Quote: Originally Posted by
HCCAFan 
When I was reading into how to do it I started seeing stuff about this and my head began to spin as I became dis-interested meaning I was getting lost. It did seem too hard to figure out with the lifters and stuff. Pulus I got to wondering if the thing you stick in the spark plug hole might vary depending on where you got it on the piston since we have the kinda trangle tops to our stock pistons.
it doesnt matter where you measure on the top of the piston as long as it doesnt move from its spot.the limit of travel is the limit of travel regardless where you measure from
cnc brought up alot of valid info.one thing that is the same on every cam is the dowel holes that are on top of the cam at tdc.if you make a tool that holds those holes at a perfect 90* in relation to the deck you can set your cam timing to true tdc every time.
but like cnc said there are alot more variables involved and depending on what you do with the car is most important.a drag racer is going to want a different cam profile than an auto cross or road racer.the guys making turns will want to sacrifice a little top end for a gain in midrange ,even then it comes down to the driver as well..some guys are faster out turn than others and may need to advance exhaust a little more to make up for the slower transition out and lower rpm .same goes for a guy that drives his car on the street.he will want more midrange and the guy that just drag races will want to push the powerband way up top sacrificing the low and midrange.
bottom line is if you want to tune your cams for optimal performance then start at 0 and adjust according to what you feel is right.what is good for the goose is not always good for the gander
