Cam gears are pretty touchy. They won't actually get you an increase, but they can change the shape of the power curve. Judging by what I've heard of Shiv's tuning, he probably sacrifices a bit of max hp for some area under the curve.

The reason I say they are pretty touchy is there is more to it than just advancing/retarding a cam. There are lots of effects based on which cam you are adjusting, and the cams you are using can be a problem, like the Web cams in my car. They have a tendency to be off centerline so adjusting the cams is pretty much useless until you have degreed them. How can you be exactly sure what you're doing with the cams if you're not even sure "0" really is 0?

They are definitely a good tool for shaping the curve if you know what you are doing though. They won't really make extra power unless your cams were just all buggered up in the first place (like my Webs were when installed to "centerline").

 

Acutally our Cam Gears do make approx 6-8 wheel horsepower over a car without them with tuning with our XEDE. Not sure if the 2nd Gen DSM has the same specs as the Evo or if Cam Gears make that much difference on a 2nd Gen DSM? I will find out in a few weeks as I also have Cam Gears for my 97 GSX. The top end on the Evo is definately in need of some help above 5000 RPM and the Cam Gears help fit that bill.

Brett Payne
Vishnu.

 

Well comparing my Dyno chart to Aldofo's with cam gears his car was able to hold the power all the way to red line were mine dropped off. His Peak Power was at a much higher RPM then mine. Talking with Aldofo he said he did not notice any ill affects with the cam gears with Vishnu's settings. And to add to this was surprised that the idle and drivability was the same. But clearly there was a much improvement in the higher rpm rang. On Vishnu’s dyno they see a constant 12whp gain every time adding Vishnu cam gears. It completes the HP curve and sends it forward witch adds to the tuning.

My Best
Eric

 

Sweet gains!

 

Thanks for the awesome feedback, Eric. I know our group is ready to go for that Vishnu DD in NJ at the end of the month! I currently have a catback and dp, with stock cat converter, and the xede on 93 octane. I agree the power surge and holding capability is outstanding, just ferocious. Only problem is it magnifies the disparity in power below 3500 rpm. Is there anything that can be tuned on my setup as far as low-end power (w/c is much more useable on the street); or is this just a characteristic of a turbo engine? Anyone can chime in. Thanks!

 

I would replace the stock cat with a ture hi flow 3in. This will help you spool quicker witch will give you a strong gain, low end power. And with the tuning Shiv will be able to get your car to spool quicker and add to low end tq that you are missing right now. After my tune I feel that I really need to open the exhaust more and add in cam gears to round out my set up.

Oh you do you mind if I come down and hang that day. I'm only about 25min away.

Eric

 

doc_evo, a stroker kit maybe?

It's a characteristic of a turbo car. It's a slightly more powerful 2.0l 4cyl until the boost builds, then yer off.

 

The installation of our pre-set cam gears should not have a noticeable affect on drivability, fuel economy or idle smoothness. FWIW, we are retarding both intake and exhaust time slightly in order to make overlap occur later in the stroke when in-cylinder pressure is higher. This extra exhaust pressure reduces exhaust gas reversion which improves both top end breathing and detonation resistence.

If we were to retard the intake and exhaust timing more than we do, even more top end power could be supported but with a loss of low-end and midrange performance. It took some time to find just the right settings that would help where needed without hurting anywhere else.

Just my 2c,
Shiv

 

Eric, sorry for hijacking your thread, but I think this is somewhat relevant plus the fact I could not find anything of substance via search engine.

Shiv, thanks for the explanation. So your cam gears are not adjustable, right? Also, would you please elaborate on the difference - in generalities - between stock, yours and 264 and 272 cam gears if one were to use them with stock cams. I read up online and kinda understand the theory behind retardation/advance and open/close duration, but cannot seem to make the connection. Thanks

 

Okay Shiv, I've put it off for a long time now, but since none of my computer geek friends know either, what the hell does FWIW stand for? You use it in every single one of your posts!

Sorry for being WAAAAY off topic people.

 

Im selling the Xede with plug and play harness(new xede with 2 map switch) PM me if interested!

 

For what it's worth.

 

Okay, thank you. I guess that's totally obvious, hence my reluctance to ask publicly and sounding like an idiot .

 

No no it's only obvious AFTER you find out. Example: IIRC = if I recall correctly, IMHO = in my humble/honest opinion, YMMV = your mileage may vary, AFAIK = as far as I know...

Took me years to pick all of them up, I didn't have the ***** to ask (being in computers and all).

 

With all defernce to Eric da man - just got to answer da Shiv factor's ? - - -

My Motor did not fail "catastrophically" Actually - I was ideling in a parking lot of my favorite nitrous refill station when, sadly, an intake valve guide tip broke off and started to bounce around in the combustion chamber.

The breakage is atributed to either a casting flaw in a cheap stock valve guide, installation error by the machine shop, or the very high lift JUN 272 cams causing the retainer to hit the guide

Either way - it was not too bad as it was at idle and I shut it down right away. All it really needed was a little sanding down of the piston to make it run again. But since I had it all apart I elected to refresh the entire motor again with new pistons - experimenting with a different piston ring gap - new bearings and make it all mint again.

The good news is my friends George and Tommy at the local Ferrari shop took an inetrest in my sad situation and whipped my engine back together in about 1 day. If I didn't have to go away on a little business trip and IF I wasn;t so busy with the Dyno Flashing I would have had my car running a lot faster. I got it back together and running two days ago and I couldn't be happier!!!!!!!!!

PS - I also noted the same results with retarding my cams a couple of degres. It seemd to get the action slamming much harder in the mid range and more detonation resistant.

Thanks for the interest in my EVO adventures!!!!!!! If your not prepared to break a few parts you certainly won't be at the top of the Evo game for long !!!! All I can do is quote my ole friend Jam Shim who very wisely once told me - "Welcome to Motorsports"