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School Me on Camshaft Cores #2727769
12/28/19 04:44 PM
12/28/19 04:44 PM
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Posts: 25,618
Rio Linda, CA
John_Kunkel Offline OP
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John_Kunkel  Offline OP
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Posts: 25,618
Rio Linda, CA
I admit to being out of touch with the latest in engine parts so a dummy question:

Are all aftermarket solid roller cores billet? Wondering about the suitability of solid roller cores that are compatible with the factory pump drive gear.

What are modern factory hydraulic roller cores made of? Could they be used with solid rollers?


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Re: School Me on Camshaft Cores [Re: John_Kunkel] #2728107
12/29/19 07:42 PM
12/29/19 07:42 PM
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Stuttgart, Arkansas
rickseeman Offline
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I assume all cores other than stock/cast iron have to use a bronze gear.


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Re: School Me on Camshaft Cores [Re: rickseeman] #2728134
12/29/19 08:51 PM
12/29/19 08:51 PM
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Romeo MI
MR_P_BODY Offline
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There are other cam cores now that use other than bronze gears.. but I forgot what they use..
read about them a couple of years ago
wave

Re: School Me on Camshaft Cores [Re: John_Kunkel] #2728148
12/29/19 09:13 PM
12/29/19 09:13 PM
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Anchorage, Alaska
metallicareload Offline
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Anchorage, Alaska
Originally Posted by John_Kunkel
I admit to being out of touch with the latest in engine parts so a dummy question:

Are all aftermarket solid roller cores billet? Wondering about the suitability of solid roller cores that are compatible with the factory pump drive gear.

What are modern factory hydraulic roller cores made of? Could they be used with solid rollers?


As I understand, yes, and because of that they are incompatible with factory iron (cast?) drive gears.

My guess is that a billet core is needed because cast iron is unsuitable due to being too soft for a rolling surface? At least for a cam and springs big enough to bother going through the trouble of going roller

Last edited by metallicareload; 12/29/19 09:16 PM. Reason: Clarity

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Re: School Me on Camshaft Cores [Re: John_Kunkel] #2728203
12/30/19 06:46 AM
12/30/19 06:46 AM
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Milwaukee WI
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TRENDZ Offline
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If you see a black cam core, it is likely a high carbon steel(51xx) core. These are lower cost milder lobe candidates. These are also usually the cams you hear about that are compatible (sort of) with iron pump gears. Not all black cams are compatible with iron gears, just the ones with the pressed on gear/ lobe. The core is machined to accept a pressed on iron gear and last/ first cam lobe. They start out as bar stock. They are rough turned into the general shape, (round lobes) then rough milled into lobe shapes so the grinder doesn’t have to work on them all day. Then they are hardened. After hardening, they are finished into the final profile.
Copper colored cores are almost always 8620 alloy steel. They start as bar stock. They are turned into the general shape(round lobe) then plated with copper, and rough milled to general lobe shape. the copper prevents hardening in the areas not masked with copper. This allows the core to have a depth of hardness only on the exposed steel, and only at a certain depth. This keeps the rest of the cam ductile so it doesn’t fracture. This why some cams cant be ground/ reground with some lobes or lobe center combination. The final grind can’t break through the surface hardening and still have a durable finished cam.
There are also tool steel billets. These are pre heat treated all the way through. The tool steel and heat treat combo are hard enough to be resilient on the lobe surfaces, yet still machinable and not brittle. These are used where you want an “anything goes” type cam. No limits on shape, depth, lobe placement, journal diameter etc....


"use it 'till it breaks, replace as needed"
Re: School Me on Camshaft Cores [Re: John_Kunkel] #2730332
01/05/20 04:11 PM
01/05/20 04:11 PM
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Posts: 1,753
Windsor, ON, Canada
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Diplomat360 Offline
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Here is the response I got from a Comp Cams tech guy as we corresponded regarding the custom ground hydrualic roller cam I bought second-hand (I was trying to learn more about the catalog 108 vs custom-ground 112 LSA impacts on cam "feel").

Anyways, this pertains to the Comp Cams #XR292HR-12 camshaft (CRS 13084B/3039B lobes):

"...the gear material depends on the material used to make the cam. The cam you have is what is called Austempered Ductile Iron, which is basically the same material a flat tappet cam would be made of, but it is heat treated instead of parkerized like flat tappet cam would be so that the roller profile can be ground onto it and so that the hardened roller
wheels can ride on the lobes without damaging the cam. In most cases you will only find the need for a composite or bronze gear when you are using a race type solid roller cam which is made from a solid piece of billet steel..."







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