I'm in the middle of my H/C install. I installed it in my 98 6 months ago and did not degree the cam. That car was totaled and i took all the parts off and now am installing them on my 02 coupe.
Cam is a comp cam 233/239 595.603 lift with a 112 ls. Patriot Stg II heads w/ LS6 intake.
What are the benefits of degreeing cam? Im only concerned that the tools needed will not fit my budget, thats why i did not do it the first time.
Tools needed and cost?

The only complaint i had with the last build was some lope at low rpm levels. With the cam i have some is to be expected.

 

I always thought unless you have adjustable timing gears it was a waste of time. All your really doing is measuring cam lift and duration to see if it's what the cam manufacturer says. If it's a really custom cam MAYBE, but an off the shelf standard grind a manufacturer has done many times it's not worth the time.

 

I agree with above.

 

As an engine builder, there is no benefit if its where you want it when you check it... as stated above, if you dont have adjustable timing gears, you are making sure it is somewhere close (not a tooth off or something). If you have adjustable gears, you probably want it around 4 degrees advanced... If you dont have the tools, and havent ever done it before, just line up the dots and let it roll. It will probably come out about right, and the only real benefit is just a little bit better low end response from having it a few degrees advanced.

 

Thanks for the info guys!

 

How are you going to get this information without using a degree wheel to see just where the cam is?

 

Off the spec sheet that comes with the cam.

Again, if you have NO adjustment there is little use in doing it. Even then, without easy access to the gears after assembly, it's hard to make ideal adjustments.

 

gotcha

 

Got you

 

I installed the cam last night, just lined the dots up the same way i did on the last build.

 

With all the time & effort to install the cam........
Why would you not take the extra time, I agree the likely hood of a problem is extremely small.
I could not imagine if the results were not acceptable second guessing the cam timing.

 

Maybe I'm missing something here but the timing gears are stock and when i line the dots up how is degreeing the cam gonna do any good when the dots have to line up. i understand degreeing is for checking lobe duration ect, however this cam has already been in one of my previous cars that i did not degree.

 

You are 100% correct, the only thing it does is verify the spec sheet. AND, trying to degree a cam in the car is a PIA if not impossible on some cars.

 

Funny thread........

 

Not to hijack this thread, but having a few degrees of advance ground into the cam will bump low-end power a bit? Someone else chose the cam specifications for me (113+4) but I never knew what the purpose of the advance was. What is the tradeoff? Top-end power?

Thanks,

 

Just hope the cam card included matches the cam that got put in the box. You'd be quite surprised how many times that mixup has been made.

Maybe without an adjustable timing set, you can't adjust it, but if you find your cam is significantly off from spec, most people would rather discover that and reject the cam at time of installation and not when everything is reassembled and the key is turned.

Besides the grind tolerances of the cam (none are ever 100% to nominal design spec), the timing set itself can introduce deviation from desired ICL. Everything is relative to the dowel pin location (on both the cam, and cam gear, as well as the keyway location on crank gear. There is a lot of potential tolerance stackup there.

Timing set backlash is another variable. A good tight timing set might only be vary it 1/2 degree or so, a sloppier set could cause it to deviate several degrees. Degreeing the installed cam is the ONLY possible way to measure that (and maybe renew the timing set if too sloppy)....Or, just say it doesn't matter and run it till the chain breaks.

Like anything else, some people take the time to build engines to desired specifications and check things critical to engine longevity, some people just bolt parts together.

Contrary to what's been previously stated, degreeing a cam in a C5 isn't difficult at all.
Plus, once you get setup with the dial indicator, you're also all set to easily check p/v clearance, something everyone installing an aftermarket cam should be doing. Or maybe that's not important either.


MDR, since you've run this exact cam before, you should be fine installing it dot to dot. This post was more aimed to clarify the (previously unmentioned) variables involved, and why assuming things is not always the best path to success.

 

I went through this process with Tom on my build and so very glad that I did!

 

I remember your thread and I think you guys ran into some PTV clearances that you were not suppose to run into. That's a prime example of why you should check

 

"not suppose to" would not be my choice of terms, because after we discovered it, the people that knew basically validated our findings, and it was what it should be. And we deemed that to be too close for comfort, so it was decided to flycut.

It comes down to the old deception of "It'll clear" vs "It'll clear with recommended safe margins". There is often a BIG difference between those two definitions when it comes to listening to vendor hype.

I kinda knew that when I put my G5X4 cam in, but it wasn't until I went back in for heads and flycut that I really knew HOW close things actually were. It was eye-opening.


But this is getting off topic. I had fun with vsocks' project, and learned a lot helping him with it. Next time around, I will do things a lot differently with mine. Like going for a belt drive timing set.

 

Er... What's to stop you from adjusting with cam gear teeth? Just because there's a dot on the gear doesn't mean you have to line it up.

A lot of off the shelf cams come with an advance ground in and it may or may not be marked on the cam card (and if it is, there's no telling exactly how it will be marked... 113+4 or ICL+ or ADV4, etc.). No reason in the world not to degree a cam except you don't know how (and that's easily fixable and the tools are < $100).