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Well,
After dinking arround I have decided to tear into it and put the edelbrock performer cam and intake, My question is... Is there any reason not to use a gear drive timing set instead of a timing chain? I don't care about noise, I just care about having a dependable tow vehicle. And I have found some new gear drive sets for just a little more than premium timing chain sets... So why not?
I have heard better things about the Gear drive timing oposed to the chain..... And I have read into both... Why would they make gear drive instead of chain drive you ask? Because Chain drive is much quiet'r and gear drive makes noise and also mess's with your speakers.... A friend of mine put gears on his engine and likes them alot beter.... I also did somthing like that for a H0NDA Prelude engine... It was known to jump time, so I first installed a timing chain instead of a belt (less worrys) but then bought a gear drive kit and it performed the same as if it had on a belt.... Didnt lag or bog down the engine like the timing chain did... Just some info....
I don't think putting the money into heads or exhaust, That would leave me with NOTHING TO TURN THE CAM. I already have to buy a timing set, and I have gotten the cost between the two close. I do not have a radio, or any electronics for that matter. SO I see no reason not to.
What year and vehicle is it going in? If you're putting it in an EFI circa '87+ truck, even though i'd love to slap one in too, it is TOO noisy for the Knock sensor, and forces the computer to retard the timing more and more. However, I've yet to hear someone say they got it to work with no probs, so maybe you'll be the first!!
on small blocks, the timing chains actually cause more drag than a chain will, and take away more power than they could help add. The gears want to bind on each other, therefore they create more friction than a chain will. Maybe if you were running a big block, but certainly for a street car there's no reason to use one. Timing belts are actually a nice setup, but they cost more than twice as much as a gear drive, and do about as much as a regular timing chain. Go with the Edelbrock true single roller, you will never have any problems with it. I've also used a Crane Blazer double roller, and had good luck with it. For the exra $130, you should buy an MSD 6A box, or something else that really will help your motor perform better, because gear drives are a waste of money. If they were so great, OEMs would have eventually clued in and put them on stock cars. I learned this from asking guys at the track, and in the pits at NHRA events. They make their living by winning, and they don't recommend 'em. TK
As a side note..... Winston cup cars use the Jesel belt drives.
If you just want to make a little noise I don't think the gear drive cost's enough power to matter for a street driven vehicle.
That's what I used to run in my ummm street driven car all the time.
But then again a double roller works just fine ,it's just what do you want to run.
Just my .02
I have noticed that some timing chain sets have like 3 diff part #'s for a 302, and jump arround in years. I.E. a part # for 65-72 1/2. And then a diff part # for 73-95.. and then some just list one part# for ford sb. Besides that, what's the diff in timing chains then? I mean some are $125 and some are $20. I am just building an engine to tow with, how much do i really need to spend?
its just like every other part.... Take spark plug wires for example... There are different kinds at different prices, the higher the price usualy the better the performance. A decent Timing chain will run you about 60$ Dont go cheap on that part.... If it ever breaks....It is alot of work to fix what a broken timing chain messed up.... Just go for what suits your buget, and at the same time get different opinions about different brand chains. And remember one thing, your engine will only run as good as you treat it. So dont go cheap on everything.... Some things you can get away with.... But a timing chain is important.... If you would like my opinion I would go with ither Edelbrock Or CraneCams, CraneCam's Roller Design is really great for high performance engines because it has a thrust bearing to stop the (walking)motion of your cam in the block.... But If I were you I would go with Edelbrock... I just like there Parts Quality... And Dependability... The EDL-7820 is 47.95 and does not rob you of tourque, and has solid bushings to eliminate chain stretch. Hope the engine turns out great! Good Luck with your choice!
Well, I was able to snag a new Performer intake for $80, and a crane cam 4041 for $45. I also picked up a set of blue racer pushrods. I have a carter afb 625 carb, and a strip kit, I snagged years ago still in the box, from when supershops went out of business. If need be, I'll pony up the dough for the matching edelbrock cam, but I am trying to save money.