Hey guys!

Excuse my noob-ness, I'm pretty new to engine tuning, this is my first engine I've ever tweaked and played with this much. For reference, this is what I'm talking about when I say "adjustable cam sprocket":



My car is a '90 ED6 Civic, with the D15B2 (stock) engine in it. Being an SOHC engine, I know playing with cams and tuning is fairly limited.

From what I've read online, most machined/aftermarket SOHC camshafts will just slightly advance timing to produce more power at lower engine speeds. Is this a change that could be done with an adjustable cam sprocket instead of getting my camshaft machined? Or is there more tuning/changed involved that I don't know about which would make this a bad idea? Is one more durable/preferred compared to the other? Should both a machined/aftermarket camshaft and an adjustable cam sprocket be used in unison?

Thanks guys! Sorry if this is a bad/uneducated question, I couldn't find much information on the topic online. This article from DSPORT was my main reference, along with from Real Street.

 

An adjustable cam gear will do the same job... it is not necessary to have the camshaft modified.

 

Oh okay, so the modified camshaft would make a small enough change on this engine that I could just do it with the adjustable cam gear? Thanks for the help!

 

I am not sure I follow your desire... changing (machining as you stated) the camshaft lobes to create more lift or duration will change the personality of the camshaft, and when properly tuned, will likely make more HP. Machining the keyway slot to advance the camshaft and move the power band lower in the RPM range will not change the personality of the engine... but it will lose a bit of peak power because the power band has been moved down. I stated that you can move the power band down OR up with an adjustable cam gear, essentially doing the same thing as machining the keyway slot in the end of the cam. With a reground (machined) or replacement camshaft with more lift/duration, you would still want the adjustable cam gear for tuning purposes so that you can tailor the power band to your liking. Customized camshafts do not automatically "advance" the camshaft lobes to improve the performance lower in the power band.