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Hi guys, was looking at some n/a engine power options and i thought adjustable cams might be 'a' way to go.

I found these ones on ebay which at $175 from perth seem quite cheap compared to other brands, do you think the price is reflective of the quality, or a benefit of the no name no marketing value?

Furthermore i was interested in some testimonies regarding powergains in an n/a engine with adjustable cams..

thanks.

they look cheap and nasty - but not to say they are or not.

cam gears are good on a modified na engine. if it is stock, you don't need it.

My Tighe cams use the standard settings so these would have been a waste of time for me.

People with other cams may have different needs.

Peter

What do you define as stock, as an n/a engine is essentially stock anyway. Apart from modification which help it work better.

crzymx wrote:What do you define as stock, as an n/a engine is essentially stock anyway. Apart from modification which help it work better.

You have answered your own question there Sparky.
Stock = as it left the assembly line
Modified = anything done to change it from the way it left the assembly line, ie extractors, exhaust, cold air intake on to cams, raised compression, porting etc etc etc

I fully agree with you man.

I define stock as an engine that is stock anway.

Apart from a tubo which help it work better.

Wait is that a tautology?

Yeah obviously, but what i meant was 'how stock', how modified does the engine have to be before it can gain significant power from cam gears. Obviously a stock engine is one which has had no modifications done to it, no one is that stupid, but one can modify his engine in several ways, but say those modifications only produced small power gains, the engine could remain essentially 'stock', meaning it doesnt produce much more power than it did when it rolled off the assembly line. Therefore it is not stock, but close enough to it to render aftermarket cam gears useless. I apologise if my previous statement which may have been a little hazy was not interpreted right, but this is what i meant. So for a car that is essentially stock (for now) would cam gears be worth installing before more serious n/a mods are implemented (porting, polishing, compression, timing etc etc.)

Keep cool stay in school

They are cheap, just buy them and test them out on dyno day?

Nah not an option, doubt they will be available by then anyway, dont wanna just buy to try.

I would save your money, adjustable cam gears are useful (I've used them when setting up a couple of race engines) but if you are looking at improving a stock engine I think you would get better gains elsewhere, exhaust or CAI.

Not sure of the ones on e-bay but I heard of some cheap alloy cam gears wearing badly, these were not for a Mazda engine so may not be an issue with these ones.

If you are going to improve your engine have a plan that is sequential ie. one thing at a time if that is what you want to do but with an overall goal in mind.My order would be

Catback exhaust, CAI , Cams,Headers, ECU and camgears would be problematical and last.I would only do headwork, and different pistons as another stage if you had heaps of $$$.

I will give you a ride in mine at the dyno day,it is at around 90RWKW and doesn't have camgears, head work etc and still has great drivabilty.

Camgears alone would be like taking the money and setting fire to it!!!

Peter

Peter is spot on there.
No point blowing all your $$$ on random N/A mods then deciding later on that it doesn't produce enough power and going FI. Work out what you want from your car and then plan the mods accordingly. Start with the simple cost effective stuff then work up to the mods that require engine partial disassembly/removal. If you are planning higher compression/porting etc you may as well do all that at once while the engine is out.
Most importantly make sure the mods compliment each other. No point running massive cams if you can't rev the engine hard enough to take advantage of them.
Try to find someone who is familiar with the engines and can help you plan a build up that is the best value for money. Peter's example of the Tighe cams running standard timing is a perfect example, adjustable cam gears would be a waste of money that could be spent elsewhere. However Fattima has found them useful on race engines. Different people with different spec engines have found different things useful.
Buy the best quality parts you can afford and you should get a good life out of your engine if you maintain it and look after it appropriately.
Good luck with it Sparky.

I dont know why im 'sparky' but anyway..

I have already made a plan and i know what i want. At this stage i have completed the cai, so there is the breathing side of things. Wednesday i will have a new exhaust system, and thats why i opted next for cam replacement w/aftermarket cam gears. Hence the thread. However after researching it a bit i might just skip the n/a stuff and go down the fi route. Purely because IMO n/a modified cars tend to work a lot harder as all the engine bits are designed for higher power outputs therefore more fuel used if you get my drift (not the daily drive type thing). Whereas on a turbo setup, it works with the engine in the sense that it can still be fuel efficient providing the car is not being dríven. You can debate this, however i am pretty planted on it as some how in my sense it makes more sense than i can express it.

Well turbo is a good way to go. Bare in mind you are on your P plates for another 3 years. If you were to get caught with a turbo, Mr. Plod would most likely confiscate your car.

Are you going to be doing any track work, legal drag racing or drifting? or is this simply just to impress mates?

ah, look let the kid do his thing. Spend it on whatever that makes you happy. He is not asking for advice on what to spend it on but just asking about the quality of specific parts.

with regards to your original question, what do you mean ebay cam gears? do you mean they are not made by a reputable brand?

imho, i would rather get a quality materials when it comes to camshaft timing. If something goes wrong, it can be catastrophic. In either case, your money.

oh, and one last comment. In general, if you cannot express what you are trying to achieve or do, then it is likely that it is unclear in your min.