Interesting Info below, check it out

"One of the latest developments happening now is some manufacturers and race teams are mechanically balancing camshafts and finding some really big gains. It helps get rid of the harmonics in the valvetrain, according to experts.

In some applications we've gained 500 or more rpm out of the engine before we ran into valve float just by the balancing the cam alone," says Jones Cam Design's Mike Jones. "We're seeing it as low as 6,000 rpm.

We developed it first for the Cup teams and it was a small gain for them but it did what we were trying to achieve. I took the idea and started applying it to the smaller racing classes. It's actually a bigger gain for the smaller classes. These guys often times can't use the best parts because of the rules. There are a lot of small circle track classes where they limit you to a stock size spring. And for those applications, balancing the cam is a huge advantage," says Jones.

In NEXTEL Cup we gained 3 hp and they thought that was great. But when we put it in these lower classes it's even bigger. Because of the extra rpm we're getting out of it, we're able to get another 20 hp by turning it another 400-500 rpm. And I only charge engine builders $99 per cam to do this. It's really taking off now. Everything we've run this balancing setup in we've seen gains.

There are a lot of things going on that can cause a harmonic. We've seen a valvetrain harmonic due to a crank imbalance, says Jones. We've seen valve float because the guy didn't have a damper on the crank. So balancing anything is going to make significant gains. It seems that by balancing the cam it's helping the life of the timing chain and all the other valvetrain components. They're living longer and we haven't had any breakage. We haven't proven that this is the reason but the results have been very
positive. To keep abreast of what's available in the revolutionary world of camshaft design, you should stay on top of what manufacturers are developing and talk to your suppliers regularly."

 

Who?

Mike Jones!

 

Interesting. Great info grip!

 

how would you go about balancing a camshaft.
at what point on the camshaft could you remove any to reduce the weight
or where could you add any weight to balance it.
the camshaft may be a long bar stock in a raw form but allot is removed to shape out the cam.
not forgetting the tight circle that it spins in.
Grippy can you get a video of this process

 

I'm sure the balancing would be minimal as far as weight added or taken away. It isn't something I would ever even consider. Not even on a 7500rpm race engine. For what I do, it isn't worth it. It is amazing the things they will do for 3hp .

 

Moregrip,did you have your top secret spec cam balanced?You may need those extra 3hp,497hp vs 500hp.

 

 

I've always wondered if they balanced cams. I guess not...I've seen cams being ground and machined and it doesn't look like they're out of balance on a lathe, but then again, they're fixed/supported in several spots.

I see 3hp for $99 being an amazing deal at that level. 3hp adds up to a lot in a 500mile race. Besides you also get the added benifit of having a more reliable engine. So what's next harmonic dampeners for cams?

 

Camshafts are unlike crankshafts in that they do not have filets where they can be bored to add heavy metal plugs for the purposes of adding weight or drilled for the purpose of subtracting weight. That being said where would you do the balance adjustment? Certainly not on the cam lobes themselves nor would you want to drill at the cam bearing location. So what is left to drill? Not much.

 

http://www.jonescams.com ... another useful bookmark

Bill