Camshaft Gears

What are Cam Gears?

The definition of a cam gear is a car gear that is used where action is not continuous to keep the valve timing and crank strokes working in tune. An example of a cam gear is a gear on the camshaft that opens and closes the exhaust and intake valves. We are going to let you in on a little secret, cam gears can be used to unlock more horsepower and torque.

Taking into account the average dual overhead cam (DOHC) engine, there are cams that only take care of the intake valves and there are cams only for the exhaust valves. Cam gears are sprockets bolted to the ends of the camshafts, which are spun either by belts or by chains from the crankshaft. Aftermarket cam gears are lightweight replacements for OEM parts that allow the timing of the camshaft to be adjusted.

The timing of the intake and exhaust valve opening and closing has a dramatic effect on the amount of torque an engine makes. This is where adjustable cam gears come in handy. Adjustable cam gears allow the cams to be advanced or retarded in relation to the crankshaft’s rotation. The amount of overlap can also be altered. 

Overlap is the time when the intake and exhaust valves are open simultaneously. The aim of adjusting the timing is to optimize cylinder firing. Because, as we all know, more air is equal to more power. As the exhaust gas rushes out of the open exhaust valves, the vacuum it creates aims to put some of the intake mixture through the open intake valves. However, a balance must be struck, taking care to manage the movement of gasses in order to avoid an overly lean or overly rich situation.

The whole point of adjustable cam gears is to allow the user to put the camshafts into the optimum timing position. Engine size, camshaft profile, performance changes, any of these will affect the optimum position of your camshafts. If you pull your cylinder head and have it milled, you 're sure to be interested in adjusting your cam timing back when you find out that you're a few degrees off without touching anything else.

Benefits of Adjustable Cam Gears

• The outer tooth ring gear is made from solid aircraft grade aluminum, unlike the stock replacement type gears which are cast aluminum.  This material affords our gears more strength compared to a stock cast gear.
• The high alloy Steel hub is engineered to hold much tighter on the cam than a stock aluminum gear
• You will now have the ability to degree, verify and change your cam phasing in a fraction of the time it would normally take during an engine build
• Adjusting the degree of a cam will take a fraction of the time than it would with a non-adjustable gear

Adjustable camshaft gears allow you to adjust conservative factory settings to increase power and drivability. Adjustable cam gears also give the user the ability to shift peak power across the rpm range, a big plus if you're a low-end city driver, a mid-range autocross racer, or a high-rpm drag racer.

Vivid Racing carries Camshaft Gears (Adjustable) from all the top manufacturers in the automotive industry. Our manufacturers include: AEM cam gears, Fidanza, Greddy, HKS, JUN adjustable cam gears, Skunk2, Stillen cam gears, Toda, Tomei and Unorthodox Racing adjustable cam gears.

Buy online or give one of our world-class professionals a call at 1-480-966-3040.