mark kibort

also interesting that i gained some pretty significant hp when i set both cams even on the timing vs the factory directive. (ie 2mm on 20dgrees crank advance on both cams measured at #1 and #6 lifters, the spec of 1.7mm passenger vs 2mm driverside). there was even an audible engine exhaust difference that can be even heard on my race video. it screamed at 2mm both sides, and thumped with the spec adjustments. HP on the dyno diff was near 10hp, lap time went down by .5.

mk

Louie928

Hi Mark,
I think Ken's illustration with his advanced cam timing example was because he doesn't race and uses his car mostly around town. Another example with retarded timing vs stock would show a gain at the top end, but a loss of torque below the pivot point at 4800. That's how my GT worked.

I agree that equal cam timing on both sides seems to work fine. I painted some marks on my cam sprockets that I could see through the vent holes. The marks were aligned with the pointers inside the vent holes at TDC. I used a timing light with the **** adjustable setting to check cam timing relationship both cold and hot. With engine cold, set timing light adjustment for TDC on the crank. Then check each cam sprocket and set timing light adjustment for alignment of the cam sprocket marks to the vent pointer. Make note of the timing light setting difference between the crank TDC setting and for each cam setting. Do it again when the engine is hot. I found that the cams advance 2 or 3 crank degrees beween cold engine and hot engine, but no difference between the cams cold to hot. Seems like there should be with the expansion of the block & heads moving the cam sprockets further apart, but something must compensate to negate that change. I checked this on my S4, not GT. I have no experience with cam timing settings on the track or any other actual performance check. I couldn't run 2 laps within 0.5 seconds if my life depended on it.

SharkSkin

Mark, I think that with the 3 spd. auto there is far more time spent in a non-optimal gear, with nothing to be done about it -- and Ken's solution of increasing the HP all along the lower part of the curve helps with this. IIRC there is some speed, 30-40mph, where you really want to be in 1st but can't get there. In this situation, the extra 5 or so HP all along the lower RPM range of the curve helps.

When you have 100% control of what gear you are in, it's easy to say that max peak RPM is most important. When you don't have 100% control of what gear you are in, or when the gear spacing is not optimal for the powerband -- you improvise.

BC

Autos and people who are afraid or unwilling to shift at redline every single time will GREATLY benefit from what Ken has created, as well as everyone benefiting from alot of his other inventions. To have a grassroots producer in this car community is a great asset to all of us who tinker and constantly re-evaluate our cars and the experiences we want to have with these machines.

Thank you Ken.

PorKen

Gio - will ship today, thanks!

True, but, as you point out, that's for manual shifting, on the track.

Around town, it's a drag race! Even on the highway, moving the powerband down to a legal 70-80 in top gear, instead of 130, makes the car much more lively.

Torque is more important on the auto. If you can spin the torque converter faster than stock, you'll have more 'gears'.

The torque converter stall on a US 85-86 is a sluggish 1650-2050! (US 83-84, ROW -86 is 2200-2600, US/ROW 87+ 1750-2150) The multiplication ratio is only 1.90. (US 83-84 2.12, ROW 2.00)

More torque at lower rpms effectively raises the stall speed, which creates more multiplication, so you launch better off the line.

PorKen

You can also roughly check the syncronization of the cams by doing a compression check. Even compression on both banks, on an engine in otherwise good condition, would indicate the cams are sync'ed. One side low could mean that the cams are retarded on that side.

Jadz928

Very interesting, Ken. I bought a coompression tester the other day and was planning to check compression before doing the ProKension'r and 32v'r upgrades.
Could someone give me the compression test basics?
Let me see...
1)Disconnect ground strap
2)plug in compression tester into first cylinder in firing order
3)hand crank until full compression in cylinder
4)repeat steps down firing order

Jim

PorKen

Jim,

1) Remove EZF relay
2) Remove all spark plugs
3) Install compression tester on first cylinder
4) Hold accelerator to floor and crank w/starter
5) Note reading

Do one bank at a time, IE. 1-4, then 5-8.

Louie928

H,
I had an opportunity to try Ken's new cam tool yesterday. It works great and I think is very accurate. He's got the 0 deg reference just right. We checked with the dial indicator WSM method for a cross check too. The left (drivers's) side cam was in the middle of the WSM spec with the dial indicator at the 0 deg mark on Ken's tool. The right side cam was in the center of the WSM spec at 2 deg retard on Ken's tool. We set the right cams for 1 deg retard rather than the spec'd 2 deg. This was on a GT.

Great job on the tool, Ken. Thank's.

heinrich

Louie thanks for your feedback!! This sounds like a winner Ken

PorKen

Thanks guys!

Here's the first draft of the manual: (32VrInstructions.pdf)

One thing I forgot to put in the manual. If the cam gears have not been (re)moved in a long time, they may be tough to adjust. Some PB Blaster/Liquid Wrench squirted in the gear keyway may help.