Ok, I'm looking at buying some camgears from AEM for my car within the next week...From what I've read you can gain 15ish hp from them if they're tuned right, but how do you tune them? Is it as simple as just adjusting how they are installed? And do they need to be installed by a professional mechanic or could I do it myself? Thanks....

misconception......they allow you to dial your cams into a perfect alignment if you have a shaved head though.

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True Terry the can allow you to re-align your cam timing from increasing your compression from a shaved head. (of course you knew that, you did it too)
<Tuning>
They can also be used on aftermarket cams to decrease/increase overlap and duration. Same with stock cams. You usually use them to advance your cam timing by a max of 1-2*. I believe the most common setting used was -1* exhaust and +2 degrees on intake. That means you are retarding the timing of your exhast valves while advancing the timing of your intake valves. Most people have found this to net the most gains.
<installation>
The installation is far from a simple* bolt on deal. If you've never done the timing on your car, or are very unsure of your mechanic abilities i would not do it myself. It requires completely removing the timing belt and the stock cam gears. You then have to re-time the engine back to stock time. While having the cam gears set at 0* and 0*. I am drastically oversimplifing the installation. If you have your 60k t-belt coming up or your 100k t-belt coming up i would just save it for that. Replacing your t-belt can range from 6 hours (for the more experience tuner) to 10+ hours (more the first timers). Of course some of us have done it in less time. (practice makes perfect)

Hope all this information helps you make an educated decision.

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The wonders of 2gnt chat:

From the dyno charts that i've seen for the 420A and cam gears, it seems that most of what the gears do is shift the power/torque curve in the RPM band. This can be good, depending on what you plan to do with the engine/car. I have seen maybe a good 4-5HP gain from other dyno charts though..So little power gain, but more torque/power shift than anything. Also as mentioned, very useful for re-aligning the cams after head shaving/milling(that's all that i use mine for now)

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Whoo, that was more info than I bargained for. That helped a lot in my decision, thanks.

Depending on what kind of camshaft you have, you will want to use adjustable gears as an aid while degreeing in the cams. If they are aftermarket, always degree in your cams - chances are the manufacturer screwed up a bit and they are off by a few degrees out of the box.

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does anyone know how to tune them tho, i am planning on buying some cuz my car has 102k miles without a timing belt replaced, and everythign else in that area, so if its all gonna be taken apart, i was gonna buy some fidanza cam gears from ebay, but i dont know how to tune them, or anything of that nature, so can anyone tell me how to, so my shop can tune them right.

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The wonders of 2gnt chat:

yeah i read it total, but i wasnt sure if that would work on my car, i have read that its not always the same with every car, and i dont really know anything about timing, and i know if u mess up the valve timing, it could go terribly bad, so i planned on takin it to a mechanic, but even he didnt know how to time it to perfection, and was hoping someone could offer me some insight as to how to have the mechanic do it

http://www.vfaq.com/mods/timingbelt-2G-NT.html
That is a start.. use the *search* function also.. there is ALOT of information about using CamGears while changing timing belts... If you don't find the answer you want.. Try different search terms. The information is there, trust me!!

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The wonders of 2gnt chat:

i sure hope so, cuz i want the best tuning i can get from these, they r the fidanza ones, seen them on ebay for like 180, i just wanna make sure my mechanic can do them the right way, and not bend any valves or anything like that

as long as he rotates the cam 180* before he starts the car and the valves don't contact the piston then she could be ok..

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is there anyway he can tell if he is getting the right setup and most hp out of these, i searched but couldnt find much useful as to described how to do it, and how to tell if the cams need advanced or retarded and whatnot

you can't TELL what is the best set up on your personal motor unless you dyno tune it. That is going to be a big waste of money for like 3hp.. Just set them to what i said in the first post and just be happy with that. Probably gonna be the best setup generically, without dyno tiime.

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The wonders of 2gnt chat:

so +2 intake and -1 exhaust, so how exactly do i advance and retard the timing on the gears themselves, i havent receieved them yet, so i dont know what they look like other than pics. and r u sure this wont mess up anything for my car?

Kids like you piss me off.

You must learn about things beforehand really. Why would you even attempt a mod like that if you have NO FUCKING CLUE what they are/gonna do/how to install/you don't know shit.



Please search and learn about cam timing sir :thumsup

Once you actually know what your physically changing , you might have a better understanding.

i hate these posts. Especially when theres good information in this very post and you still have NO IDEA.

that is all.

EDIT: I'm an ass.

I eat emo kids for breakfast

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The wonders of 2gnt chat:

well sorry i havent exactly got the cam gears yet, or decided if i am gonna buy them, and sorry im not as experience in the world of dsm as ur smart ass is, i dont know every god damn thing about cars, i believe thats what this forum and site is meant for, to ask questions about stuff other people might know about and be able to give insight to as well, but since u r god, u have a problem with us people asking questions, and im not a damn kid, im 21, so stop with ur pety insults

This site is not meant as a means of "let me ask every question i can think of about a part i MIGHT get." This is a database and archived site with more information than anyone could ever grasp. The reason for archiving so much material is so questions do not have to be answered multiple times. If you have a question about a product, use the part name as a keyword and search thru the archives. You may have to read a hell of alot, but you will not only answer your question but learn a hell of alot more. I started in the same spot you are, i searched about every single part i put on my car. I have done alot of the work myself and spoke to alot of people about what they have done to their cars. Stick around the site and learn what you can from reading.

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honestly i did search and read a lot but couldnt exactly find what i needed and u seemed to know what u were talkin about so i asked if u had any more info than i could find, or than someone else might know, and when u said what is the best tuning, i asked if it would still be the same on my car so the mechanic wont mess anything up, i just wanted to get all the right info b4 i purchased these gears, and so the mechanic will know what he needs to know too

you keep on talking about your mechanic not knowing how to properly tune these, but i havn't seen a single person here ask you why you're going to a mechanic who doesn't know how to tune cam gears! find someone more skilled and experienced and he can explain everything to you in person, and as far as advancing/retarding the timing being different for every car, the fact that you both have 2g non turbo eclipses should set you in the right ball-park, and probably the best off that you would be, so my vote is just buy the cam gears, and when you get your timing belt replaced, have a GOOD mechanic put those in.

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ive actually tried talkin to a few people, and so far, the only guy i found who will install them doesnt know much about them, everyone else i talked to wont even touch them, so i dont have much else in another mechanic. the gears i bought are the fidanza ones they sell on ebay with 12 degree advance and retard, so would there be a better setup with this much degree to use, does anyone have any luck with these, or does anyone have them on their car?

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there is only one speed shop around where i live, and they wont do it, i asked them if they will do my timing belt and they said no, and i asked if they would do it if i had cam gears installed with the belt, and they still said no. its like i said, i dont have much on the choice of mechanics around here

At this point you have 2 options.
1. Forget installing the cam gears, most mechanics will NOT install either aftermarket or non OEM equivalants parts. Also they will charge you out the ass if you do. They will also not let you bring in your own parts because that is how they make money. If you take this option forget ever thinking of modifying your car beyond very simple bolt-ons. (just being honest)

2. You can buy a chilton/haynes manual, read every write up on this site, and do it yourself. Buy the parts to do the t-belt, there are lists of all *recommended* parts to order in other threads. Go to your local satan(dealer) and get them. If you don't already have the tools, well buy those also.
This will
* teach you ALOT about your car!!
* Save you alot of money in the long run, learning routine maintenence.
* What you would have paid a shop to install them + parts,+ all the bullshit they will con you into changing. You now know more about your car (invaluable) and you have alot of tools.
Seriously, changing a t-belt on this car is not that bad. If you've done one before you can do it in about 8 hours with help. I've done it several times and can do it in about 6 hours with help.

If you ever really want to do ANYTHING with your car, learn to Do It Yourself.

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i actually bought a whole timing belt kit from some mitsubishi part dealer, comes with the t-belt, water pump, water pump bracket, idler and tensioner pulley, all for 298, and the place said they would do it all with the parts and gears for 275. they only thing that bothers me about doin it myself is i dont want to have the timing off, and then bend the valves, and be in the hole more so than i already am. i have a haynes manual, and it doesnt seem to hard to do, just a lot of work, and i really cant afford to be without my car for 2 days cuz im sure thats how long it would take me, maybe longer