If you skim the head don't you need to shim the cam towers back up ?
So you can get the timming chain tension right or is that only for major skim jobs ?
Its not so much of an issue as he's using the fancy tensioner, as long as the wipe patter/geometry is still good.
Thats the way I understand it as someone who has only ever pulled a 240z engine to bits
The tensioner surely only affects the 'slack' side of the chain so yes in theory the towers need raising to get the distance between crank and cam back to design and hence cam timing.
If you use an adjustable cam sprocket then the distance is not so critical because the cam/sprocket relationship is not fixed.
I haven't got a vernier cam sprocket at the mo - I'm waiting on Kent to tell me the timing info for my cam. Then I'll see how close I can get with the standard sprocket.
My thinking is that I should be able to get close - by my calc, each link of the chain represents about 3.3 degrees on the crank (360/110), so I should be able to get that close at least.
Franky, I don't think skimming the head affects the wipe pattern - it'd only be a factor if I skimmed the top of the head too. (or indeed, if I fit cam tower shims)
As Albrecht notes, one of actual marketed features of the Kameari Twin idler setup is that it removes the need to use shims because of its degree of adjustability. See under "product specs - features" here:
http://www.rhdjapan.com/kameari-l-type-twin-idler-gear.html
Nice price too at £280 (plus shipping etc) given the recent weakening of the yen. One of these on my shopping list for the 3.1 stroker.
I haven't got a vernier cam sprocket at the mo - I'm waiting on Kent to tell me the timing info for my cam. Then I'll see how close I can get with the standard sprocket.
I don't think you've quite got the hang of this yet....
Hi Rob, no the tensioner still works on the slack side - even without the kameari kit, there's no real dependency between cam timing and distance between crank and cam. The bright links and timing marks are just a short cut for timing the standard cam.
Maybe be there is some confusion here between the Kameari adjustable chain tensioner and the Kameari twin idler gear?
Jon, there are two pulley wheels - one for tension (to replace the standard set-up) and one at the top (under the cam sprocket) to pull the chain in on the other side to alter the length of the run from crank to cam.
Think about it, if the head is skimmed by 30 thou of an inch the chain will be 30 thou too long so the sprocket will lag behind the correct timing position.