C3 Tech/Performance V8 Technical Info, Internal Engine, External Engine, Basic Tech and Maintenance for the C3 Corvette
Sponsored by:
Sponsored by:

Distributor gear

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old Jan 21, 2006 | 08:37 AM
  #1  
New's Avatar
New
Thread Starter
Intermediate
 
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 35
Likes: 0
Default Distributor gear

Hi!

I bought CompCams XR280R cam.
What about distributor gear. Should it be bronze, steel or something else material??

Thanks

Last edited by New; Jan 21, 2006 at 08:58 AM.
Reply
Old Jan 21, 2006 | 02:01 PM
  #2  
Older Than Dirt's Avatar
Older Than Dirt
Burning Brakes
10 Year Member
 
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 1,146
Likes: 10
From: Scottsboro Alabama
Default

Use a melonized distributor gear.
Reply
Old Jan 21, 2006 | 02:09 PM
  #3  
big_G's Avatar
big_G
Le Mans Master
15 Year Member
 
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 5,752
Likes: 4
From: Austin Texas
Default

Originally Posted by New
Hi!

I bought CompCams XR280R cam.
What about distributor gear. Should it be bronze, steel or something else material??

Thanks
I just recieved my XR280R cam, and I asked Comp. if it had a cast distributor gear. If I remember correctly, the tech. said yes, that it was to be used with a New stock Chevrolet Iron gear.
Reply
Old Jan 21, 2006 | 02:13 PM
  #4  
norvalwilhelm's Avatar
norvalwilhelm
Race Director
10 Year Member
 
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 11,872
Likes: 12
From: Waterloo ontario Canada
Default

I would drop a email to comp cams giving them the part number of the cam. They will email you back which gear to use.
This gives you something concrete to choose a gear on and if there is a problem you have a email to back you up.
They did this for me and it only took about a day to get a response.
Reply
Old Jan 21, 2006 | 02:45 PM
  #5  
Older Than Dirt's Avatar
Older Than Dirt
Burning Brakes
10 Year Member
 
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 1,146
Likes: 10
From: Scottsboro Alabama
Default

Originally Posted by big_G
I just recieved my XR280R cam, and I asked Comp. if it had a cast distributor gear. If I remember correctly, the tech. said yes, that it was to be used with a New stock Chevrolet Iron gear.


GM distributors come with melonized gears. My MSD distributor came with a melonized gear also.
Reply
Old Jan 21, 2006 | 06:29 PM
  #6  
comp's Avatar
comp
Team Owner
10 Year Member
 
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 88,393
Likes: 2
From: eville in
Default

Originally Posted by Older Than Dirt


GM distributors come with melonized gears. My MSD distributor came with a melonized gear also.
good info
Reply
Old Jan 21, 2006 | 08:34 PM
  #7  
David Ey's Avatar
David Ey
Burning Brakes
Supporting Lifetime
 
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 1,167
Likes: 2
From: Ft.Worth Texas
Default

How does a melonized gear look? I bought one from gm to go on a new mallory dist. and they looked the same. Was the mallory melonized too?
Reply
Old Jan 21, 2006 | 09:49 PM
  #8  
LFZ's Avatar
LFZ
Team Owner
20 Year Member
Liked
Loved
Community Favorite
 
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 30,183
Likes: 313
From: Lake Norman NC
Default

i've never understood the whole "melonized" gear thing..isn't a cast iron gear the same? or does the same job? I know buddies that get GMPP crate engines that call for the melonized gear, and we just stick stock gears on it from new HEI units and go.

I would call Comp Cams to make sure...i just ordered a custom grind cam from comp, and specially requested a gear to used that goes with my stock iron distributor gear on my mallory. The first cam they sent didn't have the right gear..it called for a bronze gear. So i had to wait on another cam to be grinded with the sleeved gear. You just never know.
Reply
Corvette Stories

The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts

story-0

Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!

 Joe Kucinski
story-1

150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter

 Joe Kucinski
story-2

8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time

 Verdad Gallardo
story-3

Top 10 Corvette Engines RANKED by Peak Torque (70+ Years of Muscle!)

 Joe Kucinski
story-4

Corvette ZR1X Will Be Pacing the Indy 500, And Could Probably Race, Too!

 Verdad Gallardo
story-5

Top 10 Corvettes Coming to Mecum Indy 2026!

 Brett Foote
story-6

Top 10 C9 Corvette MUST-HAVES to Fix These C8 Generation Flaws!

 Michael S. Palmer
story-7

10 Revolutionary 'Corvette Firsts' Most People Don't Know

 Joe Kucinski
story-8

5 Reasons to Upgrade to an LS6-Powered Corvette; 5 Reasons to Stay LT2

 Michael S. Palmer
story-9

2027 Corvette vs The World: Every C8 vs Its Closest Competitor

 Joe Kucinski
Old Jan 21, 2006 | 11:10 PM
  #9  
Older Than Dirt's Avatar
Older Than Dirt
Burning Brakes
10 Year Member
 
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 1,146
Likes: 10
From: Scottsboro Alabama
Default

Distributor gears and different camshafts can be confusing. I found two threads that explains the differences and should be very reliable info.
http://www.sallee-chevrolet.com/Disc...3418/5113.html
http://www.sallee-chevrolet.com/Disc...3651/5505.html
Reply
Old Jan 22, 2006 | 12:09 PM
  #10  
VETDRMS's Avatar
VETDRMS
Melting Slicks
10 Year Member
 
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 2,025
Likes: 1
From: Billings MT
Default

I have that same cam and had all sorts of problems with MSD gears, and I even tried the GM melonized gear, the end result was a bad cam and 5 bad gears.

I switched to the Comp Polymer gear even after a bad pattern was established on the cam and it "wore to fit" and has not worn one bit since I installed it. I highly recommend it, even with the higher price.

Reply

Get notified of new replies

To Distributor gear





All times are GMT -4. The time now is 09:27 AM.

story-0
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!

Slideshow: The 10 most explosive Corvettes ever built based on power-to-weight ratio.

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-05-20 07:23:03


VIEW MORE
story-1
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter

Slideshow: From C1 to C8 we compare every Corvette generation by the numbers.

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-05-12 16:54:12


VIEW MORE
story-2
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time

Slideshow: Some Corvette pace cars became collectible legends, while others perfectly captured the look and attitude of their era.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-05-11 09:50:51


VIEW MORE
story-3
Top 10 Corvette Engines RANKED by Peak Torque (70+ Years of Muscle!)

Slideshow: Ranking the top 10 Corvette engines by torque output.

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-05-05 11:58:09


VIEW MORE
story-4
Corvette ZR1X Will Be Pacing the Indy 500, And Could Probably Race, Too!

Slideshow: A Corvette pace car nearly matching IndyCar speeds sounds exaggerated, until you look at the numbers.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-05-04 20:03:36


VIEW MORE
story-5
Top 10 Corvettes Coming to Mecum Indy 2026!

Among a rather large group of them.

By Brett Foote | 2026-05-04 13:56:44


VIEW MORE
story-6
Top 10 C9 Corvette MUST-HAVES to Fix These C8 Generation Flaws!

Slideshow: the top 10 things Corvette owners want in the C9 Corvette

By Michael S. Palmer | 2026-04-30 12:41:15


VIEW MORE
story-7
10 Revolutionary 'Corvette Firsts' Most People Don't Know

Slideshow: 10 Important Corvette 'firsts' that every fan should know.

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-04-29 17:02:16


VIEW MORE
story-8
5 Reasons to Upgrade to an LS6-Powered Corvette; 5 Reasons to Stay LT2

Slideshow: Should you buy a 2020-2026 Corvette or wait for 2027?

By Michael S. Palmer | 2026-04-22 10:08:58


VIEW MORE
story-9
2027 Corvette vs The World: Every C8 vs Its Closest Competitor

Slideshow: 2027 Corvette lineup vs the world.

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-04-24 16:12:42


VIEW MORE