Hot Rod Forum banner

cam degree

3K views 15 replies 10 participants last post by  cobalt327 
#1 ·
Alright so still one the same engine. 350 stock rebuilt, 60 cc double hump heads with 202 160 valves. comp cams 268 cam. Im wondering if i will need to degree the came to get my best performance in this application. And if so does anyone know exactly how much or a good way of doing it? thanks as always
 
#7 ·
zoomo said:
So from what im reading you basically just want the number one cylinder intake vaqlve all the way open when number one is at tdc?
No

You have to look at the cam card that was supplied with the cam or go to the Comp website and plug in the grind number to get the correct numbers.

That cam will probably have a setup with the intake fully open at about 106 degrees ATDC.
 
#12 · (Edited)
zoomo said:
So im completely confused by all this and it appears i have none of the tools required to do it. Am i really going to be causing problems by just installing it by using the marks on the timing gears?
The chances that you will run into a problem by not degreeing the cam are far greater today that they were maybe ten years ago, IMO. The problem that I have been running into is poor quality control on the timing gears. They can be out by +/- ten degrees - which is a problem that I had on the last engine that I built. The cam and timing chain/gears were from Comp Cams (I'm definitely not slamming Comp Cams but just pointing out that this was not a no name brand cheapo deal). Take the time to either have someone degree the cam for you or have someone help you do it but make sure it gets done. If you want I can tell you the experience that I just had and then you'd really understand but I don't want to write a book at this time.

EDIT: I don't know how to attach different threads on here but search for this thread and it will explain why you should degree in your camshaft:
"degreeing cam, worth it??"

Sorry but I need to edit again...I think this link will work for you: http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/degreeing-cam-worth-178347.html
 
#14 ·
zoomo said:
So im completely confused by all this and it appears i have none of the tools required to do it. Am i really going to be causing problems by just installing it by using the marks on the timing gears?
Engine building is one endeavor that will truely give you a great appreciation for the old saying "Ignorance is bliss". Many engines have been built with no thought given to degreeing a cam. The person doing this has a good chance of being completely satisfied with the outcome of their project whether they degree their cam or not.
There are so many individual parts individual parts involved in an engine assembly. All of these parts are cast or machined by so many different sources that all will be assembled into one engine. Any time a part is made there are specs with a tolerance range that they fall into. This leads to a condition called tolerance stacking. All of these tolerances can stack up or cancel each other out.
The purpose of all these engine assembly techniques, like degreeing a cam, are performed to help eliminate these tolerances & assure that all of the parts you have spent your hard earned money on are working the best they can, in your particular project.
There are some good books out there. One of the first ones I would suggest is the "The step by step guide to engine blue printing". give it a read & see if it helps with this or future engine projects.
 
#16 ·
The kicker to degreeing a cam is that to not cause your own "tolerance stack" (read- error), a large diameter degree wheel is needed- the bigger the better. And the bigger, the more $$$.

But even a little 6" degree wheel will at least help you to see if the parts were machined correctly. On a budget, but know how to print something out and use a pair of shears?

Do it yourself DEGREE WHEEL. I see no reason you couldn't use a program like Hypersnap, etc. to enlarge this to whatever size you wanted.

I'm going to do just that and put it into my photo gallery if it works.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top