in high perfomance engines, what would be the proper or safe cam bearing clearance?

 

I usually set mine around .003.

 

0.002 - 0.003" is recommended according to the sources I've seen. Up to 0.006" is acceptable.

 

Don't mean to hijack the thread but how do you go about setting the cam bearing clearances? I'm only asking because I'd like to know for future work. I always thought the bearings were installed and if the cam turned freely you were good to go.

 

You have the cam journals ground. I had mine done at a local crank grinder.

 

found one of them with .0021" so i was thinking i would need some more clearance...

 

you can use some 600 grit sandpaper to open up the clearance as needed.

edit - this is for the bearing, not the journal. in case there was any confusion.