Performance Adjustable Cam Gears (Sprockets). Do They Really Give You More Horsepower?

     Performance adjustable cam gears, also called cam sprockets. They let you adjust the camshaft timing in order to get more horse power out of your engine. The only gain from adjustable camshaft gears is when they are used to change the timing of the cam shaft (s). There is no power gain if the gears are just replacing the stock camshaft gears, or the gears are set on the 0 degrees mark. The gears can have from three to six slotted holes with bolts in them that allow the gear to be turned and set to any degree you want. The adjustable cam sprockets also have all of the necessary marks so the engine can be sat at TDC (Top Dead Center). The degree scale usually goes 0,1,2,3...5...8,9,10 degrees. The cam gears can be turned in both directions, left or right. The 0 means that the camshaft is in normal position it is not advanced or retarded. When the gear is on 0 it is the same as having your stock gears. Any other reading on the scale means that the camshaft is retarded or advanced in some degree. On SOHC engines (Single camshaft engine) you will need only one adjustable cam gear. With SOHC there is not much room for adjustments because the exhaust and intake valves are controlled by the same camshaft. You can try having your camshaft advanced a little or retarded a little and see how the car feels. On DOHC engines (Double camshaft engine) you have a lot more room to play with. By adjusting the intake or exhaust camshaft separately you are changing the overlap of the camshafts which is the period of time during which the intake and exhaust valves are open at the same time during the exhaust stroke. Some DOHC engines have only one gear, the second camshaft is driven by a chain connection. In that situation the adjusting of the cam gear is going to be like a SOHC.

     The exact amount of advancing or retarding for the camshaft(s) depends on a lot of factors like modifications done to the intake, exhaust or fuel system.  Another factor can be if the engine is  turbocharged or supercharged. What works for your friends car isn’t necessary what will work for you. The best way to get your camshaft(s) tuned is to do a dyno test. On how to do a dyno test and how to get your car ready for a dyno test please read the article about it.( coming soon)

     Performance adjustable Honda Acura camshaft gears are usually made of billet aluminum colored in almost any color that you can think of. If you are going with a certain color under the hood the chances are that you will find cam gear in that color. If you want to show your cool adjustable cam gears you will have to leave the timing belt cover open. The only problem with that is if you drop anything down there while working on your car, dirt and oil can get on the timing belt and shorten its life too. If the belt comes off the cam gears or shreds because of an object dropped down there, while the engine is running some of the valves are going to be open when the pistons come up. In a split second a piston or a valve is going to be destroyed. So be careful if you are going to leave the timing belt cover open. Repairing the engine internals is an expensive job.

Adjustable Honda Acura cam gears could be installed on Prelude, Civic, Integra, RSX or any other model Honda Acura car. They are the best way to get the most horse power out of the engine. They are easy to install and you will not have to remove the camshafts. The timing belt is the only thing that it has to be removed in order for the gears to be installed. A set of basic automotive tools will do the job. It is usually a good idea to have a valve lash done ( check the clearance between the camshaft and the rocker arms that are pushing on the valves inside the cylinder head) before changing the camshaft timing with your new adjustable cam gears. A good adjustable Honda Acura cam gears are made by AEM, Unorthodox Racing, Skunk 2, Spoon and Edelbrock.

Copyright © 2009 PerformanceHondaAcura.com All Rights Reserved.
Reproduction in whole or in part  without  express  written permission is prohibited.
Violators will be prosecuted.