Dialing cams
 

So I spent a good majority of the day doing extensive research on cams in regards to lift, duration, opening, closing and everything else you can think of so wanted to turn to you guys to ask some questions.. So couple years back I used to have the Sharkracing 268 cams in the RD and honestly loved them. I want to get a new set of similar cams but the end goal is to go boost and the general consensus is to not go with bigger cams since it can cause blow through along with exhaust gasses going back into the IM. So in theory, if you were able to dial in bigger cams that have longer duration and higher lift to reduce overlap.. you should be able to make decent power compared to stock cams.



So which brings me to dialing the cams.. Sure, we have the adjustable exhaust cam gear but dialing the intake cam is hard since the Rside sprocket is uber rare. But would it be technically possible to advance/retard the intake (and exhaust cam for that matter) by simply adjusting the chain links between the cams? It sounds kinda ghetto but in my head it makes sense. Each notch/point on cam gear/sprocket should correlate to a certain amount of degrees but I'm not sure what that'd be without looking at the gear/sprocket and measuring.



On another note, I have been looking into the thread where other members have used modded beta I exhaust cams in the intake cam side which provides more lift and duration which is a good option for stock performance. I have also seen where people say it shouldn't be done in Beta II head since the HLA/MLA differences. Can anyone confirm this for me? Somewhat a long thread but it might be helpful for other people doing research.



Any info would be helpful.. or just tell me I'm way out in the left field because that could always be the case too :beercheers:



Thanks!

On an NA car... overlap is good.

That is true since it helps flush/pull air into the cylinder but my plan is to boost. No point in getting bigger cams if they won't benefit anything.

If boost is the plan, don't waste money on cams.

I understand where you are coming from but would like to get more lift.. not necessarily concerned with more duration since that can cause headaches with boost.



Anyone done the 2 exhaust cams mod in a beta II head or point me in the direction of higher lift beta II oem cams?

IF you find a good shop, you can have stock cams reground for higher lift if you like the profile but just wanted lift.



You can probably get your money back out of a set of good NA cams by selling them when you go to whatever FI cams you go with. Then you got to enjoy the NA cams in the interim.



You COULD adjust time by skipping a tooth on the chain . . . but the voices tell me it's "she won't run anymore" type timing adjustments. Maybe just won't run *well* but I'm skeptical it would run at all.

Higher lift without more duration make for crazy valve acceleration and deceleration. Makes it very difficult to get the valves to seat well without slamming into the head. Seriously... it's not worth the headache when one extra psi of boost will give you the same power without stressing your valvetrain.

I appreciate all the info i8acobra.. so what about the modded beta I exhaust cam as an intake? Thought about going that route but heard the hla/mla setups wouldn't work right. Heard conflicting stories.

+ for an excellent point!

So just for shiggles, for every cam degree there are two crank degrees and without measuring I'm gonna say from spoke to spoke on the cams is about 10° if not more. If my thinking is correct, that would translate to around 20° in advancement/retardation depending on which way you went on moving the cam. I need to print out a cam degree and actually get the specifics but don't think that'd be a wise move since the intake cam opens close to tdc. Retarding it anyways. Advancing would likely eliminate overlap but would probably run like butt.



It was just a thought since adjustable intake cams are pretty much well kept secrets and seeing what options were out there. Knowledge is always a good thing.