Camshaft Design Science - Matters Of

Control
Understanding the science behind performance camshaft design can help you find speed
writer: Jeff Huneycutt
photographer: Jeff Huneycutt, Comp Cams
Don't just depend on catalogs or advertising Understanding how a cam's design affects
performance can help you tune the engine for your car, the trac! you race, and even the
way you li!e to drive
"or some of us, camshafts are a lot li!e marriage#we understand the concept but cannot
fathom e$actly how to ma!e it wor! "or e$ample, why is duration always measured in
cran!shaft degrees% &nd why do you not begin measuring duration until ''(' inch of lift%
)r why do camshaft manufacturers grind a cam advanced% *hat does the lobe separation
angle have to do with performance% &nd why does advancing the camshaft seem to help
low#end tor+ue%
,he science behind camshaft design is as advanced as anything in a race car, so most of us#
including e$perienced engine builders#depend on the manufacturer to help spec the right
cam for a particular engine pac!age -till, there is a science that controls every part of the
design of your camshaft, and understanding why different parts of the cam are designed a
particular way can help you determine what wor!s best for your needs
.obe Design
)f all the different parts of the cam, most are relatively straightforward /eg, the journals
and distributor gear0 ,he cam lobes, one for each valve, contain all the variables ,he cam
lobes control not only total lift and when the valves open and close, but also valve speed,
acceleration, overlap, and even how much cylinder pressure is developed at speed ,here
are a few parts of the lobe design critical to achieving this
& cam chart li!e this can tell you just about everything you need to !now about a cam ,his
is a typical design used in the 1usch -eries ,he red line shows where the cam has the
e$haust valve positioned in terms of lift for every degree of the cran!'s movement ,he
blue line is for the inta!e *here the two lines intersect is valve overlap ,he circles at the
bottom mar! lift at ''(' inch Courtesy of Comp Cams
Base Circle is the term for the bac!side of the lobe *hen the lifter is on the base circle of
the lobe, the valve should be closed 2t is also commonly called the heel of the lobe ,he
si3e of the base circle is important in relationship to the cam's lift & smaller base circle
allows more lobe lift, but it can also allow the camshaft to fle$ and throw off the timing
events
Ramps are the parts of the lobe where the lifter is either moved up or allowed to drop
4very lobe has two ramps#an opening ramp and a closing ramp 2n performance camshafts,
the curve of the ramps changes several times, which is a tool the cam designer uses to fine#
tune the speed and acceleration of the lifter
&n asymmetrical lobe refers to opening and closing ramps that are not identical 2n order
to ma$imi3e both valve speed and control, the lifter must be raised in a different manner
from which it is lowered "or e$ample, in performance applications the valve is generally
opened as +uic!ly as possible, but the speed of the valve slows significantly as it nears
ma$imum lift to !eep it from lofting 1ut on the closing side, the valve must be seated
relatively gently to !eep it from bouncing &n asymmetrical lobe design allows this
,he nose of the lobe mar!s the area where the valve is fully opened ,he highest point of
lift is the lobe's centerline ,he inta!e centerline is measured as cran!shaft degrees after
top dead center /,DC0 ,he e$haust centerline is e$pressed as the number of degrees of the
cran!shaft's position before ,DC 2ncidentally, a cam's position is always measured relative
to the cran!shaft's position because that tells you where the piston is and which stro!e it is
on /inta!e, compression, power, or e$haust0
Lobe lift is the amount the cam lobe raises the lifter 2t isn't the same as valve lift because
the roc!er arm is a lever that multiplies the amount of lobe lift to get the final valve lift
,he lobe lift is e+ual to the diameter of the lobe at the centerline minus the diameter of the
base circle
5any cams are ground with 6 degrees of advance built#in, but that isn't always the case
with race cams 7ou can e$periment by advancing and retarding the camshaft a couple of
degrees with special adjustable timing sets to see if the changes give you any benefit on the
racetrac!
,uning with .obe -eparation
)bviously, the primary job of the camshaft is to control the timing of the inta!e and
e$haust valve events ,his is done with separate inta!e and e$haust lobes ,he relationship
of these lobes to each other is called lobe separation .obe separation is measured in
degrees between the pea! of the e$haust lobe /ma$imum valve lift0 and the pea! of the
inta!e lobe 4ssentially, it is half the angle in cran!shaft degrees of rotation between pea!
e$haust valve lift and pea! inta!e valve lift 2f the duration remains the same, increasing
the lobe separation angle decreases overlap, while decreasing it does the opposite
8,ypically, if all other factors are !ept constant, widening the lobe separation produces a
wider, flatter tor+ue curve that holds better at higher rpm but can sometimes cause a la3y
throttle response,8 e$plains 1illy 9odbold, a camshaft designer at Comp Cams
8,ightening the separation generally produces the opposite effect#more mid#range tor+ue
and a faster revving engine, but with a tighter power range8
,here are other reasons to change lobe separation to influence engine performance "or
e$ample, if you are running a long rod pac!age and !eep the stro!e the same, you will
dwell the piston near ,DC longer ,o maintain similar overlap characteristics, you may
need to open up the lobe separation and shorten the duration
Camshaft Design Science - Matters Of
Control
,his diagram shows many of the critical areas on the cam lobe as well as the relationship
between the inta!e and e$haust lobes Courtesy of Comp Cams
)verlap
)verlap is the point in cran! rotation when both the inta!e and e$haust valves are open
simultaneously ,his happens at the end of the e$haust stro!e when the e$haust valve is
closing and the inta!e is opening During the period of overlap, the inta!e and e$haust
ports can communicate with each other 2deally, you want the scavenge effect from the
e$haust port to pull the air:fuel mi$ture from the inta!e port into the combustion chamber
to achieve more efficient cylinder filling & poorly designed cam and port combination,
however, can cause reversion, where e$haust gases push their way past the inta!e valve and
into the inta!e tract
-everal factors influence how much overlap is ideal for your engine -mall combustion
chambers typically re+uire minimal overlap, as do engines designed to ma$imi3e low#rpm
tor+ue 5ost current stoc! car racing engines depend on high rpm to ta!e advantage of
better gear ratios, so more overlap is normally helpful *hen the revolutions per minute
increase, the inta!e valve is open for a shorter period of time ,he same amount of air and
fuel must be pulled into the combustion chamber in less time, and the engine can use all the
help it can get to fill the chamber 2ncreasing the overlap can help here
.ong rod:stro!e pac!ages, which are becoming increasingly popular in circle trac! racing,
also have an effect here just as with the lobe separation 1ecause the piston dwells near
,DC longer, it ma!es the combustion chamber appear smaller to the incoming air:fuel
charge 1ecause of this, less overlap is needed to properly fill the chamber &long with
reduced vacuum and potential reversion problems, running too much overlap in your race
engine sends unburned fuel out of the e$haust pipes, reducing fuel efficiency "or most
short trac! racers, this isn't a problem 1ut if you run into a fuel#mileage situation to cut out
pit stops, it can be helpful
*hen degreeing your cam, always use the duration provided for when the lifters are at
''(' inch lift &t this much lift, the lifters have a greater velocity than the normal
advertised duration /anywhere between '''6 and '';' inch0 which allows you to be
much more accurate
Duration
Duration is the amount of time, measured in degrees of cran!shaft rotation, that the valve#
either inta!e or e$haust#is open 5ost camshaft manufacturers list both an advertised
duration and duration at ''(' inch *e'll discuss this in more detail later
&s engine rpm increases, the engine eventually reaches a point at which it has trouble
effectively filling the cylinders with the air:fuel charge in the short amount of time the
inta!e valve is open ,he same thing holds true with the spent e$haust gases ,he simple
answer here is to increase the amount of time the valve is open, which is referred to as
increasing its duration "or e$ample, to ma$imi3e flow during the e$haust stro!e, many
e$treme performance cam designs begin opening the e$haust valve near the midpoint of the
power stro!e ,his may seem harmful to power production, but the idea is to have the
e$haust valve fully open when the e$haust stro!e begins During the power stro!e, the
burning fuel has used about <' percent of its available force on the piston by the time the
cran! has turned =' degrees ,he bottom half of the power stro!e actually provides very
little in terms of engine power, and it can be better used to help e$haust the combustion
chamber so that there is more efficient cylinder filling on the inta!e stro!e
.ift >ersus Duration >ersus &cceleration
Here's a statement that you already !now: ,he valve is most efficient at allowing air /either
inta!e or e$haust0 to flow past it when it is fully open ?ot to insult your intelligence, but
we needed to get that out of the way *hat that statement tells us is that in terms of
achieving ma$imum engine performance, the amount of time the camshaft is either raising
or lowering the valve is effectively wasted 2n a perfect world, the valve would be
completely seated to seal the chamber, then it would fully open instantly at the appropriate
time to allow ma$imum flow
,o get as close to this as possible, ma$imum race cams use e$treme lobe profiles that open
and close the valve ridiculously +uic!ly ,his re+uires stronger valvesprings and
lightweight valvetrain components to maintain valve control, and engine builders and cam
designers ali!e are still researching ways to open the valves even faster
& more aggressive cam with high lift velocities allows you to shorten the duration in
certain situations, which can help power 8&ggressive ramps allow the valve to reach
ma$imum velocity sooner, allowing more area for a given duration,8 says 9odbold
84ngines with significant airflow or compression restrictions @often seen in -treet -toc!
classes or other classes with small carburetorsA seem to love aggressive profiles ,his is
li!ely due to the increased signal to get more of the charge through the restriction ,he
decreased seat timing also results in earlier inta!e closing and more cylinder pressure8
Camshaft Design Science -
Matters Of Control
If you are required to race flat-tappet lifters, always try to use the largest lifters available. This
requires honing the lifter bores, but it is often worth it. As you can see from this diagram, the
smaller lifter (light gray) is limited to the rate of lift in the lobe before the edge starts digging into
the camshaft. The larger lifter can be used with a much more aggressive lobe. ourtesy of omp
ams
urrently, one of the greatest limiting factors when it comes to aggressive camshaft profiles is the
requirement many trac!s and sanctioning bodies have mandating flat-tappet lifters. A flat tappet
limits how quic!ly you can raise the lifter because the lobe angle can only be raised a specific
amount before the edge of the lifter begins digging into the side of the lobe. Increasing the
diameter of the lifter allows the lifter to slide over the face of the lobe again, so if your rules allow,
try running a larger lifter combination. "odbold provided us with a few interesting numbers
concerning ma#imum velocities for lifters. $or e#ample, with a stoc! hevy %.&'( diameter lifter,
the ma#imum velocity is %.%%)%% inch per degree. If you use a $ord %.&)* lifter, that increases the
ma#imum lift to %.%%)+* inch per degree of rotation. That may not sound li!e much to you and me,
but it,s enough to ma!e a cam designer drool. -f course, those numbers pale in comparison to a
roller lifter, which doesn,t have the same limits and is definitely the way to go in a racing application
if the rules allow it. The ma#imum velocity for a performance roller lifter is typically around %.%%.
per degree. /ow we are tal!ing about a really big difference.
0uration at %.%*%
-ne thing that confuses many new racers is that cam companies typically list both an advertised
duration and a duration measured when the lifter is %.%*% inch off of the seat. The problem is that
different manufacturers use different points to determine duration. There are different reasons for
this, but few of them concern anyone other than the cam designers and their respective mar!eting
departments. That,s why lift at %.%*% has become an industry standard.
The good news is that when it comes to high-performance cams, companies such as omp ams
have hundreds of lobe grinds on file that are mi#ed and matched to fit your engine pac!age.
1ometimes they aren,t even in the catalog. 0on,t be afraid to get in touch with someone in the tech
department. "ive that person the engine combination you plan to run and the rules for your class,
and use that person,s e#perience to help you determine what wor!s best.
2sually, a valve doesn,t begin flowing a significant amount of air until it has been raised several
thousandths off of the seat. Also, differences in lash ma!e it difficult to determine the e#act moment
a valve leaves the seat. $inally, duration at %.%*% inch of lobe lift is easier to measure and ma!es
life easier for anyone setting the cam timing with a degree wheel. 3 . . . it,s easier to measure the
%.%*% duration than the advertised duration because the tappet velocity is much higher after it has
had some time to accelerate,3 "odbold e#plains. 34hen using a cam degree wheel and a dial
indicator, there is far less uncertainty about where the degree wheel is oriented when the dial
indicator reads e#actly %.%*% inch of lift than with lifts in the %.%%' to %.%(% range.3
5anually Advancing and 6etarding 7our am
8y using special timing sets, you can change the angle of the cam relative to the cran!shaft.
1pinning the cam forward so that the valve opening events happen sooner is called advancing the
cam. 6etarding the cam is 9ust the opposite. 5ost camshaft manufacturers grind in around '
degrees of advance into their cams so that it is automatic when you install your cam with the :ero
mar!s on the timing set. This is very common with street cams but varies with different race cams.
5a!e sure you !now what you have.
3Typically, engines respond better with a few degrees advance,3 "odbold e#plains. 3This is li!ely
due to the importance of the inta!e closing point on performance. ;arlier inta!e closing leads to
increased cylinder pressure and better responsiveness.3 As a general rule of thumb, advancing the
cam will help low-end torque, but if your engine is dying by the flag stand, retarding the cam a few
degrees should help e#tend high-rpm power a bit.
<uic! Tips
The information we,ve provided is a lot to digest, but don,t worry. 5ost cam manufacturers have
helpful tech departments to wor! you through the rough spots. To ma!e things 9ust a little easier,
here,s a cheat sheet for cam changes and the typical result. 6emember, all engine pac!ages are
different, and your results may vary. These are only general guidelines.
am hange= Typical effect
5ore >obe 1eparation= 4ider powerband, more pea! power,
smoother idle
>ess >obe 1eparation= Increased mid-range torque, faster
acceleration, narrower powerband
5ore 0uration= ?owerband moved higher in rpm range
>ess 0uration= 5ore low-end torque
5ore -verlap= Improved signal to carburetor, lower fuel
efficiency, potential for reversion
>ess -verlap= Improved low-rpm responsiveness, better
fuel efficiency, engine may run hotter