Round Lobe Camshaft Cores

The Versatility of Cam Motion’s Round Lobe Core

When it comes to custom cams, knowing what you want to make is only the beginning. Next, you have to be able to get what you want made. No problem, right? As most experienced engine builders have learned, if you want something unique, it is often not that simple. This is when you need the versatility of a Cam Motion round lobe core.

Cam Motion's 8620 round-lobe camshaft cores can make custom cams that others can't.

What many people don’t know is that the manufacturing process for mass produced camshafts differs from Cam Motion’s custom camshaft manufacturing process. It is Cam Motion’s unique 8620 round lobe core custom cam manufacturing process that gives our customer’s the ability to order virtually any firing order, lift, duration and lobe centers they may need. 

To understand how Cam Motion can do this, you need to know a little about how camshafts are made. Camshafts are manufactured in stages. In the case of billet roller camshafts, the final product you see originally started out as a chunk of billet steel. The first cuts to the billet are made on a CNC lathe where this billet will start on its journey to become what we call a “round lobe” core. A round lobe core is almost a camshaft, but needs some key final steps before it can be finish-ground. It needs the lobes rough milled and it needs to be surface hardened. 

Many camshaft companies only have shelves filled with mass produced camshaft cores. And, because these cores can only be made into a limited range of final grinds, their inventory of cores determines and limits what specifications they are able to make. So, if you want a camshaft with specifications other than what they have on the shelf, they simply can’t make it for you. This is where Cam Motion’s custom 8620 cam core manufacturing process and mass production camshaft core manufacturing procedures diverge. As we mentioned, all camshafts must go through a hardening process before they are ground to final specifications. When camshafts are hardened, the hardness will extend to a limited depth into the surface of the metal. The depth of this hardness limits how much material can be ground off when final grinding the camshaft. This means that a hardened camshaft core will have a limited range of what final specifications it is capable of being made to. 

Fortunately for you, Cam Motion also has an inventory of 8620 round lobe cores ready to make your special, one-off custom camshaft order. Different firing order? No problem. Ultra-wide lobe separation for a power adder application? No problem. Extreme high lift for a racing application? No problem. Odd combinations of intake and exhaust durations? No problem. Unusual combination of lift and duration due to a unique rocker arm ratio. No problem!

Plan to succeed!

To take advantage of Cam Motion’s round-lobe custom cam capability: plan ahead. These cores need to be rough milled, and hardened, before they can be final ground. Plan on a production time of 6 to 8 weeks. You should budget for some additional funds. These one-off custom cams, made from round lobe cores, typically range in cost from $550.00 to $750.00

Cam Motion's Round Lobe Cores are available for:

• LS 3-bolt 55mm
• LS 3-bolt 60mm
• Gen 3 Hemi non-VVT Standard Journal
• Gen 3 Hemi VVT Standard Journal
• Top Fuel Hemi 6 Bolt
• Small Block Chevy Standard Journal
• Small Block Chevy 50mm
• Big Block Chevy Standard Journal
• Big Block Chevy 55mm
• Small Block Ford Standard Journal 

 Get your cam exactly how you want it, order from Cam Motion - The Custom Camshaft King!

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