This is just for my own knowledge, lift and duration are set by the cam lobes themselves...so cam timing is really timing as compared to what? The crank? so piston positions?
I believe it is the crank Joe. Which in turn tells you where the pictons are. I'm just not wure what advancing one cam and retarding another will do. I guess thats whats my question was all along. What will advancing one cam and retarding another do?
____________________ "Men and boys alike love burnouts because they involve machinery, loud noises, and destruction."
Well, I'm assuming that one shaft is the intake shaft and the other is the exhaust shaft? or are they split up seperately?
I always thought they were seperate, so if you advance one shaft (opens earlier), and retard the other shaft (opens later) it would depend on where the original settings were already anyways. Anyone know what the optimal time is for the intake valves to close? and then for the Exhaust valves to open, and isn't there supposed to be a little bit of overlap there?
Over lap on the cams is a good thing because it helps to promote better in cylinder mixture of the air/fuel/and exhaust gas. The exhaust valves stay open while the intake valves are open which helps to draw in more of the air/fuel mixture. On the other side the air/fuel mixture that flows into the cylinder chamber help to expell more of the exhaust gas.
Unlike other cars there are no across the board gains to be seen be advancing one cam so much and retarding another to this. The Focus comes from the factory with such differences in timing that the only way to tune it is with a dyno. The differences in cam timing is why you see some Focus with 100whp and others with 115whp.
The above could have something to do with tequilla, I'm not sure though. You will see gains with new cams, how much and where in the power ban who knows. You could just advance and retard the timing and drive the car to see if it feels better. The only way to make the most out of your mods and furture mods is to spend some money and time and have the car dyno tuned when you are done with the mods. Wait until you are done adding parts then get a chip or your ecu flashed and head to the dyno. You might be suprised with the power you can make. There are several people on another site with basic bolt-ons like full exhaust, cams, tb, intake and ecu who with tunning have a 150-165whp and around 140tq.
____________________ Honda's are like assholes, everyone has one.
OK Bryant, I looked that page over and most of the stuff that I read I already knew. But thanks anyway man. I knew how the DOHC motor worked, I'm just wondering what happens if one cam is advanced and the other retarded?
Yes cam overlap is a good thing, a very good thing. A guy named Isky played with this in the 60's I believe, and his cams were very popular. The overlap theory is based on this. If you have the exhaust valve open at the same time the intake valve is open (for a very minimal time mind you) then the exhaust gas rushing out will creats a sort of vaccuum to pull the intake charge in. Thats what Isky thought, and Isky was right.
So Bryant, after I get those cams from you , get cam gears, find what feels like a good setting on them(butt dyno) and then chip it, do you have an educated guess as to HP/TQ numbers? After the forementioned, I think I'm done with this car as far as motor mods go. I don;t think I can afford to go FI, but its still a fun car to drive and play with.
____________________ "Men and boys alike love burnouts because they involve machinery, loud noises, and destruction."
You might be looking at around 140-150whp and about 130-135tq, those would be decent #'s.
What year is your car, is it an early 2000? If not I would look into getting a ported 2k intake manifold. The early 2000 intake manifolds were a better design and they flowed better. You can usually pick one up for about $150 or less. The porting is done around the tb, for a 65mm tb and they are ported where the manifold meets the head. They improve flow so you will see an improvement in hp and tq.
If you at some point decide you want one I can give you the name of the guy I got mine from, he came highly recommended and did a real nice job on mine. Just something to think about.
Last edited on Thu Jun 10th, 2004 02:07 am by t3-rex
____________________ Honda's are like assholes, everyone has one.
Ya Bryant, give me his name and that'll also something I'll look into. I'm not sure on the build date on my car, but it is a 2000 and I got it in november of 2000 as a leftover (shoulda got the 2k1 like I wanted!). I've heard a lot about the early2k manifolds, but never really thought about getting one. That is definaltey something I'll look into. I'm not looking to get huge numbers out of my car, I'm just having fun with it for the time being. And if you don't mind me asking Bryant, how much did you pay for yours? Thanks in advance. I should also probably look into getting a crang UDP to free up some more power too. Any body know what belt to use if I get a crank UDP? Would it be back to the stock size since I have the Alt. UDP?
____________________ "Men and boys alike love burnouts because they involve machinery, loud noises, and destruction."
gr33nlemon wrote: I believe it is the crank Joe. Which in turn tells you where the pictons are. I'm just not wure what advancing one cam and retarding another will do. I guess thats whats my question was all along. What will advancing one cam and retarding another do? What you are doing is optimizing volumetric efficiency. very simply put, the more efficient your cylanders are, the more power you make.
i also have been wanting to buy cam gears lately so this thread has answered some of my questions also, thanks. as for the dyno, i wouldnt bother spending money on cam gears without also getting it to the dyno, that way you recieve optimal performance with them. otherwise it would be a waste of money. but you should be able to adjust them correctly with under 5 runs of the dyno if you or the mechanic knows what their doing. i hear you should start be retarting the exhaust 2 and if you gain then retart the intake 2 and so on until you have about a 7-15 gain overall. and as for the drop in cams, ive heard good clean stories and scary horror stories so buy them at your own risk of installation! also i would defintately go for quality over price, aka Focus Sport cam gears over generic. you will get the best gain and theyre only like $250. good luck
Lets race once, and see how it goes Then you can get a good idea at what your lookin at. Its a good way to tell what you want more of...low end....mid range....or top end.
I took out my T/C fuse today and melted the tires off woohoo Its like I have a TOTALLY different car!
I know I need more bottom end Jonny, my car accelerates almost like a turbo car. Power is laging below 3k or 4k then its takes off like a bat outta hell. Someday I will beat you jonny, someday.
____________________ "Men and boys alike love burnouts because they involve machinery, loud noises, and destruction."
Jonny Bolt wrote: Supercharge it man Just start saving a bit every week, just a bit. And by maybe Christmas?, you'll have a nice new S/C'r for yourself
advancing one and retarding the other will cause your engine to get extremely loud and you would lose hp. I gain the most power out of retarding both about 3 degree but i also juice.
____________________ To be the Man! You must first beat the Man.
Then you can get a good idea at what your lookin at. Its a good way to tell what you want more of...low end....mid range....or top end. 
