[DeMello]

i tired the search and couldnt find any basic info on them

so heres the thing, ive learned quite a bit about stangs on mustangforums.com but have no clue as to what a cam even is or what it does

looking at how a gt gets 12.4 with bolt ons it seemed like the big difference was the cams so can somebody tell me alot about them please

[MineralGreyGT]

here's a good start Howstuffworks "Camshaft Configurations"

[DeMello]

so how much faster will cams make me in the quarter mile

[dmriser]

There is no concrete answer to the question you are asking, it depends on a ton of other variables, your mods, the cam you choose, the tune, tons of other things. Cams are a good choice for upping the power without pouring money into bolt ons. Although the installation fee is going to be just as much if not more than the cams themself.

[ReverendDexter]

Cams are what control the valve timing and duration in your engine.

Changing you cam alters when the valve opens, how fast it opens, how long it stays open, and how fast it shuts. By controlling those variables, you control flow of your intake and exhaust charges through the combustion chamber.

The most entry-level description of what cams do for the butt-dyno is change "where" your powerband is. Most stock cams are setup to be optimal from idle-5500 rpm. What most people consider performance cams to be would shift your powerband up in rpm, say 1500-6500rpm thus sacrificing some low end driveability for top-end power. The exception to this either variable cam-timing setup, like the 3v 4.6s have, or a multi-lobe profile setup, like VTEC in a Honda.

The beauty of VTEC is that you essentially have two cams (or sets of cams, for a multi-cam motor); an idle-5500 rpm cam, and a 3500-9000 rpm cam. It allows you have all the power of the big lopey cam, without having to idle or cruise with one.

That's off the top of my head, I apologize for any errors in it, and hope it clears things up more than it confuses!

[RandoGT]

don't the 350Z have a continuous valve timing deal too? something along the lines of VTEC?

[ReverendDexter]

Originally Posted by RandoGT don't the 350Z have a continuous valve timing deal too? something along the lines of VTEC?

Well, there's Variable Cam Timing, which just advances/retards the cam based on rpm (and engine load on more advanced versions), and VTEC, which has multiple cam lobe profiles (and also does the variable cam timing trick).

The only ones I know that are like VTEC are mitusbishi's MIVEC (or whatever) on the new Evo Xs, and I think the Nissan one (no clue what it's called), of which the Nissan version is just a licensed VTEC (or so I understand, maybe a nissan guy can correct me?).

[TheBusher]

Originally Posted by RandoGT don't the 350Z have a continuous valve timing deal too? something along the lines of VTEC?

+1 It's similar, but not the exact same thing. The new viper has VVT...

[07stanggt]

What year stang do you have?