I am debating about a cam and head swap on my current set up. I was thinking of upgrading to AFR 165's and changing the cam to a XE268H. Will I have to fly cut the pistons on this new set up or is that just something that has to be done when you step up to the 2.02 valves.
It may or may not clear. its gonna be up to you to check ptv and to degree the cam in. I personally havent used a 2.02 valve on a stock piston but have had clearance problems with a 1.60 exhaust valve on a stock replacement 5.0 piston. It was a radius problem that was fixed with minor piston smoothing..
There is always a chance it may interfere. No gurantees when you do a cam swap, but if I had to bet, you will not have any clearance issues with that cam and 165's. It is not the total lift that always gets you, it could be the duration, again don't think you'd have problems.
What pistons do you have? I have the AFR 185's, Probe pistons, XR268R cam and had to flycut the pistons.(just barely)
I've heard that some pistons don't require the flycutting, but don't remember any specific brands.