Adjustable Cam Gear Question?

[2004exrider]

I noticed that there is an adjustable cam gear that is made for the 400ex. How does it give you more power, i always thought that the cam had to be in a perfect position to make sure the valves opened/closed at the right time to make sure enough air is getting in and out at the right time. What does it do exactly to gived it performance? ive been trying to figure it out for a while but i just dont understand:o

Jimmy

[cals400ex]

i am not sure if there is an easy way to understand this or not. yes, the cam position is important. that is why they make an adjustable cam gear. you can tweak it either way to fine tune a build. however this will change how close your intake and exhaust valves are to the piston so you need to be careful when messing with it. if you advance the timing then you should have a little more low rpm power. if you retard it, then you will have a little more high rpm power. so degreeing in your cam can shift your power band around a little bit. if it was me i would not mess with it unless you are going after a full bore build.

[dariusld]

A cam manufacturer(i don't remember which one) said a well designed cam doesn't need an adjustable cam gear.

[400exrider707]

Originally posted by dariusld
A cam manufacturer(i don't remember which one) said a well designed cam doesn't need an adjustable cam gear.

Not true if you deck your head. Once the head is decked, it throws off the cam timing and it can be fixed with the adjustable cam sprocket.

[Kaleigh]

your timing also changes a bit if you use a thicker or thinner headgasket.. thats right? i think

[cals400ex]

Originally posted by Kaleigh
your timing also changes a bit if you use a thicker or thinner headgasket.. thats right? i think


that is correct. it will be retarded a bit with a thinner gasket and advanced a bit with a thicker one.

[blown331]

Originally posted by cals400ex
that is correct. it will be retarded a bit with a thinner gasket and advanced a bit with a thicker one.

how is that even logical?

[flauge]

I think an adjustible cam gear would help a lil bit, but remember if you get one it is best to tune it on a dyno.
I put one on my car a while back and dialed it in to 3* adv. and it helped low end throttle response a lil bit, but with it being a single cam engine it didnt make a world of difference. All it can really do on a single cam is shift the power curve to where you like to use it. Theyre more popular on dual cam engines since you can also change duration and get more gains that way.
It wouldnt hurt to use one on your 400 tho, you ought to notice a lil difference once its tuned right. Like cals400ex said, it'll help you fine tune a build.:cool:

[Kaleigh]

Originally posted by blown331
how is that even logical?

chain slack.. it changes the length of the space.. kinda like if you have you chain tensioner off

[Kaleigh]

Originally posted by flauge
I think an adjustible cam gear would help a lil bit, but remember if you get one it is best to tune it on a dyno.
I put one on my car a while back and dialed it in to 3* adv. and it helped low end throttle response a lil bit, but with it being a single cam engine it didnt make a world of difference. All it can really do on a single cam is shift the power curve to where you like to use it. Theyre more popular on dual cam engines since you can also change duration and get more gains that way.
It wouldnt hurt to use one on your 400 tho, you ought to notice a lil difference once its tuned right. Like cals400ex said, it'll help you fine tune a build.:cool:

thanks for pointing that out.. about the single cam and dual cam.. not many realize that.. i just learned this year about that and i have had my quad for 6 years now..

[cals400ex]

Originally posted by blown331
how is that even logical?



it will change the distance from the head to the cylinder. shaving a head or cylinder will do the same thing.