Re: cam advance was Schrick Review

[bbell@csn.net (Bruce Bell)]

I used the adjustable cam gear from Autotech on my Jetta. And yes, I'm sure
the same sprocket will fit the Audi 5's. I used the adj. gear because I had
not only decked the block by .040" but the head was cleaned by another
(cumulative) .015 - .020".  The gear had as I recall 6 degrees of adjustment
and was reletivly easy to change. Provided, of course, that the timing belt
cover wasn't installed. 

I used two different cams on that Jetta. One a "s2" that was popular in the
mid 80's. It had so much overlap the fire would literally go out when
driving over a 9,500' mountain pass. With that cam, I could improve the idle
by changing the cam advance. The other cam was the classic GTI "G" gring and
it, like my new schrick, idles well enough that I don't feel a need for
advance. It might help cold starting a little; but, I cold starting isn't,
for me, a significant problem. 

Perhaps in your turbo application, increasing advance helps the turbo come
up to speed quicker and you see a greater benifit than I would. And
certainly in a racing environment the extra hp or two at the top when you
retard the cam might help.  My experiance is that unless your splitting
hairs the adjustable gear isn't worth the $89.00 I paid in 1986. tectonics
came to a similar conclusion in their dyno test book about what works and
doesn't. 

Bruce

bbell@csn.org (Bruce Bell)