PERFORMANCE TECHNICIAN

xxxx
Camshaft Basics, Part 1
The Heart of the Engine
-Greg
-xxxx McConiga

There’s a whole lot more to the

science of camshafts than you
probably ever imagined. This series
will help you make the right choice.

26
 FEATURE

There is a lot more Big Science ground onto this

simple device than first meets the eye. A cam is
about timing the event, maximizing the flow at a
specific point, controlling the valve, and keeping
the lifter, pushrod, rocker, spring, and valve stable
throughout the operational range of the engine.
And, of course, it’s all a compromise among the
goals of economy, power, torque, and drivability.

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2015 27
PERFORMANCE TECHNICIAN
While we in this industry think of cams as If we are high-performance overhead-valve
something unique to the automotive engine, they are, engine builders, and if the cam grinder has done
in fact, common to all manner of contraptions in the his development work correctly, from that point on
world of manufacturing and machine control. There our job as a builder is to make the lift and duration
are disc cams, rotary cams, wedge cams, roller gear designed into the cam actually appear at the valve
cams, inverse cams (where the cam is stationary retainer — by using the lifters, pushrods, rocker
and the follower moves, not inverse lobed cams, arms, valve springs, and valves that most closely
more on that later), cylindrical cams, and translating meet the required stiffness to match the profile
cams to name just a few found in industry. For our and intensity of the lift and duration ground onto
purposes, we will from this point on only refer to the the cam lobes. You must confirm that as much
camshafts we all know and love,
but it’s important to remember
that ours isn’t the only industry
where cams are found.

Trapping air
In the most common forms of
the automotive racing engine,
we attempt to consistently and
uniformly trap the most mass of
air and fuel above the piston,
light it off, convert as much
of the chemical energy into
heat energy (released during
combustion), then into the
mechanical energy that drives
the car forward. The crankshaft
converts the reciprocating
linear motion of the piston and
the swinging connecting rod to
rotary motion for delivery to the
transmission and differential,
while the camshaft (cam
shaft, as two words, means a
shaft with a cam or cams on
it) converts the rotary motion
of the shaft to a linear motion
via the lifters or followers, or
some combination thereof.
The goal is to precisely and Taken from the crankcase, in this photo you can see how on this head
accurately translate the cam the intake valve is significantly larger than the exhaust, and how the plug
lobe designer’s lift, duration, has been relocated to a more central location in the bore. The chamber
and event timing into accurate form is very shallow, the valves are tipped away from the bore walls to
valve motion via the lifter, help unshroud them and there is a lot of quench area showing. With
pushrod, and rocker system tight 65 cc chambers, this head uses a piston with a dome on it of only
on an overhead valve engine, about 1 cc to achieve a static compression ratio of 16.8:1. Central plug
or directly into valve motion location means that the flame front progresses across the chamber
on an overhead cam engine more uniformly, the shallow chamber means that the surface area-
on direct acting systems, or to-volume ratio is good, and the extended quench zones help induce
through a follower and lifter turbulence to speed combustion and keep the mixture stirred. This is a
on indirect acting systems. very efficient chamber, typically using only 28-30 degrees of spark lead
at 8,000 rpm on a 4.625 in. diameter bore.
28 Camshaft Basics, 1
of your calculated lift and timing appears at the
valve as is practical. Always confirm your cam
Delicate choices
There are two ways to buy cams, out of the
at the retainer, with the engine as-built to race.
catalog and with technical assistance. For street or
moderate performance applications, buying from the
Pulminary parts catalog is probably the way most builders choose to
If cams are the heart, then the cylinder heads go. Doing your own research, you might land on two
are the lungs, and between these two is where all or three likely candidates and then call in for help in
power is made or lost; these two parts, or more narrowing it down to your final selection, and this is
correctly systems, account for nearly all power where you might become a bit frustrated. If you call
production. While the biggest contributors to power, in to three companies and ask for a recommendation
they are a little like a surgeon: They can’t operate after doing your research, you’ll likely end up
effectively without a strong supporting cast. Valve with three entirely different profiles. This isn’t a
train stiffness and design aside, bores must be conspiracy — selections are made in part by what
round, rings must seal, piston rockover must be you explain you are looking for in terms of results
minimized, internal clearances properly set, internal and in part by whatever “tribal knowledge” your tech
oil control and windage managed, and internal consultants have about your application. They may
friction lowered as much as practical to avoid using know several customers with similar combinations
up the power produced in an effort to roll over all the and they might have recommended one cam over
internal engine parts at the expense of rolling the tire. another several times and gotten feedback on
how well it worked for those
customers, or they may be
using a broad recommendation
worksheet that the company
developed in house.
This is where our conversation
gets a little dangerous. We
can talk about “general rules”
and “general applications,” but
we do this at the expense of
specific knowledge about how
a specific cam will work in a
specific engine. I’m not nearly
expert enough to tell you what
to do or not do when it comes
to cam selection, but I can help
you with some general rules
and engineering principles
that apply to cam buying and
installation. That said, as a
practical matter, if you are
building serious racing engines
you will need to consult with
your cam grinder to get the best
recommendation for your engine
This is an early, pre-emissions-control street cylinder head. It’s a much and application for every engine
larger and much less efficient chamber with notably small valves, too you build. The calculations
much surface area, and a spark plug location that will make it hard to and physics involved in cam
lead the spark enough to get good power production and stay away from development are well beyond
detonation. This chamber is very inefficient and would require roughly the ability of someone lacking
50-55 degrees of lead at 8,000 rpm. Not that it could ever spin that fast extensive engineering training
with those valves — or without driving over the rods and crankshaft! or years of experience, so

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2015 29
PERFORMANCE TECHNICIAN
you absolutely must have the help of those who There may be other questions as well, so you’ll
have both the theoretical chops and the real world need to be able to intelligently discuss your
practical experience of back-to-back dyno testing combination if you hope to get the best camshaft for
to help you maximize your power output. Some your specific use, but all engine design, including
companies have online forms to fill out and others the cam selection process, starts with the head
use a pdf file that you can download and fill out, but and the combustion chamber design, including the
in any case you’ll have to have quite a bit of data to ceiling (head and valves) and the floor (piston.) For
get the best recommendation for your application. an all-out racing effort, the cam grinder will need to
know how much room he has to work in and how
Say what? efficient the combustion chamber is for your build.
They’ll ask things like type of cam (flat, hydraulic,
solid, roller — or mushroom lifter
if you’re really old-school), then
attempt to quantify the desired
level of performance you’re
looking for (mid-, top-, low-rpm
power and torque requirements)
and the application (for a circle
track car, they’ll need the
class you’re in and length of
the typical track you race on),
and for all other applications
the desired output level for
street-only use, if it’s a dual
purpose street/strip, and, if it’s
drag race-only, the class (if
you’re class racing). Or, you
might be involved in off-road,
marine performance, or truck
or tractor pulling. You’ll need
to know the cylinder head type,
manufacturer, modifications,
and flow numbers at lifts from
closed to 1.00 in. at 28 in. Hg;
the engine block type, bore and
stroke, rocker ratio, carburetor
flow rate, rod length, piston
type, make and modifications,
static compression ratio,
intake manifold type, valve
sizes, lifter bore, and porting
characteristics, plus vehicle
weight, axle ratio, transmission
type, operating rpm range
from low to high, converter
stall speed if you’re running
an automatic transmission, Once again, you can see that the chamber is tight and the plug location
and tire size and diameter. optimized on this cast iron small block Chevy cylinder head. While the
They’ll need to know about chamber walls have been pulled back to relieve shrouding, the bore is
turbocharging, supercharging, still close since the valves are in line and some shrouding will occur.
or nitrous use if any of those For this head, I’d expect that it will require about 32-33 degrees of lead
apply to your application. at 8,000 rpm.
30 Camshaft Basics, 1
PERFORMANCE TECHNICIAN

Dynamic collision paths Heads first and heavy air

Large chambers with big piston domes require Your design all starts with the combustion
a different cam than a shallow, heart-shaped, low- chamber. The entire engine is built around first-
angle combustion chamber because the valves will things-first, and the cylinder head and chamber
be attempting to occupy nearly the same real estate design and efficiency is the first consideration — the
as the piston, at least briefly, as the piston transitions foundation — because everything else is designed
over TDC during overlap, with piston-to-valve around it. Since good cylinder heads are expensive
clearance at the minimum somewhere between 15 and very good heads are very expensive, it is
degrees BTDC and TDC for the exhaust valve and important to know how to choose your heads. A
TDC to 15 degrees ATDC for the intake valve. It general rule of thumb suggests that you can support
helps to think of it as an internal race, piston versus roughly two to two and a half times the intake air
valve. The exhaust valve is “on the spring,” racing CFM in horsepower — an intake that flows 500
the rising piston as the exhaust goes closed while CFM can make about 1,000-1,250 horsepower —
the intake valve is “on the cam” chasing the falling so if you know your car’s weight and the required
piston as the valve comes open — and remember, performance level needed to run your class, you
increasing rocker ratios increases the rate of lift! know how good a cylinder head you have to buy.
The exhaust valve movement
is less predictable because it’s
controlled by the vagaries of a
spring, while the intake is totally
controlled by a solid system from
cam lobe to valve head, and that
explains why minimum exhaust
valve-to-piston clearance is
typically twice what’s allowed
for intake valve-to-piston
clearance over TDC. Adding to
the mix, small, shallow, efficient
chambers run a completely
different rate of combustion with
far less ignition lead, which also
affects optimum cam design.
So, if you get asked questions
that might not seems pertinent to
cam selection, don’t fret — your
technical guy is doing his job.
The fact that we will most likely
use the advanced services of
the cam grinder doesn’t mean
that you shouldn’t have a bit
of practical knowledge about
how the camshaft actually Here’s a vintage street engine head with a closed-chamber wedge
does its job. The practicing combustion chamber. It’s a bit of a compromise, but still not too badly
racer knows to take advantage done for the era (1969). The plug is more offset to the side than I’d like,
of all the resources out there, but there is some quench area and the chamber is fairly small. The
but knowing how duration, biggest problem we face with this style of head is the shrouding. The
lift, and overlap affect the chamber walls are vertical and they restrict air flow for almost a quarter
six engine cycles is handy of the valve diameter. Getting this chamber to flow will take a cam with
when you’re thinking about more lift than the open chamber wedge shown before — and it’ll take
and designing your engine. about 36-40 degrees of spark lead at 8,000 rpm (assuming this engine
could live at that speed, which it couldn’t!)
32 Camshaft Basics, 1
 We don’t often think a lot about air, how heavy per minute at 100% volumetric efficiency), which
it is and how fast it must move in a typical two- means that engine would suck all the air out of your
inch by three-inch inlet conduit. Air is light by bedroom in less than 50 seconds! At .0807 pounds
most definitions — it only weighs about .0807 per cubic foot, 1,152 cubic feet of air amounts to
pounds per cubic foot (at standard temperature almost 93 pounds, of which roughly 19.5 pounds
and pressure — STP.) All good racers know that is oxygen. Now go grab your barbells, carry them
air isn’t always at STP, which is why we often into your bedroom and put that together in your
tune things a bit for colder, heavier air and hotter, head! Hardly seems possible does it? What’s
lighter air, as well as compensating for altitude and really scary is when you think about a cube of air
humidity content when needed. What we need to 100 feet on a side and realize that it weighs roughly
use is the oxygen from the air, which is only about 40 TONS! Why is understanding this and thinking
21% of the total volume taken in by the engine. about this important? Because moving air in and
To put things in perspective, think about your out of the engine is what makes power and the
typical bedroom, 12 by 12 by eight feet. At 1,152 camshaft is the controlling entity when it comes
cubic feet, that’s less air than is required by a 632 to air movement. Air has mass and mass and
cubic-inch engine per minute at 8,000 rpm (632 velocity creates inertia. Inertia: A body at rest tends
times 8,000 divided by 3,456 is 1,462 cubic feet to remain at rest, and a body in motion tends to
remain in motion. It’s important to remember that.

Murky math
Now let’s think about the environment we are
creating. At 1,000 rpm, an engine is rolling over
at 360,000 degrees per minute, 6,000 degrees
per second, and 6 degrees per 1/1,000 th of a
second. At 8,000 rpm, we are rolling over at 48
degrees per millisecond, starting and stopping an
inlet conduit of six to eight square inches on every
other stroke creating a violent, pulsing, wet flow
with both mass and velocity and, therefore, inertia.
Part of that flow we need to somehow stuff into
a cylinder, at the right time, over a piston moving
at an average of over 100 feet per second (4.625
inches at a time!) and get that intake valve closed
before the piston’s upward velocity overcomes the
This diagram shows you what to expect, more or inertial cylinder filling over BDC that the weight and
less, with your camshaft. The lobe separation angle speed of the aforementioned column of air and
is the angle between the intake lobe center and fuel generates before it leads to intake reversion. If
the exhaust lobe center, and it’s not as adjustable it were easy, everyone would be doing it, right?
as you might think. You can roll the lobe centers At the most fundamental level, our cam selection
around a few degrees to “tame” the cam down, must balance intake closing with inertial filling,
but that’s not your best overall solution. You start which increases volumetric efficiency (more air
with lift, which is determined by the application stuffed into the cylinder than what the cylinder
and is based on a percentage of the intake valve physically measures) with reversion and backflow
size, followed by duration, which follows the lift caused by piston rise; intake opening with
number you’re trying to achieve because lift and exhaust backflow versus intake restriction (during
duration have a direct correlation related to how overlap); exhaust valve opening with improved
much velocity or acceleration the valve train can blowdown versus loss of power extraction caused
tolerate — there are hard limits on both. The intake by venting the cylinder earlier; and exhaust
lobe center is determined in part by the piston valve closing with exhaust side flow losses and
movement (reciprocating geometry comes into backflow of exhaust into the intake side.
play), and overlap is the natural result of how much
total intake and exhaust duration you end up with.
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2015 33
PERFORMANCE TECHNICIAN
Every choice you make in camshaft selection
Pulled in is, to some extent, a compromise. You can have
The other consideration of intake open/
drivability, but at the expense of power, torque at
exhaust closing over TDC overlap is that in a
the expense of a smooth idle and fuel economy,
properly designed and tuned racing application,
high-speed operation at the expense of low-speed
there should be a very high negative pressure
operation. What you intend to do with your little
present at the exhaust valve that is used to
bundle of nuts and bolts moves power and torque
“jump start” intake flow into the cylinder for the
up and down the scale and makes the engine more
next induction cycle. The negative pressure
or less suited to either getting groceries, getting
created by the overlap-driven induction cycle is
out of the turn or getting down the quarter mile.
often much higher than the negative pressure
created by piston fall by a factor of three to six In the next issue of Performance Technician, we’ll
(15-25 inches of water for piston fall versus over continue with a few definitions and descriptions,
100 inches of water for the overlap induction). and we’ll begin to examine how event timing varies
with engine speed and design. Stay “tuned.” n

ift to Flow Rate

This is a spreadsheet that I made up of the flow restriction during the piston-driven exhaust phase.
rates (at 28 inches of water) for a set of cylinder It’s important to remember the relationship of the
heads I use. First of all, note that the intake-to- pressure units we use in this conversation: 1 pound per
exhaust valve ratio is at 75.5%, which is considered square inch (psi) is equal to 2.04 inches of Mercury
“middle of the road.” A Pro Stocker might have a (in. Hg), which is equal to 27.68 inches of water (in.
ratio of as little as 65% to allow the engine to run the H2O). If you think of psi as a coarse measurement,
compression and rpm it needs to to be competitive. inches of Mercury as a medium, and inches of water
High-compression naturally-aspirated engines are as a fine measurement, it’ll help you keep things in
more efficient earlier in the expansion phase than perspective. You can measure closer with a ruler
low-compression engines and can use larger intakes marked in 1/64ths than one marked in 1/8ths, right?
and smaller exhaust valves than low-compression What is important to note is that at 70% of the chart
engines. If you look at cylinder pressure decay in — that is, .700 in. lift out of 1.00 in. total — the flow
a low-compression engine it, falls slowly — almost rates for both intake and exhaust are at roughly 90%
linearly at a 45 degree angle — and usable power can of their total. And you’ll also note that each .100 in.
be extracted for more crankshaft degrees during the lift after this point produces correspondingly smaller
power stroke. With a high-compression engine, the gains. There’s a point of no return on lifting the valve
cylinder decay curve looks like it’s nearly a vertical — you can do it, but the gains might not be worth
drop as the piston falls from TDC. Because all the the increased equipment failure rates associated with
usable energy is extracted well before BDC on the extreme lift. There is a reason to overlift the valve and
power stroke, blowing the exhaust valve open early it has to do with how much of the curtain area (the area
doesn’t affect power production nearly as much as of cylinder formed under the head of the valve between
doing so would on a low-compression engine. the seat and the valve) is open when the piston is
The bore size of an engine traveling at maximum velocity on the intake stroke. n
limits the combined sizes of
Valve Intake Exhaust Intake flow Exhaust Intake, Exhaust,
the valves, but you can shift opening, flow flow rates as a flow rates percent of percent of
the ratio, using a larger intake, inches rates, rates, percent of as a percent increase over increase over
which only has about 20 inches CFM CFM total of total last lift point last lift point
of water pressure differential 0.20 158.8 133.9 28.85% 37.40%
inducing flow around it, and a 0.30 245.2 182.3 44.55% 50.92% 54.41% 36.15%
smaller exhaust valve, which 0.40 345.6 223.1 62.79% 62.32% 40.95% 22.38%
when opened earlier might have
0.50 428.9 256.8 77.93% 71.73% 24.10% 15.11%
60-100 psi differential available to
induce flow during the blowdown 0.60 489.8 286.3 88.99% 79.97% 14.20% 11.49%
portion of exhaust. Using 0.70 520.1 316.1 94.49% 88.30% 6.19% 10.41%
that excess pressure to dump 0.80 537.6 340.0 97.67% 94.97% 3.36% 7.56%
exhaust gases would then reduce 0.90 545.9 354.0 99.18% 98.88% 1.54% 4.12%
pumping loss and exhaust flow 1.00 550.4 358.0 100.00% 100.00% 0.82% 1.13%

34 Camshaft Basics, 1