Camshaft Installed Center Line question.

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I just bought a Lunati Voodoo camshaft to replace the damaged old comp cams stick in my 360.

The voodoo cam lists a LSA of 112 and an ICL of 108, which I realized and it shows on the cam card as 4 degrees advanced.

Does this mean that if I use the crank and cam sprocket "dot-to-dot" as a baseline for installing it, that is ground to be set up close to set up there without using the 4 dgree advanced keyway in the sprocket?

Or does it mean they recommend installing it at four degrees advanced using the crank sprocket keyway to get 108, but "dot-to-dot" would put it at 112.

I know it needs to be properly degree-ed in to be sure. Just wondering where to start as far as setting it up.

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If you put it in dot to dot ( and that is where you should start )and everything else is on the money, it will read 112 and 108 on your degree wheel. No need for an offset key if you want to put it in per the cam specs - which is also a good place to start. Keep in mind this is an automatic 4 degree cam advance web sight .

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Not sure I follow GTX Matt on this. Usually the cams come with the 4 degrees "ground in" so if you install dot to dot it should be around 108 in your case. Still need to check though.

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Dont even try to do the dot to dot... you will never
know what you have... degree it in... and if this is
a street car advance it more than the 108... 104 would
be better for the low end torque... even 102
EDIT
To the manu... 108 is straight up... all they do is
move the key way 4* from the 112

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When you put the cam, gears , and chain in you need a starting point ( BEFORE YOU START DEGREEING IT IN ). Dot to dot is your starting point. Quite often, you will find ( WHEN YOU START DEGREEING IT IN ), that you will be on the cam spec numbers - or very close. You can make your adjustments form there. As I said, this is a 4 degree advance web sight. I disagree with that approach for several reasons. 1. I'm not as smart as the cam designers. 2.I don't own a WEEGEE board. 3. If you did your home work correctly regarding choosing a cam, you shouldn't have to advance / retard it to make it work better. At least start with it in per the cam card. Then, if you are not happy with it, change it. If you run the motor in and get some compression readings it will be a good place to start. Then when you start moving the cam around, you can see how it might effect the compression readings. Generally, if they start to drop off, you went the wrong way ( or too far) advancing it. If you have to advance it 4-6 degrees for street use, you bought the wrong cam.

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Dont even try to do the dot to dot... you will never
know what you have... degree it in... and if this is
a street car advance it more than the 108... 104 would
be better for the low end torque... even 102
EDIT
To the manu... 108 is straight up... all they do is
move the key way 4* from the 112

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Never, EVER take anything thing on motors for granted, NEVER I've seen cams that where ground 8 degrees retarded I've seen timing sets marked no where near accurate Take your time and slide that rascal in on the two O marks, line the dots up and check the lifter timing at .050 lifter rise first, that will tell you if your close If not adjust(move the crank gear to another location, advanced or retarded, and recheck it Always verify everything with after market parts, if you don't Mr Murphy will take a big old bite out of your Butt, you know he will At least he does that to me regularily

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Dont even try to do the dot to dot... you will never
know what you have... degree it in... and if this is
a street car advance it more than the 108... 104 would
be better for the low end torque... even 102
EDIT
To the manu... 108 is straight up... all they do is
move the key way 4* from the 112

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Never, EVER take anything thing on motors for granted, NEVER I've seen cams that where ground 8 degrees retarded I've seen timing sets marked no where near accurate Take your time and slide that rascal in on the two O marks, line the dots up and check the lifter timing at .050 lifter rise first, that will tell you if your close If not adjust(move the crank gear to another location, advanced or retarded, and recheck it Always verify everything with after market parts, if you don't Mr Murphy will take a big old bite out of your Butt, you know he will At least he does that to me regularily

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Dont even try to do the dot to dot... you will never
know what you have... degree it in... and if this is
a street car advance it more than the 108... 104 would
be better for the low end torque... even 102
EDIT
To the manu... 108 is straight up... all they do is
move the key way 4* from the 112

---

When you put the cam, gears , and chain in you need a starting point ( BEFORE YOU START DEGREEING IT IN ). Dot to dot is your starting point. Quite often, you will find ( WHEN YOU START DEGREEING IT IN ), that you will be on the cam spec numbers - or very close. You can make your adjustments form there. As I said, this is a 4 degree advance web sight. I disagree with that approach for several reasons. 1. I'm not as smart as the cam designers. 2.I don't own a WEEGEE board. 3. If you did your home work correctly regarding choosing a cam, you shouldn't have to advance / retard it to make it work better. At least start with it in per the cam card. Then, if you are not happy with it, change it. If you run the motor in and get some compression readings it will be a good place to start. Then when you start moving the cam around, you can see how it might effect the compression readings. Generally, if they start to drop off, you went the wrong way ( or too far) advancing it. If you have to advance it 4-6 degrees for street use, you bought the wrong cam.

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Theres only one problem doing it that way... being
a street car once its in and it runs... he will NEVER
move the cam to see if its better or not.. I have
never seen a guy change the C/L on a street car as
long as it ran(I am not talking about a racers street
car but the average street car guy)

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Dont even try to do the dot to dot... you will never
know what you have... degree it in... and if this is
a street car advance it more than the 108... 104 would
be better for the low end torque... even 102
EDIT
To the manu... 108 is straight up... all they do is
move the key way 4* from the 112

---

When you put the cam, gears , and chain in you need a starting point ( BEFORE YOU START DEGREEING IT IN ). Dot to dot is your starting point. Quite often, you will find ( WHEN YOU START DEGREEING IT IN ), that you will be on the cam spec numbers - or very close. You can make your adjustments form there. As I said, this is a 4 degree advance web sight. I disagree with that approach for several reasons. 1. I'm not as smart as the cam designers. 2.I don't own a WEEGEE board. 3. If you did your home work correctly regarding choosing a cam, you shouldn't have to advance / retard it to make it work better. At least start with it in per the cam card. Then, if you are not happy with it, change it. If you run the motor in and get some compression readings it will be a good place to start. Then when you start moving the cam around, you can see how it might effect the compression readings. Generally, if they start to drop off, you went the wrong way ( or too far) advancing it. If you have to advance it 4-6 degrees for street use, you bought the wrong cam.

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Theres only one problem doing it that way... being
a street car once its in and it runs... he will NEVER
move the cam to see if its better or not.. I have
never seen a guy change the C/L on a street car as
long as it ran(I am not talking about a racers street
car but the average street car guy)

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Well - - then he will never know - - and it doesn't really matter if he does or not. I, personally, would rather put it in to spec than guessing that it needs another 4 degrees of advance - even if it's an "educated" guess. As far a compensating for wear goes, I would hope that the cam Mfgs / designers have given that some thought also.

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If you have to advance it 4-6 degrees for street use, you bought the wrong cam.

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The cam designers are often recommending a 4-6 degree advanced installed centerline

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Must be in pretty small print on the cam card.

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Comp Cams, gives a ICL of 4* advanced for all thier cams, or on some its ground in. Mopar Cams recommend 2* advanced on All their cams.

Advancing the cam is not just a Moparts thing.

Further, its a way to make up for chain stretch and also make a high performance cam more streetable. The cam companies, agree and have now been grinding the advance in. Whats that tell you?



Further ive run Smaller cams ,but have run better with bigger cams advanced.

Ive never liked the Quote, "That if you have to advance your cam 4*, you need a Smaller cam"

Its flat out wrong. Now make that Quote 10*, Im with you.

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If you have to advance it 4-6 degrees for street use, you bought the wrong cam.

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The cam designers are often recommending a 4-6 degree advanced installed centerline

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Must be in pretty small print on the cam card.

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Look at any of Comp Cams 110 degree LSA cams, almost every one of them has a recommended intake centerline angle of 106 degrees, AKA 4 degrees advanced.

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My comp roller is exactly as GTX said. Dot to Dot came in a 106. The advance is figured in already. So the OP's cam may come in at 104 when lined up.

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"The advance is figured in already" - and that is where a lot of the confusion comes in on this subject. That is also why you should start with the cam card specs when installing a cam - unless you have a SOLID, FACTUAL reason to deviate from it.

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Look at any of Comp Cams 110 degree LSA cams, almost every one of them has a recommended intake centerline angle of 106 degrees, AKA 4 degrees advanced.

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My comp roller is exactly as GTX said. Dot to Dot came in a 106. The advance is figured in already. So the OP's cam may come in at 104 when lined up.

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"The advance is figured in already" - and that is where a lot of the confusion comes in on this subject. That is also why you should start with the cam card specs when installing a cam - unless you have a SOLID, FACTUAL reason to deviate from it.

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Exactly, you don't know if the advance is figured in accurately. You need to check it. The bottom line is if the recommended ICL is 106, you should start at 106.

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The reason I say advance it even farther is that any
SB street car needs all the low end torque you can
find and that is done by advancing it a bit more..
and I do understand that the ICL vs the LSA... the
108 is now the the zero point(it already has the 4*
built in.. if you were to use the dot to dot with
it at 0 it would come up to 108 not 112(if all the
stuff is made right)