can you really gain HP with cam timing?
 

Hey there, i've heard a few different things. I have aftermarket cams and i was told that with adjustable cam gears you can pick up 10-15 hp (i know this would depend on engine, etc). But basically, is cam timing a legitimate way to increase hp?

Thanks

Yes, but its costly for the dyno time.

yeah, but i already HAVE to get it tuned...so i figured i might as well...and really 10-15hp for 500 bucks even isn't that bad.

umm lol ya it is.

well, if you degree the engine when installing the cams, then you won't have to worry about the tuner messing around with cam gear settings on the dyno b/c the cams will be degreed in to where the manufacturer has already established to be the best spot for max power.

- to be honest i don't know if that was done? I mean i would hope so....but is there any way of telling?

i highly doubt that it was done....unless you specify that you want the cams degreed in to the manufacturers specs they won't go out of their way to degree the cams for you.
Hell i bet 90% of the shops out there don't even have the tools to do the job.

yeah, i remember doing some reading up on it...ok so what can be done now?

you can still degree the cams, but the degree kit is like $200-300.
Or you can adjust them on the dyno, but dyno tuning isn't cheap.

Of the 20+ Hondas that have been on my dyno in the past two months...not one has made gains anywhere close to 10-15hp with only cam gear changes.

Don't believe the hype.

very true, with crane cams and aem adjustables ive seen a gain of 3whp when my friend dyno'd. just from the cam adjustments that is.

ya, 10-15whp is pushin it for sure....maybe on a 250+whp turbo setup.

On a turbo setup cam gear tuning can make really good gains, the thing is some people dont want to tune the cams as its timely and therefor costly. alot of people will most likely opt to raise the boost instead to make the #'s
And the thing about cam gear tunig is that it might not make a huge amount of peak tq/hp but ive seen alot of times the area under the curve is increased... alot of gains through out the power band
It's not hype at all, seen it a fair amount of times... again on boosted setups. i dont pay attention to NA, waste of time

Yes - I should have clarified, these were all N/A cars.

The only car that made ANY kind of noticable difference was when we adjusted the cam gears so far out of spec that the motor LOST 12-15 hp.

Coles notes: If you're N/A - set it to zero and call her a day.

you guys are all very wise...i did manage to tweak my cam seetings on my own...it's smoothed out he mid range and helped the top end a little, but i think your right, i think i'll leave it where it is, just get the car tuned...and save the rest of my money! lol