seawalkersee
Registered User
It seems like there have been several threads lately that have either included cam talk or branches over into cam talk. Lots of questions and discussions have muddled up other threads. So, I am starting this one.
The cam is basically the heart of the engine. It controls the valve events. We all know and understand that. The questions come from lift, LSA, and duration. The factory cam does the job of having a smooth running vehicle through the RPM band (which is short imho) for anyone from a 16 yoa to and 80 yoa driver to be able to manage. After you start playing with the profile, you start to get into the questions.
Anyone who has ever built parts from scratch, moodded any existing part, or added something where it did not belong has run into the following problem. When you move/add anything, you must be sure the rest of the parts work around what you have done. When you add lift, you can only go so far. Remember, valves are only so big. Heads can only flow so much, and stock parts are only so strong.
Increasing the cam profiles adds rpm to the engine. By having the overlap change, you move the powerband up, but lose boost. Not that it is totally gone, but if the valves are open at the same time for longer, it pushes through the cyl. As long as your exhaust flows, you will see this.
Add what you want/need. I am not an expert per se, but no dummy either. I have been out of the game long enough that if you ask me a question, I can find the answer, but don't remember it like I used to. So ask questions here as well. There was a good post about cams over on v6power a few years ago too. I will see if I can find and link it.
SWS
The cam is basically the heart of the engine. It controls the valve events. We all know and understand that. The questions come from lift, LSA, and duration. The factory cam does the job of having a smooth running vehicle through the RPM band (which is short imho) for anyone from a 16 yoa to and 80 yoa driver to be able to manage. After you start playing with the profile, you start to get into the questions.
Anyone who has ever built parts from scratch, moodded any existing part, or added something where it did not belong has run into the following problem. When you move/add anything, you must be sure the rest of the parts work around what you have done. When you add lift, you can only go so far. Remember, valves are only so big. Heads can only flow so much, and stock parts are only so strong.
Increasing the cam profiles adds rpm to the engine. By having the overlap change, you move the powerband up, but lose boost. Not that it is totally gone, but if the valves are open at the same time for longer, it pushes through the cyl. As long as your exhaust flows, you will see this.
Add what you want/need. I am not an expert per se, but no dummy either. I have been out of the game long enough that if you ask me a question, I can find the answer, but don't remember it like I used to. So ask questions here as well. There was a good post about cams over on v6power a few years ago too. I will see if I can find and link it.
SWS