degreeing cams... necessary if going to dyno?

[95vr-4]

Hello everyone... been awhile since I posted here, but I had a question. If I plan on going to the dyno and adjusting the cam gears for best power anyways, do I really need to degree my cams at this point? I mean.. im just going to adjust them anyways, right? or is there another benefit to doing it now.

And if the answer is I should do it now anyways, where can I get 1 solid lifter?

thanks,
Ryan

[mehrshadvr4]

people usually mess with cams timing while dynoing too.

[DK77]

Yes, degree your cams before you start adjusting them. I guarantee once you properly degree them they will not all be at 0. Degree them now so you know where true zero is on each cam and then adjust for what you want from there. Any time you deck the heads/block it will change the cam timing slightly. If you have aftermarket cams on a 3S, then one or more of them will probably be off by quite a bit because many 3S aftermarket cam manufacturers have some discrepancies between how the cams are cut.

[Chris@Rvengeperformance]

Yeah the problem with not degreeing them is how do you know they are all the same? One head could be up on power from an adjustment, the other could be down on power. The dyno might read the same. Trial and error won't work really well for a 4 cam engine.

[95vr-4]

Yeah the problem with not degreeing them is how do you know they are all the same? One head could be up on power from an adjustment, the other could be down on power. The dyno might read the same. Trial and error won't work really well for a 4 cam engine.

very good point. Any idea on where to come up with one solid lifter to do this?

[Chris@Rvengeperformance]

buy a set and part them out

[Boostaddict]

buy a set and part them out

And then sell me one or two of them, LOL ;)

[familyMAN]

A ford solid adjustable lifter will work. I bought a trickflow one from summit racing. Used an extra rocker arm and drilled out the "nipple" so I could get an allen in to adjust the lifter.

I stole this idea from GTwizard and donniekak.

[AdamVR4]

Why are you guys using solid lifters?

[familyMAN]

Can't degree a cam with a lifter bleeding down. You only need one adjustable solid and swap it out to the valve you are working on.

[AdamVR4]

Can't degree a cam with a lifter bleeding down. You only need one adjustable solid and swap it out to the valve you are working on.

Shooooot, I only read the first part of the how-to on degreeing cams. Thanks for the heads-up. Count me in on buying a couple of these if somebody buys a set ;) haha

[mehrshadvr4]

same here.

[vr4tune]

I'll take one

[vr4tune]

It should be needed if you are only looking to zero out the came gear. If it bleeds out oh well peek is still peek the highest point) so finding the top of the cam lob won't be hard. BUT if you want to measure lift and duration then solid lifter will be more accurate.

[familyMAN]

Buy the adjustable one for a ford. It's cheap.

[oohnoo]

I did mine and it was a fun learning experience. When it was all said and done my cams were out some from zero.
#1 Intake = +.4°
#1 Exhaust = +1
#4 Intake = -.1
#4 Exhaust = -.5

You're also going to need a degree wheel (Jeggs), magnetic base, travel indicator (Harbor Freight) and a small piece of flat steel to mount to the head for the magnetic base to attach to. I also had to make a special point to fit on the indicator so it just touched the edge of the spring cap or whatever it's call, ones that cam with it were too thick (1/4") and stubby. If anyone needs one I can mail you the one I made from a small length 3/32" stainless or just make another as I just used SS welding rod.

[familyMAN]

^ great post. I had to do the same with extending the indicator. I went cheap and easy with a piece if wire but it worked.

[RealMcCoy]

It should be needed if you are only looking to zero out the came gear. If it bleeds out oh well peek is still peek the highest point) so finding the top of the cam lob won't be hard. BUT if you want to measure lift and duration then solid lifter will be more accurate.

Lobe center is typically determined by finding center between .050" lift on both sides of the lobe... Trying to determine lobe center from max lift would be very inaccurate.

[vr4tune]

Lobe center is typically determined by finding center between .050" lift on both sides of the lobe... Trying to determine lobe center from max lift would be very inaccurate.

Thats not what I meant. You misunderstood what I was trying to portray. I have degreed 20 or so cams in the past. Granted its been 7 years since I have done one.

[RealMcCoy]

Thats not what I meant. You misunderstood what I was trying to portray. I have degreed 20 or so cams in the past. Granted its been 7 years since I have done one.

Then I guess it's a good thing we cleared that up... 'cause I'm quite sure I'm not the only one that read it that way... :D

[vr4tune]

Then I guess it's a good thing we cleared that up... 'cause I'm quite sure I'm not the only one that read it that way... :D

When I reread that post I saw what you are talking about.

[95vr-4]

i ended up making an adjustable lifter with an old one I had laying around, a coupler nut, a regular nut, and a bolt. Ill post pictures up of how to make it when im done with the whole process. Total cost... around $2. I have 23 more old lifters if anyone wants one, its yours.

Next question.. centerilne on my cams is 110 deg for both i/e. Thats different than the stock cam centerlines, so what would you guys suggest for final settings after I finish degree'ing the cams? I mean +1,-3 will be different with the different centerline.

thanks,
Ryan