You may enhance your car’s horsepower in a variety of methods, like upgrading the air intake system, changing the air filter, upgrading the refrigerant air intake, and so on.
Furthermore, the camshaft is one of the most straightforward ways to boost horsepower.
The camshaft is a car’s internal combustion engine and is one of the most critical pieces of the gas distribution process. This component is critical for the combustion process and engine performance.
The car camshaft was created to perform valve function. In a nutshell, it controls the intake and exhaust air valves for the automotive engine.
So many people wonder that does a camshaft increase horsepower? Yes, it is correct. Camshafts can significantly enhance the horsepower of your vehicle.
I’ll explain what camshafts are, how they operate, and how much horsepower they can produce in this article. Please read the entire article to get the most out of it.
What Is Camshaft?
The camshaft is a mechanical component of an internal combustion engine’s gas distribution system that transfers energy from one element to another. This is a crucial component that helps to optimize engine performance by operating the valve.
The camshaft is driven by the crankshaft, which rotates at about half the speed of the crankshaft. The intake cam lugs, the exhaust cam, and the shaft collars make up the camshaft structure. The cam lugs are normally placed to correspond to the cylinders’ working sequence. The valve opening is determined by the height of the cam lug, and the cam profile is usually symmetrical.
Does A Camshaft Increase Horsepower?
Camshafts designed expressly for performance can greatly increase the horsepower of your engine. They accomplish this by altering the timing of the valve and lengthening the time it is open, resulting in increased horsepower and acceleration. With a decent camshaft replacement, you can anticipate gaining 50-100 horsepower.
The engine can run considerably more ideally and efficiently since the camshafts directly control the valves and the movement of air and gas. With a better camshaft, the valves can remain open for longer periods of time without becoming out of sync or affecting the timing of the synchronized engine elements.
The flow of the ideal mixture of air and fuel results in an engine with more horsepower, better performance, longer durability, and, most crucially, improved fuel economy.
A better camshaft impacts the vehicle’s emissions and makes the exhaust system run more smoothly without any blocked airways.
What Is The Function Of The Camshaft?
The camshaft is a rod that can be found at the bottom of the engine or, more usually, at the top. It has a set of carefully machined cams that open and close the valves at the proper time.
A pushrod cam mechanism is represented by the camshaft near the bottom of the engine block. The camshaft, as the name says, moves a set of rods towards the valves, which operate them.
An overhead camshaft is one with the camshaft placed at the top. You’ve probably heard of a dual overhead camshaft, which is a system having two camshafts, one for exhaust and the other for intake.
When you hear the term 16-valve four-cylinder engine, you’re referring to the camshaft, which has four sets of four cams, each controlling two exhaust and two intake valves. A dual-cam design, on the other hand, has two camshafts, each with eight cams.
How Do Camshafts And Crankshafts Work Together?
Crankshafts and camshafts on opposite sides of the engine work in perfect harmony. Both of them work together to give the engine the best possible performance. The timing chain connects the crankshafts and camshafts of the engine.
The rotational energy is converted into up and down a motion by the camshaft. The crankshaft’s function is the polar opposite. The timing of each camshaft valve opening once while the crankshaft rotates twice, on the other hand, must be exact. It will save you time if you replace the engine or timing belt. The crankshaft transforms rotational motion into up and down motion. The downward force of the piston transforms the pressure into a spin, causing the engine to run.
In the engine, there are four stages to the combustion cycle. This combustion process involves both the camshaft and the crankshaft. The four stages are as follows:
- Intake System: At this point, fuel and air are sucked in.
- Compression: The machine compresses a mixture of air and fuel.
- Power: The spark plug ignites, causing the piston to move.
- Exhaust System: The piston is turned by the crankshaft. The exhaust system is used to discharge pollutants and gases.
The crankshaft rotates twice during each combustion cycle, while the camshaft rotates just once. It’s critical that both the camshaft and the crankshaft are in sync because the timing of each camshaft valve opening once while the crankshaft revolves twice has to be flawless.
How To Install A New Camshaft?
The camshaft has many uses to make your engine noticeably stronger. We will show you how to add a new camshaft to your car’s engine.
You have to prepare these materials: Camshaft, Hydraulic floor, jack, jack stands, pry bar, ratchet sockets and extensions, torque wrench, wheel chocks, and valve cover gasket.
Now follow these steps to add a new camshaft to your engine:
- Apply the parking brake and park your vehicle on a hard, level surface. Allow the engine to cool by opening the hood.
- Secure the rear wheels with wheel chocks.
- Raise the vehicle’s front end. Use the floor jack on the jacking point recommended by the manufacturer.
- Under the body pinch welds, place the jack stands. Lower the vehicle onto the jack stands with care.
- Remove the drive belt from the engine. The manner of removal will be determined by the type of drive belt installed in your car.
- Take the timing cover off. Remove the upper front timing cover from the engine by removing the nuts that hold it in place.
- Disconnect the ignition coils’ connectors. Pull the connector apart by pressing down on the electrical retaining clip.
- The ignition coils must be removed. Remove the ignition coil retainer bolts with the ratchet and the suitable socket. Pull the ignition coils straight up to remove them.
- The valve cover mounting bolts and the valve cover must be removed. The valve cover gasket should be discarded.
- The engine is routed. Rotate the engine using the ratchet and the proper socket to line up the camshaft timing marks on the crankshaft pulley center bolt.
- The timing belt must be removed. Loosen the timing belt tensioner with the ratchet and the corresponding socket until the belt is loose enough to detach from the camshaft gear.
- Remove the bolts holding the camshaft bearing cap in place. Make use of the ratchet and the proper socket.
- Take the bearing caps off and set them aside. Keep them in order since they must be replaced in the same spot.
- Grab the camshaft and pull it straight up to remove it.
- The camshaft gear must be removed. Remove the middle bolt on the camshaft gear and the gear off the camshaft with your ratchet and socket.
- On the new camshaft, install the camshaft gear. Check that the alignment dowel is parallel to the camshaft.
- Place the camshaft bolt in place. Torque it according to the manufacturer’s recommendations.
- The camshaft should be installed in the cylinder head. Make certain it does not collide with anything.
- Replace the camshaft bearing caps in their original places. Hand-tighten the bolts.
- The bearing cap bolts should be torqued. Torque the bearing cap bolts to the manufacturer’s specifications with the torque wrench and the requirements from your manual.
- Align the timing markers on the camshaft.
- Replace the camshaft gear and the timing belt.
- Adjust the timing belt tension. Tighten the timing belt with the timing belt tensioner until it has less than 12″ of movement.
- Check the camshaft alignment by turning the engine. Rotate the engine several times with your ratchet and socket on the crank pulley, then inspect the timing marks to make sure they are aligned.
- Replace the valve cover gasket with the new one. Replace the spark plug tube seals as well if your engine has them.
- The valve cover should be installed on the engine. Install the mounting bolts and torque them according to the manufacturer’s recommendations.
- Use the mounting bolts to secure the timing cover. Tighten them till they’re comfortable.
- Place the ignition coils in place. Tighten the mounting bolts according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
- Connect the ignition coils together. This is done by pressing them into position until they click.
- Reduce your vehicle’s height. Lift your vehicle with the floor jack and remove the jack stand. Reduce the vehicle’s height to the ground.
- Make that the engine is in good working order. Start the engine and listen for strange noises, as well as leaks.
Final Thoughts
Does adding a camshaft enhance the horsepower of the car? The preceding content we provide is actually rather comprehensive about the problem you are curious about. Aside from that, you can learn how to install a highly detailed camshaft. I hope you found the article informative. Please leave a remark for us to respond to if you have any questions.