Hi, are the vishnu cam gears made differently from others such as the HKS or stock cam gears? There is some controversy regarding the alignment for cam gears. Please somebody enlighten me if you can. I would not mind knowing also the whys and wherefores of this subject.

TIA

 

No information?..... C'm on guys, please answer this

 

Yes there are significant differences. HKS only has three adjustment screws compared to Vishnu's five screws. Some tuners like Buschur shy away from cam gears despite their usefulness because of the possibility of the adjustment screws coming loose. The five screw pattern of the V ones (and a little locktight thread sealer doesn't hurt) addresses this issue. Alignment is simple but you are right: lots of confused folks out there asking lots of questions because this is a job that must be done properly or else you can really screw up your motor. So, you see people asking a ton of nervous, redundant questions to be absolutely certain they are doing it right, even though it is a faily straight ahead install. I have a pic handy that shows the cam gears installed at -2 and aligned properly. You just allign the red tooth to the timing mark (little notch above it).

 

Vishnu has the timing marks pretty much figured out for his staged upgraded vehicles. I would just go with what he recommends, but there are those people who have tried different setting and have experienced no problems. I slapped my on and have had zero problems. Like smoggy said, they have more screws and are a better build quality than the HKS. I believe Vishnu gets the cam gears made from Fidanza. A final note is they look a lot different now than what is in the picture that Smog posted. My came in a black color w/ the vishnu logo engraved in them (really cool looking).

 

Awesome post smog exactly correct- hope this helps out the original poster

 

Hi GNU its kinda cool they are made here by a racecar fabricator real neet seeing a hunk of aluminum getting cnc'd into a cam gear. I have the silver ones on my car but the last couple batches have been black same thing though

 

Hmmm, that is not really my question. I'm sure the Vishnu gears are quite nice, etc. The question is, do the Vishnu gears have the same alignment dowels, marks, etc. As the stock gears or the HKS gears? The controversy I'm speaking of is regarding the alignment marks and methods of the Vishnu gears no being the same as other aftermarket and stock gears. For instance, using the Vishnu gear alignment scheme would result in the cam timing being different when using Vishnu gears vs. for example, HKS.

There is another question, when using Jun, HKS or Tomei cams, will the vishnu gear settings give improved results? I know that the Vishnu gears with the stock cams have shown improvements, but HKS for instance recommends that their cams and cam gears be set a 0-0 for a starting point......

 

A better question might be this one: How are you connected to Boost Solutions? Nobody else would know to ask this question so directly and cite those same manufacturers as examples. This sounds almost identical to my phone conversation with George. If you have multiple different gears out of the car and examine them CLOSELY, the answer is more obvious that you can imagine, although George didn't pick up on it for some reason...

 

The dowel on the Vishnu gears is slightly offset. You can't use the 0 mark as for TDC alignment. They come with the reference tooth marked by the red dot (see pics above). The red tooth equals 0. As long as they're installed using the red mark as 0, cam timing would be the same as any other gear. We had this debate when Shiv had a tuning session at Altered Atmosphere. I think it has something to do with the difference between DSM and Evo gears.

 

Please, I've no interest whatsoever in any fight. I'm asking from genuine interest and need to know. I don't think that the configuration of cam gears should be a reason to fight. If some gears are made slightly different from others, it's not a matter of good vs. evil, but it is important if it will affect how the engine performs. If some gears have different reference marks or points from other gears, it's not that they are bad, but definitely different. It would be very useful to have good data in order to make proper alignment.

 

Any chance that you could post pictures of the stock and Vishnu gears side by side? I sure would like to see that...

 

Come on now it really is quite simple. Think spaitally dont be concrete think of the center(and the cam) turning in reference to the outer wheel not the #s

 

If you install the Vishnu gears, you have to set your stock ones at TDC. When you remove your stockers and put in the Vishnu set, the red mark on the Vishnu cams will allign at TDC. Your stock gears also have a mark, but they are black. The black or red marks are just used as a reference because it helps you find the exact timing allignment on your car. It does not matter where the red mark is, as long you know that it means your at zero.

As far as HKS recommending you set your gears at zero is because they have no clue as to what modifications you have on your vehicle. If you start messing around with your timing and have no clue to what you are doing, your car will run like crap. I run a stage 1, which recommends you set your gears at -5, -5 (edit). This makes it easy because Shiv has done all the homework for us, therefore, taking the guesswork out of how to retard your timing. The stage 1+ guys run a different setting on the cams because they have aftermarket cam shafts, which also require a different setting. I hope this helps because this installation is not easy and could blow your engine if done improperly.

Gnulooks...

 

If you think I implied that you came in here to cause trouble, I assure you that wasn't my intention and apologize if that's the vibe you received from my post.

It is obvious that you are looking for information, but in the same token, I'm trying to figure out who you are based on the information contained in your first post. I don't have a problem with George personally, but I since you asked the same question and used the exact same gears as example, I caught wind of the connection. I don't think you are George, but was trying to figure out how you're close enough to him to know the conversation. Do you work at the shop or are you just a customer like Mdzuricky?

 

Gnulooks, Stage 1 is -5/-5.