cam degreeing
cam degreeing Curious if you do not install your cam straight up doesn't it lower you peak horsepower numbers but increase you torque band? And if torque wins races wouldn't it be smart to install your cam a degree or two off to pick up that nice flat torque band and give up a few hps? Enlighten me please?
TECH Apprentice
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 337
Likes: 0
From: Frisco TX (Dallas Area)
In a nutshell, HP is torque up high. Although torque is what makes you move off the line or from a steady speed, hp is what makes acceleration. Sure the torque drops when the rpm grows, but the PRODUCT (multiplication) of torque and rpm, make the difference. As with anything though, there are tradeoffs. 10,000 rpm could make tons of HP, but you would have to get a court order to get it off the line. That's why NASCAR and Formula 1 cars, designed to run at high mph (and rpm) for a long time, have different engine requirements than an 8 sec drag car where the short time is as important as the mph at the finish. For a potent street car (and street/strip) you need a balance of low-end torque (off the line) and high-rpm HP to get the job done. 1/8th mile drag cars, need the low end more than the top-end (so they gear them differently for different tracks for the same engine). There are volumes of information on this subject, but IMO, that's the guts of it. HTH 
So let me be more specific I have the TR224 my car doesn't make the big numbers like some of the others I've seen. I do believe that when I installed my cam it wasn't perfectly straight up, but when I compare my dyno graph I notice that at 2500 rpms I am making 350rwtq up to about 5400. HP peaks at about 5800 and stays flat til about 6400 (370rwhp). These aren't exact numbers cause I can't find where I stashed the readouts but pretty close. So should I redegree my cam to pick up more hp say 380 and loose that broad tq band? Would that enable to run a better 1/4 mile. The car will be put backed together this weekend had the heads off to get milled just waiting on the pushrods, but will I have everything apart would I benefit from tweaking the cam again? TIA
Great post JRP!!!! So from what I understand I am really leaving alot on the table just to have that nice flat torque which isn't the most effecient way for my engine to run with this cam? Which means I need to install the cam straightup and find another way to make up for the lose torque......like gears?
Originally Posted by Big Will
Great post JRP!!!! So from what I understand I am really leaving alot on the table just to have that nice flat torque which isn't the most effecient way for my engine to run with this cam? Which means I need to install the cam straightup and find another way to make up for the lose torque......like gears?
what do you trap at? i installed both my cams dot to dot with my rollmaster adj. timing chain and havent had any problems. gears will be a cheap and quick way to get up in the powerband.
honestly can't really say...I haven't been to the track since I was stock best then was 106-107, but I do go to the dyno after every mod. I think I tried one more time after the cam but the clutch wasn't holding never could get it into 3rd caue it would stay on the floor the entire night (5 passes). So once I get the heads on and a dyno the clutch is the next thing I have to address. Lately just been driving the mustang
