I know one of these days I am going to need a cam, and so now is the time for me to ask this question. I have no idea how to read the specifics of a cam. I see something like 222/222 and have no clue what it means. If someone could help me with this it would be much appreciated.

 

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by Norm:
<strong>I know one of these days I am going to need a cam, and so now is the time for me to ask this question. I have no idea how to read the specifics of a cam. I see something like 222/222 and have no clue what it means. If someone could help me with this it would be much appreciated.</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">As an example, lets say you have a cam that has the following specs. 224/224 .561/.561 114 LSA.
Well, the 224/224 stands for inake and exhaust duration of the cam, .561/.561 stand for the intake and exhaust lift, and the 114 LSA stands for lobe spertation angle.

 

Thanks for the information. A follow up question I have though is how do I know what duration and lift I want? What are the boundaries if any at all? Also, what exactly is the lobe? Sorry for the stupid follow up questions! <img border="0" title="" alt="[Embarrassed]" src="gr_emb.gif" />

<small>[ August 27, 2002, 04:13 AM: Message edited by: Norm ]</small>

 

Well the duration and lift you want depends on your driving habits and what you plan to do with the car.. Also depends on if you are a A4 or M6. You have to let us know what your goals are first.. For example, my car is setup for road racing and occassional street racing.. Do I have the best package for that.. Who knows, but it is working for me at this point..

 

See if you can find someone with the May 2001 issue of CHEVY High Performance Magazine. They dedicated the whole issue on camshaft tech. They even make it easy for beginners like myself to understand.

Read as much as possible before you buy.

 

here is some basic animations for you ..
http://ls1info.com/article.php?sid=153

here is part of an article called
valve train tutor..

http://ls1info.com/article.php?sid=18

 

Here is another good source, the Comp Cams website: http://www.compcams.com/information/Tutorials/

Their timing tutorial provides an excellent overview of cam timing events, and what the numbers for duration, lift, and lob separation angle really mean.

 

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by Norm:
<strong>I know one of these days I am going to need a cam, and so now is the time for me to ask this question. I have no idea how to read the specifics of a cam. I see something like 222/222 and have no clue what it means. If someone could help me with this it would be much appreciated.</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Why is it you think you need a different cam?
What are you goals for changing engine performance?

What modifications do you plan? Why?

The entire engine is a system with parts that are supposed to work together. Just changing one critical one like the cam is like doing a brain transplant; it rarely helps the overall patient.

Camshaft selection is the most difficult parts choice in engine building. Professional race teams try literally hundreds of different "grinds" to get better performance.

I am continually amazed that many folks expect a cam change to be the "magic bullet" that will transform their engine into a fire breathing killer. Yeah, it may idle rougher but is overall performance enhanced with no other changes? Not usually.

Lots of folks will tell you to get a different cam and life will be better. At least the person who sold you the cam will have a better life for it! Even better when you don't like the results and buy another.

I agree that learning more about how a cam works is beneficial. Chosing a different cam is sorta like do-it-yourself brain surgery. That's best left to the experts, and is very specific for the exact engine, transmision, axle ratio and driving conditions of your particular vehicle, inspite of some of what you read here.

My highly opinionated $.02.

 

Old SStroker....

Well said!