85Iroc-Z

iTrader: (4)

I just put a new cam into my motor but I did not degree it since I dont have the equipment to do it. Is it really worth degreeing the camshaft? What will be the effects of not degreeing it? What will be the benefits? Also how hard is it to do it?

Orr89RocZ

iTrader: (20)

how big of a cam we talking? is it a custom grind? ARe you looking for max possible power?

Degreeing a cam is important to check to see if the timing events of the cam installed in the motor match the cam specifications on the cam card. Just cuz the cam card says one thing, doesnt always mean the camshaft itself is dead on, but in most cases quality control is good enough that you end up with a good product if you bought it from one of the big name manufacturers.

The camshaft specs on the cam card are for a given installed intake centerline, so if your not installing the cam on that intake centerline, the cam wont properly match the cam card specs causing differences in your power

Some timing chain sets are not properly machined and could be off a few degrees, so thats another reason to verify the cam timing events to see if the chain/gears are of proper spec.

You also degree the cam to check for piston to valve clearance issues with high lift and big duration cams.

ALso with degree wheels and such, you can install the cam advanced or retarded to custom taylor your power curve for more top end or lower end power/torque.



If your only doing a mild cam and installed it dot to dot on the timing chain, you should be fine and wont be sacrificing power.

85Iroc-Z

iTrader: (4)

Here are the specs on the cam that I put in.
http://store.summitracing.com/partde...4&autoview=sku

greezemonkey

iTrader: (14)

Honestly there`s no point in your situation, you`ll never notice a difference if it were 6 degrees advanced or retarted....once you get into a roller or big solid I would probably start checking. I started degreeing all my cams 10 yrs ago or more and I have found one thing, if you use good name brand componets the cam usually comes in right on the money or so close (like within 1*) it is not worth trying to adjust, but if you ran into say a chain that was off 1* and then a cam that was off 1* and a crank that was not index correctly you could end up way out but not far enough to be a real problem.
Even if you had the equipment to degree the cam, which isn`t too much, you still need a way to adjust the cam timing.

Orr89RocZ

iTrader: (20)

yeah you'll be fine if you lined it up dot to dot on that cam

Ward

iTrader: (1)

I've only put together street/oem replacement engines, but I've never degreed a cam, and never had any problems.

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

"Degreeing" a cam is essentially just doing final QC on the mfrs of the timing set and the cam. Unless you are experienced enough to know what effect altering that relationship will produce, there's nothing you can do about it anyway even if you DO find a mistake, other than replace parts.

And on top of that, who's to say that YOUR PARTICULAR COMBO might not run BETTER with the cam at some other timing slightly different from "straight up", anyway? You have no way of knowing that, other than measuring the cam timing, then measuring the engine output, then changing the cam timing, then re-measuring the engine output, and impartially comparing the results. Are you prepared to do that?

It's a little like life insurance. How much life insurance do you "need"? Do YOU "need" any AT ALL? It's a matter of risk, right? Look at cam degreeing the same way. How much risk of your cam being slightly "off" IS there, and how much are you willing to accept? Looked at that way, do you "need" to degree your cam?

If you're not mix-&-matching components from different mfrs, ESPECIALLY if any of them is GM, the risk of seriously wrong cam timing is fairly low, IMO.