cam degreeing/timing set?

so what kind of timing sets are you guys runnin?and if im reading correctly you degree a buick by crank gear location{not like a chevy}i see the rollmaster set on ebay but am wondering if there is a better or cheaper way to get the same results?

 

I use the rollmaster 9 keyway. It has marks according to the retard or advance amount you require. My gear had a 4 degree retard built into it because most cams have the 4 degree advance. So it puts you straight up when installed allowing you to determine the position.

 

John,

Is that common with the Rollmasters?

 

My Rollmaster is also 4 degrees retarded. In my copy of Steve Dove's book (Copyright 1993) he mentions this little tidbit. Since nothing has changed in the past 11 years I guess Rollmaster has no intention of changing it.

Larry

 

Maybe cheaper, but certainly not better. $100 timing set is just cheap insurance in my book. Cheap double rollers are around $50 so your not saving all that much. Pulling a timing cover in the car is a crappy job, better to do it once.

 

I wonder if TA is having their cams ground advanced (especially their new designs), although we understand that they could be anywhere.

 

I agree. As long as you are aware of the quirk and take the time to degree the cam properly, it really doesn't make any difference. After all, that's why we degree the cams in the first place - to check for or to correct errors in the keyways, chains, machining, etc. But, it can (and did) drive me crazy until I was aware of it.

Larry

 

OK,
When I first read this, it made sense. But the more I think about it, the less sense it makes.

Why would Rollmaster make a timing set, that's designed to be degreed, based on what cam manufacturers often do?

Someone who doesn't check, would likely just go straight up. If the set had 4 degrees of retard, and the cam was ground with 4 degrees of advance, they would actually end up straight up. That's fine, but what if they have a cam already ground straight up? Then they would be 4 degrees retarded, which in most situations is less desireable than ending up 4 degrees advanced. That doesn't seem like the optimal assumption for Rollmaster to use.

To take that to another level, since this set is obviously designed for those degreeing their cams or wanting the adjustability, what if the cam is ground straight up (as opposed to 4 degrees of advance)? Say you want to install it 8 degrees advanced. If the set is ground 4 degrees retarded, the best you could do would be 4 degrees of advance (by using the 8 degree mark). But, you could go as much as 12 degrees retarded, which I'm sure isn't done that often on the typical build. This is assuming that the cam is straight up and the timing set is 4 degrees retarded.

How could you use this set to get 8 degrees of advance on a cam ground straight up?

This doesn't make a lot of sense to me, unless I'm missing something???

 

Jump a tooth on the cam, then use the appropriate tooth on the crank to get what you desire.