Even the basic terms are sometimes confused or confusing though. Or they have equally common alternatives. Overlap and lobe separation, for example. There can also be differences in where the meaurements are taken. Overlap is measured in crankshaft degrees even though you're talking about cams and valves when discussing it.
Even knowing what something is, however, doesn't always (or even commonly) tell you how it applies or what it does. Knowing that overlap means the measure of when both valves are open doesn't let you know that a wider overlap is (within proper parameters) better for top end while a narrower overlap is better for bottom end (again, within proper parameters).
There is a lot of voodoo in cams. I only know enough to know that there is a LOT I don't know. Especially with modern grinds that perform the magic of accomplishing several things at once with their mystic applications of geometry. You can read (a ton) and still only know enough to be confused with the next thing you find.
That doesn't mean you don't want to do some basic homework though. Unfortunately we can't just commonly ask vendors "what's best for" then describe how we want to ride the bike. Too many just sell "big" because we get a boner and have other Pavolovian responses when we here "big." Dave Mackie, HD-Dude here on the site and a few other shops will be good about listening to what you say and suggesting accordingly. But many won't. All that means is that even if you can't earn a PhD in camshafts and be wise enough to make all your own choices you can at least get conversant enough to question whether the suggestions coming your way will pass the sniff test.
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Topic: T-Man Supermax 600 Series Cams (Read 4376 times)