turbogrill Posted January 10, 2018 Share Posted January 10, 2018 Hi, Do you always degree your aftermarket cams? I hear some people say you HAVE too, other say it's not needed. This is from Isky: "Because Iskenderian Cams are manufactured with such high precision you can install them on the stock timing marks without any further checking; however, for those who wish to learn how to properly check and verify valve timing, we recommend the following procedure." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madkaw Posted January 10, 2018 Share Posted January 10, 2018 Well- you can , but might be other factors. How much was shaved off the head? How old is your timing chain? I guess it all matters how Accurate you want to be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chickenman Posted January 10, 2018 Share Posted January 10, 2018 (edited) Isky's ( and other MFG's ) recommendation is for the good Ol' Boy push rod Cheby's and Ford's. They don't have over head cams and don't have the unique issues that OHC motors do. That being said, I have to admit I've assembled some of my own street Datsun ( A-series push rod ) and SBC engines without ever going near a degree wheel. Never had any issues. Edited January 10, 2018 by Chickenman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madkaw Posted January 10, 2018 Share Posted January 10, 2018 Of course My Isky cam came with the wrong degree numbers and I couldn’t get it “dialed in”, so I would have been better off just setting it straight up -lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbogrill Posted January 10, 2018 Author Share Posted January 10, 2018 36 minutes ago, madkaw said: Of course My Isky cam came with the wrong degree numbers and I couldn’t get it “dialed in”, so I would have been better off just setting it straight up -lol haha! So typically how much wrong can it get? I would care if it's 10degress but 2-3 is fine for me. First engine build so I am just glad if it works Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madkaw Posted January 10, 2018 Share Posted January 10, 2018 If you set it up properly - it should be close enough. My head had been shaved considerably, so I winded up advancing the cam 8 degrees . Normally folks don’t get the exact numbers that are on the card because of factors like rocker arm ratio, etc.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HuD 91gt Posted January 11, 2018 Share Posted January 11, 2018 (edited) 8 degrees here from straight up after actually degreeing the cam. Edited January 11, 2018 by HuD 91gt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madkaw Posted January 11, 2018 Share Posted January 11, 2018 8 hours ago, HuD 91gt said: 8 degrees here from straight up after actually degreeing the cam. Not a simple answer to that. I had this motor apart a couple of times and shaved more off head each time but did NOT degree every time . I also changed induction systems from triples to single TB, so I’ve done some experimenting with valve timing . Advancement was to bring power band lower . i did advance to get numbers close the first time I degree’d the cam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HuD 91gt Posted January 11, 2018 Share Posted January 11, 2018 Sorry, wasn't a question. It was a statement. I also degreed mine 8 degrees advanced from straight up. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhitleyTune Posted January 11, 2018 Share Posted January 11, 2018 You should degree them, it is really best practice. The cam grinder has the decision to either grind the cam advanced with a smaller base circle diameter, or grind the cam for best fit i.e. largest base circle possible on the required lobe separation. So it's not uncommon to get a cam that the grinder gave base circle priority over ground in advance (as they probably should). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madkaw Posted January 13, 2018 Share Posted January 13, 2018 It isn’t easy to do ( degree a cam) for most though. Maybe that small bit of advance built into the cam is for that crowd that doesn’t . I’d almost advise against trying if you don’t feel confident about the process. If somehow the user retarded the cam drastically , they could smack valves . On the other hand , if you use the stock sprocket and set it up just like stock , it’s unlikely you will have any issues or be far enough off to negatively affect HP by that much. I have been considering a whole tooth on my build , but it starts getting pretty hairy then😳 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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