I'm in the process of trying to learn as much about cams as I can. One topic I'm having some questions on is that of ground in advance. What are the advantages of girding it into the cam vs. getting an adjustable timing chain? I hear that it shifts the powerband as well. What way does advance/retard do this and what's the best way to make use of it? Also, is the advance/retard found by taking the difference between LSA and ICL?

Sorry to pester you with so many questions, but I've just been trying to get a good feel for cams and cam design.

 

Have you read this?

https://ls1tech.com/forums/generatio...cam-guide.html

 

Ground in advance brings power in earlier and makes it peak and fall off earlier. Most shelf cams have 2* already ground in. It also brings PTV a little tighter...

 

Yeah I have, though it was a little while ago and I forgot about that, sorry - fail.

That does clear up most of my questions. What I'd still like to know is if there is a difference between grinding advance in and just getting an adjustable timing set? I've heard it's more advantageous to have it ground into the cam, but I haven't really seen an explanation why.

Another question would be how much does each degree of advance bring down the power band? Or is it something that's not really set in stone and more dependent on the other specs of the cam?

 

There is no difference to whether you grind in advance or if you advance it with the timing set. With ground in advance you can theoretically use the stock set and line up dot to dot and have the advance you want. This should always be checked with a degree wheel.

 

Oh ok that makes sense. So is grinding it in just where they put the dot then?

 

dots come on the 2 sprockets on your timing chain...
cranks are keyed so you cant mess up the positioning of the lower sprocket..
the upper sprocket has a holes that line up with holes and a nub on the cam...
all you have to do is get it on straight so that the lower dot is on top and the upper dot is on bottom and they both line up at TDC

its really simple on these lsx motors... you can usually do it without a degree wheel...but it never hurts to double check it and its best in practice to use a degree wheel.

on adjustable timing chains, they usually come with instructions on how to line it up if you want to advance or retard the cam