[spins]

I've been considering for my next mod a set of adj. cam gears. I've been looking at several different brands. They seem to range in prices. Are there really any differences in these things? I know some have 3 bolts and some have 5 bolts. I would perfer the 5 bolts ones. This should make for a tighter fit, less chance of it slipping.
I've been looking for some dyno runs before and after gears are installed. I only found ones from companys selling these things. It seems I will have to give up alot of tq and hp on the bottom end to make good hp numbers on the topend. Is this normal with this mod? I don't like the idea of giving up all my engines tq for topend hp.
Can any of you guys out there with dyno slip before and after cam gears please post them so I can see what the average guy is getting out of this mod. And how did you car drive after the mod/tune/adjustment.
I know every car reacts differently but it should give me some kind of an idea.
Right now I drive a 02 ZX3 manual FS I/H-F/E/P-enroute.

 

[SkaAddict]

With stock cams there's only so much you can get out of adjustable gears...some Foci will see significant gains while others see nothing at all (not all Zetecs left the factory with identical settings,) so its a crap shoot on what your engine's settings from the factory were.

If tuned correctly, you won't give up "all of [your] bottom end torque," if you have them dyno tuned you could actually give up some of your top-end power in exchange for more bottom and midrange power, however, bear in mind that there's only so much you can do with stock cams on a stock head. The gears, even tuned, aren't going to make that big of a difference on a mostly stock engine.

 

[spins]

I've been looking into cams as well. That not something I've installed before. I mostly have stuck with exterior Bolt ons on my past cars. I've installed I,H,E,P all kinds of suspension setups, 2 superchargers and 4 turbo kits. I feel confident in installing the cam gears. But I would like to get someone to do the cam install and setup. If I decide to install cams then I should really wait and do the cam gears together or it would really be a wait of time and money on a dyno.
From what I have read on cams. I would only want a stage one cam. I want a smooth idle. If I go with cams and cam gears is premium fuel a must? I'm also looking into a tune and know I need to get all bolt on first. I would like to have a 87 and 93 tune and see just how much of a different premium makes.

 

[viney266]

The FR2's work very nice, they idle well and make good power... I would as above do the gears and the cams and the tune all at once.

 

[spins]

Thanks for the input. I'm continuing my research. I of course want the most bang for my buck. I just don't want to order the wrong cam.
Any advise on cam gears? Are they for the most part all the same? Do I need to order 2 new Cam gear bolts I've seen these on ebay.

 

[sc0tty8]

Unless your getting dyno tuned, you will see ZERO gains from adding adjustable cam gears.

 

[spins]

yeah I know if I install only cam gears I will have to have it dyno tuned. The butt dyno is not always accurate.

 

[SkaAddict]

^
Not only that, it can also be dangerous to try and tune cam gears based on what you're feeling. When you install them, I wouldn't suggest you set them to anything but 0,0 until you get it on a dyno.

 

[spins]

Yeah I would never attempt to set them unless I was on a dyno. I was just responding to the ZERO gains post. If I only did the gears I would have dyno time prescheduled for the following day. Install the gears and go straight there. I don't like to do things half assed.