Heads Cams and other lil engine components... What do they do?

Well I hear alot about camshafts heads (not headers) and roller rockers... Maybe someone can clarify this for me then add in what I could get to get better performance out of the 3800II

well for 1 a better cam with a fatter, longer, lobe, is going to let the valves stay open a little longer, and also open them up a little more. be sure when and if you do this to your engine, that you go with all roller components, never mix match. but basically this gives your engine alot better air and gas mixture, and exhaust flow.

Here, this should clear some things up...
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/engine3.htm

i mean no offence, but if you dont know what those things are, i really hope you arent doing any unsupervised work. You are talking about the key components to an engine, specificly the ones responceabile for controling how much power an engine will make and where in the power band it will be.

I suggest you visit the homepages of hot rod magazine, chevy high performance, and the like and do alot of reading in their tech article sections. I think youll find alot of answers there.

If you really want to know whats going on, just get an old 305, tear it apart, and play. Thats what I did. Then I got $10 from the scrap yard! :bananasmi

dang, u can get an old engine for 10 bucks?!?! its funny cuz thats what im thinking of doing with my 2.8 liter, i wanna get an old broken one from the junk yard, then just tear it apart and then ill know how to fix things if my good one breaks.

I got the motor for free, and then made $10 off of it. :iceslolan It really is the only way to go, hands on learning. I can hardly say I made money though, as I had to expand my tool collection quite a bit(there wasn't one before).

89, i know you meant no offense.. but some of us really dont have the knowledge to work on our cars right off the bat, we really are here to try to learn more and get a handle on things long before we attempt them ourselves. I can remember when i was afraid to change my oil, or when i was terrified to attempt puttin on my CAI.. for fear or messing up my car and having to pay a ton to have it done. but it all worked. and im glad i did it myself. i know those were simple processes, and some of you will probably laugh because i was afraid at first to do them, but i really didnt know anything about a car until i started coming here. you guys taught me alot, and thats really what he's lookin for. xeno probably didnt take offense to the comment, and i didnt as well, but someone may have. and i just felt the need to stick up for the little guy.. as always. :2cents:

I didn't take any offense and no I havn't done ANY work on the car with those but I'm asking about 'em so I nkow what to upgrade with and what they really do so i'll look into the links thanks all. 89iroc no offense but shouldn't assume i'm already working on it but i iunderstand yoru concern completely and i DO appreciate it. =)

I can remember when i was afraid to change my oil

i can remember those days :iceslolan

I can remember when i was afraid to change my oil
YOUR SUPPOSED TO CHANGE THAT?!!?! :eek: uhhh ohhhh...

Yea I just finally worked up the courage to replace my muffler bearing

c'mon big.. you know to change yur oil.. wait.. shit.. i forgot to tell you didnt i? lol

Yeah i can see how i came across kinda harsh, so im glad no one took it that way. My suggestion on going to the magazine webpages was an honest one though. I learned a helluva lot over the years from my subscriptions to those magazines, and if anyone is looking to gain an understanding as to the basics of engine operations those tech pages are a perfect place to start.

To answer the question though....

Camshaft - (The Brain) - controls the opening and closing events of the valves. It dictates how far open the valves go, and for how long they stay open. This decides the powerband (aka where in the rpm band the power is made) and also plays a large role in how much power the engine makes.

Heads - (lungs) - decide how much air can make it into the engine, and how well it is burned durring combustion. The size and shape of the intake and exhaust ports effect airflow, typically larger ports (200cc or more) flow more air. The shape of the combustion chamber plays a large part in the efficiency of the burn which decides how much power is made from a given air fuel mixture. So The heads play the largest part in deciding how much power an engine is going to make.

Roller Rockers - Rocker arms are the levers in an Over Head Valve engine setup that turn the force of the cam into the lift that opens the valve. Stamped steel rocker arms drag on both the pushrod and on the valve stem, roller rocker arms use a rolling cylender on the tip to eliminate friction and free up hp lost to the resistance friction causes. Usually on the order of 10-15 hp.

:bow: That is an excellent description 89Iroc, Thank you so much. I'm thinking about getting a chevy magazine oriented towards camaros and corvettes. Any suggestions?

Get a motor first, then you'll know what the mags are talking about! Also, I suggest a book "How to Rebuild Small Block Chevys". I know you don't have a SBC, but it pretty much applies to all engines. I'm tellin' ya man, that motor was the best learning experience I could've gotten.

drvngstorm05 where did you find that camaro prayer... that sh*t is hillarious!!!! I want to print that out..where did you get it?

well, the magazines do tend to move back and forth from which is best, a while ago i would have said hot rod magazine, but i think nowadays, chevy hi performance is your best bet. Its not dedicated to camaros and corvettes, but the stuff youll learn applies to those two in almost all respects. Also Chevy Hi performance does do a few dedicated camaro issues a year i believe.

any magazines you know of that leans into the 3800 II performance?

doubt it

you think its bad not finding a magazine try finding non kragen auto parts for my little 2.8 lol

KaotiKCamaro5 (http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/member.php?u=170598) is that your Camaro in your sig with the flames? I normally don't like body or paint mods on any car but that thing looks awesome as fucking hell.

nope, not my car. but i felt the same way so i put it in my sig..

look to GM High-Tech performance for 3800 mods. they specialize in newer computer controlled and fuel injected GM cars.

look to GM High-Tech performance for 3800 mods. they specialize in newer computer controlled and fuel injected GM cars.
Thats my personal favorite too. I also subscribe to Chevy high performance. It's cool for general knowledge, not sure about your 3800 specifically. I mostly read it for ads and websites about camaro stuff. And for the record, if anyone checks some of my old posts, you'll see what an idiot I was about cars too. (not calling you an idiot BTW) I've learned alot on this forum too. Plus, I cant imagine how much $$$ I've saved thanx to the advice I've gotten here.