Here you can see the two readings on the degree wheel at .050-inch before peak intake lobe lift, and .050-inch after peak lobe lift. Pulido calls these out as 62.5 degrees and 147.5 degrees.
What If It’s Not Right?
Everyone knows that in the magazine world, everything fits and lines up perfectly on the first shot. But what do you do if you’ve degreed your cam, and it’s off by a degree or two one direction or the other? There are actually several different ways to get your timing back.
“If you’re in a claimer-style class where you have to run a stock timing set as opposed to an adjustable, you can drill out the stock mounting holes, and Crower sells precision machined replacement buttons, which allow you alter your timing slightly to bring your timing back into spec,” explains Pulido.
However, since most of us putting together an engine aren’t restricted to the OEM timing set, an adjustable timing set would be the way to go. When it comes to adjustability, you don’t need to spend a fortune to get adjustability. There are a number of three- and nine-way adjustable timing sets on the market, or Pulido’s recommendation, the Hex-A-Just.
“We sell the Hex-A-Just timing gear that will allow you to dial in your adjustment without breaking down the timing set, right on the engine,” Pulido says.
Adding the two degree wheel readings together, and then dividing by two will give you your actual intake lobe centerline measurement. Compare that to what your cam card calls for, to figure out what needs to happen next.
Now you might be wondering why your camshaft would be off, when you followed the directions and lined up the dots just right. “Degreeing a cam doesn’t mean lining up the dots. That just gets you close,” says Pulido.
“On this engine, we lined up the dots, and we got lucky, but a lot of times, lining up the dots just gets you to within a few degrees. In manufacturing there is a thing called stacking of tolerances. If there’s a little bit of slop in your keyway machining, and the chain is slightly off, or the holes in the timing set aren’t exactly perfectly drilled, there could be some misalignment.” Pulido explains.
“Remember, whatever happens to the cam once, happens to the crank twice. So a one degree of misalignment at the cam, equals two degrees of misalignment at the crank.”
The peace of mind knowing that your intake and exhaust events are happening exactly as the camshaft was designed, ensures that the engine you are putting the time and effort into assembling will perform at its best.
“It’s imperative that you check the camshaft when you install it. These things are just air pumps, if you get the right amount of air in at the right time, you’re going to make maximum horsepower,” Pulido concludes.