i know this is a subject with different opinions but i got a custom ground cam from cam motion( specs in my sig) , installed it have the two dots on the cam gear and crank gear of the timing set dead even and the number 1 is TDC or pretty damn close if its not.....my question is do i need to degree it in? i had a buddy that was gonna do it and keeps putting me off....is this something that will show in my dyno/track numbers in the long run? any and all help appreciated...today is one of the only days i have off and would like to somewhat finish my motor..sorry for the rant

thanks in advance
bubba

 

General consensus is that degreeing it is just a way to see if it was ground correctly or not.

 

For the LT1, checking with a degree wheel is basically an exercise to see that the cam was ground correctly. It's a judgement call on whether you want to do it or not. If you are actually going to change the degree orientation of the cam, you must do reprogramming in the computer to compensate.

 

my problem is getting hold of my buddy with his wheel cause i couldnt seem to find one anywhere without buying one..also would not degreeing hurt me at all hp/trq wise??? the car will be dynotuned if that makes any difference

thanks
bubba

 

If you install the cam straight up and the cam is ground correctly, you get exactly what you paid for cam-wise. If you change the degree of the cam, then you alter the valve timing events for whatever advantages you desire. You really have to know your stuff when you start changing the degree of the cam. I don't see why you would be altering it if you had the cam custom ground. It kind of defeats the purpose of the custom grind.

 

straight up meaning dot to dot right? so i should be fine without gettting the wheel,etc?

thanks
bubba

 

Better safe than sorry is my motto. If you degree it and confirm that everything is correct cam install wise and your track numbers/dyno are poopoo, you have a problem elsewhere. If you don't and everything sucks, you will question it, and possibly have to tear it down and check it again. Why not wait and have it done right?

 

Like previously mentioned, if you are installing it straight up the purpose of degreeing is to make sure the cam has been ground correctly. There are some websites that you can print a degree wheel from. You could make the marker from something such as a thin piece of wire.

 

If you are just doing a cam swap and not removing the heads it will be
difficult to verify the cam specs to 1*. I tried this with a degree wheel
and a piston stop and spent a couple of hours and could not get any
closer than 2-3*. This works best when the heads are off. Just my $.02

Of course, I could just be a lame a$$ too.