some may feel is superior. But in our case, directional or linear grain structure makes little difference.
The big advantage of billet is that the cam can be rough-cut machined, ready for hardening in minutes with the modern machining technique. The Landis custom cam cutting machine our cam grinder has in production now can spit a cam out in minutes. Compare the process to the cast process. From melting a pot full of metal, mold production and it's dangers, to prep and additional machine work needed before induction hardening, billet produced cams win hands down.
But do not use the moniker 'Billet' to fool your customers into buying a more expensive cam that is produced EXACTLY the SAME as every other cam producer makes. They are virtually all billet, with a very few exceptions.
As for what we produce as a marketable cam, we know how it works. Great success story. As for AMC, I can only say what I know to be true. We track and poll a lot of information and either can't or won't share it all.
Sometimes, it boils down to who do you trust. I think the bitter truth is better than a sweet lie.