Our Engine Bay, Before Any...
Our Engine Bay, Before Any Cam Gear Swap Work.
Power in numbers - the golden tenet. Everybody's got a little bit of power under the hood, but it's never enough. Unless you can smoke Titan rockets off the line, or go through tires like a drift team due to big power and no traction, you'll always find yourself asking for a little bit more. Thinking back to our March 2006 issue, we covered the steps you'd need to take in order to change out camshafts with your very own two mitts. This time around, we lay down the fundamentals on the shadowy mystery known only as cam gears. We're jumping straight into how to install camshaft sprockets/cam gears, why you'd want to adjust them, the theory behind how they work and why you'd want to buy a set in the first place.
Many of our readers split out into two camps. One side says, "I'm running boost to get big power, why would I need to mess with any cam stuff?" The other says, "I'm buying cams because I want to stay naturally aspirated, and I'm getting these Brand X gears because they look badass." Please, for your engine's sake, read a little further. There might be something useful in there that'll shed some light, no matter your state of mind. To get the definitive scoop on cam gear tech, we headed over to Skunk2 Racing in Norco, Calif., to check out a hands-on cam gear install.
Remove The Four 10mm Nuts...
Remove The Four 10mm Nuts Holding Down The Spark Plug Cover, Pull Out All The Spark Plug Wires And Carefully Move Them Aside.
The first thing to think about before buying any camshaft or valvetrain parts is to understand exactly what is going on in the first place. A camshaft is, in essence, a mechanical method to control the opening and closing of intake or exhaust valves. The camshaft uses its machined profile to determine how much and how long a valve should stay open relative to a piston's place within the cylinder. The how much and how long is exactly what will determine the amount of airand fuel mixture goes in and how much exhaust gas goes out, which effects both drivability and power. Taking into consideration your average dual overhead cam (DOHC) engine, there are cams that take care of only the intake valves and there are cams for only the exhaust valves. Cam gears are the teethed sprockets bolted on to the ends of the camshafts that are then connected to either belts or chains in order to spin properly. Aftermarket cam gears are lightweight replacements for OEM pieces that allow adjustment of camshaft timing, i.e. the position of the camshaft relative to piston position.
The whole point of cam gears is to allow you to put the camshafts themselves into their optimum timing position. But what is optimum for your car, right? The answer is, it depends. Engine size, camshaft profile, performance modifications, any of these will effect the best position for your camshafts. If you pull your cylinder head and have it milled, you'll surely be interested in adjusting your cam timing back when find out you're a few degrees off without having touched anything else. Even if your car is absolutely bone stock, right down to the floor mats, you can still benefit from the use of cam gears. By allowing the adjustment of camshaft timing, gears allow you to tweak the conservative factory settings for increased power and drivability. Cam gears also give users the ability to shift their peak power throughout the RPM range, a big plus for low-end city drivers, mid-range autocrossers, and high-RPM drag racers.
 Remove The Eight 10mm Nuts...  Remove The Eight 10mm Nuts Holding The Valve Cover On And Remove The Valve Cover. |  Remove The Two 10mm Bolts...  Remove The Two 10mm Bolts Holding On The Plastic Timing Belt Cover And Remove The Cover. |  If Equipped, Remove The Two...  If Equipped, Remove The Two 10mm Bolts Holding On The Power Steering Line to make it easier to gain access to the timing belt and cam sprockets. |