To degree or not to degree? That is the question!

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myasylum

myasylum

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I was reading about Degree a cam, and it seemed pretty split. some people seem to think it's necessary, and others feel that it only needs to be done if it's a full time racer trying to get every drop of horse power possible. So for street use, it's not necessary.

Is there a truth here? or a rule of thumb to follow?

Thanks!
 
Im of the idea that its better to be safe than sorry,I built alot of engines years ago without degreeing the cam and only had one that was off,and it was a mild grind in a street engine.But let me tell you it ran awful and for the price of a degree kit-or to have your machinist do it compared to gaskets and tear down time its simply not worth the gamble.I bought a dgree kit some years back and I do every engine,also if the cam is ground wrong (which was the case in my situation) there is less chance of getting it replaced once it has been run,cheap insurance.
 
For a street engine degreeing the cam is only verifying that everything was made right so the cam events are happening where the cam manufacturer designed them to happen.

I hear of people that have stuff off 4 or more degrees. Personally I have never seen anything that is more than a 1/2 degree off. If you have the cam degreeing wheel and a dial indicator (or can borrow them) it only takes 20 minutes or so to check and gives you piece of mind. If you don't, the probability of being off enough to be noticable is very low and I would take the bet its not.
 
When I built my motor, after degreeing the cam, we found out that we had received the next size up cam, that had been put in the wrong box.
 
its too easy not to do it. you never know what you may discover. ask wireweld. ive seen this too.
 
Degree it.

Seen line up the dots situations 10+ degrees out from where it should have been.

Better safe than sorry.
 
Well I have never degreed a cam... not because I didn't won't to or "Ah you don't need to degree a cam in... good grief"

I just never have had the tools. I've read about how to do it and think I understand how to correct the cam if it's off. Offset keys right?
 
Last two cams I installed were within 1 degree but I always do it as I have found one that was quite a bit off (4+ degrees). Even manufacturers make mistakes and if you degree it, it's one less thing that can hinder performance or cause some odd tuning issues down the line.

Ax,

Offset keys and adjustable timing sets can be used to resolve a cam timing issue. Depending on the engine (like a motorcycle for instance), it is possible to slot the cam sprocket bolt holes.
 
Am I correct in saying that the various brands of degree wheel kits (complete kit and not just the degree wheel) are all basically the same but at much varying prices? I would like to get a kit so I looked at Summit and their kits vary from about $74 for the house kit to $134 and change for the Comp Cams kit to some even higher priced. Or if they're all about the same, are there any available even less cost than the Summit house brand?
 
ebay has the dial indicators and you can get a wheel for 20 bucks
 
Another benefit to degreeing that cam, the first step is finding actual TDC. Then you can compare to see if your mark on your balancer is right on too. If its off even 5 degrees that affects your ignition timing which also affects performance.
 
I always do it. I've found several installed by owners that weren't in right. I use the Moroso smaller wheel. Because it works in the car...lol. The larger the wheel, the more accurate it is. Parts quality has dropped drastically in the last 5 years, so you really want to check and avoid any issues that may or may not be from the cam being off.
 
dusterdon has got it going on fellas. do it man doooooooooooo it. you won't regret it. these things ALWAYS make me feel like i've done EVERYTHING i can do to make sure it's ALL right. and i also makes me feel like a more rounded mechanic. imho.
 
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