anyone degree their cam?

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bamamopar

bamamopar

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I was just reading a Mopar mag I have. They took a guys 408 that had not had the cam degreed. They did a baseline and then degreed the cam. They showd them adding another 7whp and 20wtrq. What y'all think?
 
I think you could save yourself a big headache by degreeing it the first time around - short version

Other version- im drunk and will let the others explain this s
 
I think most of us have degree'd our cams but unless you try different combo's on a dyno, like the magazine did, you'll never know what produces the best results. You may not get the same results as they did by doing the same thing. Most cam grinders build a couple degrees advance into their grind so a few more when you install your cam may hurt and not help. Degreeing your cam is to adjust for mis-machining of the cam and timing components. Contact your cam company for specific instructions. tmm
 
In short degreeing a cam doesnt "gain" hp per se, it just ensures that your gettting the hp you should
 
With machine quality not the best these days, the cam or timing related parts,sprockets and chains. There is a real lack of quality control to trust that what the cam manufacture recommends as a center line degree position, it is always a part of cam installation that should be done. First to make sure it is installed at the recommended c-line and in cases where you what to change this number. i almost always install a cam 4 degrees advanced.
 
Don't know your combo, but 300 rwhp ain't that bad for a regulation street car. If you want to check it that's cool. Depends how far if any it's off? You may be able to pick up a few ponies or it might just end up a learning experience. Either way, something good will come from it :thumbrig:.
 
Baxter61 said:
In short degreeing a cam doesnt "gain" hp per se, it just ensures that your gettting the hp you should
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SGBARRACUDA said:
With machine quality not the best these days, the cam or timing related parts,sprockets and chains. There is a real lack of quality control to trust that what the cam manufacture recommends as a center line degree position, it is always a part of cam installation that should be done. First to make sure it is installed at the recommended c-line and in cases where you what to change this number. i almost always install a cam 4 degrees advanced.
Click to expand...

Yep.

Put a few in that dot to dot were 10 retarded. Chain/sprockets were a mess. Cams get cut wrong sometimes.

Just degree it the first time and you can eliminate one potential issue if it doesn't run correctly.

Some cams I'll install as much as 8 advanced depending on the engine/comp ratio/cam.
 
Just so you know, your stated rwhp is plenty to run 7's in the eighth. Close to 350-360 at the crank i would think. More hp can always overcome deficiencies in the combo, but if you focus on a 60' in the 1.75 range you'll have it whipped. Traction, gearing, converter & suspension will get you there.
 
OldmanRick said:
Just so you know, your stated rwhp is plenty to run 7's in the eighth. Close to 350-360 at the crank i would think. More hp can always overcome deficiencies in the combo, but if you focus on a 60' in the 1.75 range you'll have it whipped. Traction, gearing, converter & suspension will get you there.
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Traction is a small problem I have. My 60ft times are 1.97. It needs a stall for sure and frame connectors. The car will have connectors the next time I go to the track.
 
bamamopar said:
Traction is a small problem I have. My 60ft times are 1.97. It needs a stall for sure and frame connectors. The car will have connectors the next time I go to the track.
Click to expand...

Congrats to you. You set a goal and the cam check and connectors are steps forward. Just keep working a mod here and a mod there and no doubt you'll get there. That's the fun of hot rodding :thumleft:.
 
Yep what started out as a everyday drive. Now its my weekend car only. Plans of a 408 in the next 2 years. I have about 3k in this motor now.
 
I always check the icl and I have a baseline for further tuning once I get data from testing. If I don't have a degree wheel handy I can still record some measurments that will get me in the ballpark and it only takes minutes to decide if I'm close enough to start testing.
 
Perhaps obvious to most, but not to me, I had installed the crank sprocket on my SB in the wrong location. I just aligned the similar dots facing each other and thought things were good. When I degree'd the cam I found my C/L was off. A call to Mancini confirmed things. They said that the crank keyway would be located at the 2 o'clock position at TDC on the compression stroke. After looking more closely at the sprocket, I noticed a smaller dot that I should have used. Long story short... degreeing the cam saved me a headache down the road.

View attachment 071709-CAM-DEGREE-2-Resize.jpg
 
I always degree my cams. My brother in law installed a MP 292 .508 in his 10:1 340 just by lining the dots up and it was the biggest dog you ever did see. Would not even spin power braking it. I degreed the cam and it was 10 degrees retarded. Night and day after degreeing. Will now break free at a roll after degreeing cam and recurving the distributor. He went from very disgusted to very impressed on how a 340 can go if set up correctly.
 
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