I had a friend run the profile on a stock 35 Vanguard camshaft and here are the results. This is something I've wondered myself for a long time so I figured I'd share it.

Stock 35 Vanguard Cam
LSA 112
Intake duration @ .050- 204
Exhaust duration @ .050- 200
Intake lobe lift- .276
Exhaust lobe lift- .262


LIFT DUR. OPEN CLOSE AREA
Lobe I2 ----- ----- ---------- ---------- ------
Centerline 117.4 ATDC 0.003 330.1 43.0 BTDC 107.0 ABDC 20.52
.050 Lift C/L 118.0 ATDC 0.004 324.4 40.2 BTDC 104.2 ABDC 20.51
0.005 318.6 37.3 BTDC 101.3 ABDC 20.49
0.006 313.0 34.4 BTDC 98.5 ABDC 20.48
0.020 244.8 2.6 BTDC 62.2 ABDC 20.05
0.050 204.6 15.7 ATDC 40.3 ABDC 19.37
0.100 169.4 32.9 ATDC 22.2 ABDC 18.02
Lobe Separation 112.3 0.150 139.2 47.8 ATDC 7.0 ABDC 16.08
Minimum Flat 0.175 123.6 55.6 ATDC 0.8 BBDC 14.79
Follower Dia. 0.7715 0.200 106.6 64.1 ATDC 9.3 BBDC 13.17
0.225 87.1 73.8 ATDC 19.0 BBDC 11.08
0.250 62.4 86.2 ATDC 31.4 BBDC 8.10
0.275 16.0 109.5 ATDC 54.5 BBDC 2.21
0.27673 --- PEAK CAM LIFT ---



LIFT DUR. OPEN CLOSE AREA
Lobe E2 ----- ----- ---------- ---------- ------
Centerline 107.1 BTDC 0.003 331.6 92.9 BBDC 58.6 ATDC 19.22
.050 Lift C/L 107.0 BTDC 0.004 325.7 90.1 BBDC 55.6 ATDC 19.21
0.005 319.9 87.1 BBDC 52.8 ATDC 19.20
0.006 314.1 84.2 BBDC 49.9 ATDC 19.18
0.020 242.3 48.1 BBDC 14.2 ATDC 18.72
0.050 199.1 26.6 BBDC 7.4 BTDC 17.99
0.100 162.6 8.4 BBDC 25.8 BTDC 16.60
Lobe Separation 112.3 0.150 131.2 7.3 ABDC 41.5 BTDC 14.59
Minimum Flat 0.175 114.8 15.5 ABDC 49.7 BTDC 13.22
Follower Dia. 0.7354 0.200 96.6 24.6 ABDC 58.8 BTDC 11.69
0.225 74.9 35.5 ABDC 69.6 BTDC 9.16
0.250 44.2 50.8 ABDC 85.0 BTDC 5.73
0.26346 --- PEAK CAM LIFT ---

Thanks for that post, good info! I've been wondering the same thing also, I measured lift but always wondered the important specs. Didn't have time to put a degree wheel on it and really measure it before I took it out. Thumbs up!

So, what do these figures mean?

Good info, now run across a PVT or such and do the same for comparison . I though I remember a program online that you could design a cam by putting in that kind of info. It would show you the lobes and everything according to the design. But cant find it now.

I am guessing that is a used cam?
Also wasn't checked in block?

Here's some good info. Almost all cam manufactures reference cams by duration @ .050 lobe lift. Most stock cams have a duration @ .050 between 190 and 210. Mild performance cams have a duration @ .050 between 210 and 230. Performance cams have a duration @ .050 between 230 and 260. Max effort race cams range from 260 to a little over 300 @ .050. Lobe seperation angle (LSA) is the degrees of angle between the centerline of the intake and exhaust cam lobes. Below shows the effects of a tighter verses wider LSA. Lobe lift is the amount of travel the cam lobe moves the lifter. To figure out the actual valve lift you multiply lobe lift by the rocker ratio.

Most of the performance cams being sold for these motors have a duration ranging between 230 to 250, lobe lift ranging from .275 to .350 and the LSA between 108 and 112. There's a lot more that makes up a cams profile than what I've mentioned but this is the basics that will give the average Joe a understanding of camshafts and how they work.

Here are a few good reads
http://www.compcams.com/Pages/416/valve ... orial.aspx
http://www.compcams.com/Pages/413/cam-t ... angle.aspx
http://www.compcams.com/Pages/417/valve ... metry.aspx

COMP Cams® Valve Timing Tutorial

In an effort to simplify what actually happens inside an engine, COMP Cams® invites you to "take a walk" inside a typical engine, just like the one you might have in your car. We will discuss valve events, piston position, overlap and centerlines. Although we can not explain cam design in such a small space, we might be able to clear up some of the most misunderstood terms and make clearer what actually happens as the engine goes through its four-stroke cycle. We will graphically illustrate the relationship between all parts of the engine and try to help you understand how the camshaft affects the power of the engine. Put on your walking shoes, open your eyes and get ready for a good look inside this engine.

We begin with the piston all the way at the top with both valves closed. Just a few degrees ago the spark plug fired and the explosion and the expansion of the gasses is forcing the piston towards the bottom of the cylinder. This is the event that actually pushes the crankshaft around to create the power and is referred to as the "power stroke" (figure 1). Each "stroke" lasts one half crankshaft revolution or 180 crankshaft degrees. Since the camshaft turns at half of the speed of the crank, the power stroke only sees one fourth of a turn of the cam, or 90 camshaft degrees.

As we move closer to the bottom of the cylinder, a little before the piston reaches the bottom, the exhaust valve begins to open. By this time most of the charge has been burned and the cylinder pressure will begin to push this burnt mixture out into the exhaust port. After the piston passes the true bottom or Bottom Dead Center, it begins to rise back to the top. Now we have begun the exhaust stroke, another 180° in the cycle (figure 2). This forces the remainder of the mixture out of the chamber to make room for a fresh, clean charge of air-fuel mixture. While the piston is moving toward the top of the cylinder, the exhaust valve quickly opens, goes through maximum lift and begins to close.

Now something quite unique begins to take place. Just before the piston reaches the top, the intake valve begins to open and the exhaust valve is not yet fully closed. This doesn't sound right, does it? Let's try to figure out what is happening.

The exhaust stroke of the piston has pushed out just about all of the spent charge and as the piston approaches the top and the intake valve begins to open slowly, there begins a siphon or "scavenge" effect in the chamber. The rush of the gases out into the exhaust port will draw in the start of the intake charge. This is how the engine flushes out all of the used charge. Even some of the new gases escape into the exhaust. Once the piston passes through Top Dead Center and starts back down, the intake charge is being pulled in quickly so the exhaust valve must close at precisely the right point after the top to keep any burnt gas from reentering. This area around Top Dead Center with both valves open is referred to as "overlap". This is one of the most critical moments in the running cycle, and all points must be positioned correctly with the Top Dead Center of the piston. We'll look at this much more closely later.

We have now passed through overlap. The exhaust valve has closed just after the piston started down and the intake valve is opening very quickly. This is called the intake stroke (figure 3), where the engine "breathes" and fills itself with another charge of fresh air/fuel mixture. The intake valve reaches its maximum lift at some defined point (usually about 106 degrees) after top dead center. This is called the intake centerline, which refers to where the cam has been installed in the engine in relation to the crankshaft. This is commonly called "degreeing". We will talk about this later also.

The piston again goes all the way to the bottom and as it starts up, the intake valve is rushing towards the seat. The closing point of the intake valve will determine where the cylinder actually begins to build pressure, as we are now into the compression stroke (figure 4). When the mixture has all been taken in and the valves are both closed, the piston begins to compress the mixture. This is where the engine can really build some power. Then, just prior to the top, the spark plug fires and we are ready to start all over again.

The engine cycle we have just observed is typical of all four- stroke engines. There are several things we have not discussed, such as lift, duration, opening and closing points, overlap, intake centerline and lobe separation angle. If you will refer to the valve timing diagram when we discuss these terms it might make things a lot easier to understand.

Most cams are rated by duration at some defined lift point. As slow as the valve opens and closes at the very beginning and end of its cycle, it would be impossible to find exactly where it begins to move. In the case illustrated, the rated duration is at .006" tappet lift. In our plot, we use valve lift so we must multiply by the rocker arm ratio to find this lift. For example: .006" x 1.5 =.009". Instead of the original .006" tappet lift, we now use .009" valve lift. These opening and closing points are circled so that you can see them. If you count the number of degrees between these points you will arrive at the advertised duration, in this case 270 degrees of crank- shaft rotation. In this illustration this is the same for both the intake and the exhaust lobes, thus making this a single pattern cam. Some cam manufacturers rate their cams at .050" lift. If we again multiply this by the rocker arm ratio, we get .075". We can mark the diagram and read the duration at .050" lift. This cam shows around 224 degrees, standard for this 270H cam. The lift is very simple to determine. You can simply read it from the axis going up. This is the lift at the valve as we said earlier. Sometimes you will hear lift referred to as "lobe lift". This means the lift at the lobe or the valve lift divided by the rocker arm ratio. In this case, it would be .470" divided by 1.5 or .313" lobe lift. The lift is simply a straightforward measurement of the rise of the valve or lifter.


We touched on opening and closing points a little earlier, but now we want to consider them even further. We talked about when these points occur, and how they are measured. As you can see in figure 1, the valve begins to move very slowly then picks up speed as it approaches the top. It does the same closing, coming down quickly then slowing to a gentle stop. It's kind of like driving your car. If you were to go from 0 to 60 mph in a fraction of a second and stop instantly, you can imagine what that would do to the car, not to mention the driver. It would be much too severe for any valve train to endure. You would bend pushrods, wear out cams, break springs and rockers, and lose all dynamic design. The cam would not run to the desired RPM level as you would have all these parts running into each other. As the valve approaches the seat, you also have to slow it down to keep the valve train from making any loud noises. If you slam the valve down onto the seat, you can expect some severe noise and a lot of worn and broken parts. So it is easy to see that you can only accelerate the valve a certain amount before you get into trouble. This is some- thing COMP Cams® has learned over the years-how far you can safely push this point.

Looking a bit further at the timing points, the first one we see on the diagram is the exhaust opening point. We have all noticed the different sounds of performance cams, with the distinct lopes or rough idle. This occurs when the exhaust valve opens earlier and lets the sound of combustion go out into the exhaust pipes. It may actually still be burning a little when it passes out of the engine, so this can be a very pronounced sound.

The next point on the graph is the intake opening. This begins the overlap phase, which is very critical to vacuum, throttle response, emissions and especially, gas mileage. The amount of overlap, or the area between the intake opening and the exhaust closing, and where it occurs, is one of the most critical points in the engine cycle. If the intake valve opens too early, it will push the new charge into the intake manifold. If it occurs too late, it will lean out the cylinder and greatly hinder the performance of the engine. If the exhaust valve closes too early it will trap some of the spent gases in the combustion chamber, and if it closes too late it will over-scavenge the chamber; taking out too much of the charge, again creating an artificially lean condition. If the overlap phase occurs too early, it will create an overly rich condition in the exhaust port, severely hurting the gas mileage. So, as you can see, everything about overlap is critical to the performance of the engine.

The last point in the cycle is the intake closing. This occurs slightly after Bottom Dead Center, and the quicker it closes, the more cylinder pressure the engine will develop. You have to be very careful, however, to make sure that you hold the valve open long enough to properly fill the chamber, but close it soon enough to yield maxi mum cylinder pressure. This is a very tricky point in the cycle of the camshaft.

The last thing we will discuss is the difference between intake centerline and lobe separation angle. These two terms are often confused. Even though they have very similar names, they are very different and control different events in the engine. Lobe separation angle is simply what it says. It is the number of degrees separating the peak lift point of the exhaust lobe and the peak point of the intake lobe. This is sometimes referred to as the "lobe center" of the cam, but we prefer to call it the lobe separation angle. This can only be changed when the cam is ground. It makes no difference how you degree the cam in the engine, the lobe separation angle is ground into the cam. The intake centerline, on the other hand, is the position of the centerline, or peak lift point, of the intake lobe in relation to top dead center of the piston. This can be changed by "degreeing" the cam into the engine. Figure 1 shows a normal 270 degree cam. It has a lobe separation of 110°. We show it installed in the engine 4° advanced, or at 106° intake centerline. The light grey curves show the same camshaft installed an additional four degrees advanced, or at 102 degrees intake centerline. You can see how much earlier overlap is taking place and how the intake valve is open a great deal before the piston starts down. This is usually considered as a way to increase bottom end power, but as you can see there is much of the charge pushed out the exhaust, making a less efficient engine. There is a recommended intake centerline installation point on each cam card, and it is important to install the cam at this point.



EFFECTS OF ALTERING CAMSHAFT TIMING
Advancing
Begins Intake Event Sooner
Open Intake Valve Sooner
Builds More Low-End Torque
Decrease Piston-Intake Valve Clearance
Increase Piston-Exhaust Valve Clearance


Retarding
Delays Intake Closing Event
Keeps Intake Valve Open Later
Builds More High-RPM Power
Increase Piston-Intake Valve Clearance
Decrease Piston-Exhaust Valve Clearance

EFFECTS OF CHANGING LOBE SEPERATION ANGLE (LSA)
Tighten (smaller LSA number)
Moves Torque to Lower RPM
Increases Maximum Torque
Narrow Power band
Builds Higher Cylinder Pressure
Increase Chance of Engine Knock
Increase Cranking Compression
Increase Effective Compression
Idle Vacuum is Reduced
Idle Quality Suffers
Open Valve-Overlap Increases
Closed Valve-Overlap Increases
Natural EGR Effect Increases
Decreases Piston-to-Valve Clearance

Widen (larger LSA number)
Raise Torque to Higher RPM
Reduces Maximum Torque
Broadens Power Band
Reduce Maximum Cylinder Pressure
Decrease Chance of Engine Knock
Decrease Cranking Compression
Decrease Effective Compression
Idle Vacuum is Increased
Idle Quality Improves
Open Valve-Overlap Decreases
Closed Valve-Overlap Decreases
Natural EGR Effect is Reduced
Increases Piston-to-Valve Clearance

It's getting hard to get a strong cam these days

Called Obama he said he will help he calling the national cam builders association

Precision cams will do a high performance cam regrind for 150$ or 200$ .
There main business is Briggs mower race engines. They carry Briggs Big block high performance products as well . Good prices .