Cam Gear cut-out?

acdaddy

New Member
Ok, I'm in the early stages of a budjet build on a 95 RS w/ B18b1 and I'm trying to see if anyone has any advice or a how to for cutting the VC for access to the cam gears? When I had my GSR (b17) I had most of the work done by a shop, but this one I really want to do myself so any advice would be greatly appreciated.


FYI I tried searching this on here, but didn't get any results so if there is a thread could someone direct me to it?


THANKS!
 

mirrorimg

Well-Known Member
You can use a hole saw that you attach to the end of a drill for moon cuts. Or a cutoff wheel/sanding drum for a normal cut.

I dont suggest this on a daily driver. You run the risk of a rock flying into the timing belt and wreaking havoc.
 

acdaddy

New Member
Not a daily driver.

a hole saw with aluminum, really? I'm not doubting you, just my first thought was cracking it.

"moon" cuts were what I was thinking...I didn't want to cut the top cover entirely off as it will be a weekend driver street car
 


acdaddy

New Member
Mirror, that link was perfect! THANKS! exactly what I was looking for...I guess I'm going hole saw. I'll post pics when it's done.
 


dc2GS-R

Super Moderator
I did this to a spare cover for when I get it tuned.
But of course you will probably throw on a normal valvecover afterwords since there is no benefit to leaving it open, just risks. I don't understand why people want to leave them permanently exposed.
 

acdaddy

New Member
The whole reason is for access to the adjustable cam gears, and would anyone else like to chime in on the risk factor?

I had my last Teg running street and roadcourse for well over a year and never had any issues with the cutouts. And it was very convenient on a few occasions to be able to tune without removing, ie: new ecu mapping, changing boost rates, etc.

I've never heard of anyone actually having problems, but would like to if that is a real issue.
 

Samurai_Blue

Yolo Whippin'
The whole reason is for access to the adjustable cam gears, and would anyone else like to chime in on the risk factor?

I had my last Teg running street and roadcourse for well over a year and never had any issues with the cutouts. And it was very convenient on a few occasions to be able to tune without removing, ie: new ecu mapping, changing boost rates, etc.

I've never heard of anyone actually having problems, but would like to if that is a real issue.
8urcivic blew his motor that way i think
 

mirrorimg

Well-Known Member
But of course you will probably throw on a normal valvecover afterwords since there is no benefit to leaving it open, just risks. I don't understand why people want to leave them permanently exposed.
Yes Kyle. I only did that to my spare for getting it tuned. I would have done it to the OBD1 LS cover, but I gave it to Ricky.
Once tuning is over, the uncut one will go back on, and my timing belt cover will still be on.

The risks involved are mostly a rock getting into the timing belt while its spinning, running through the lower gear and damaging the teeth on the timing belt. When that happens the belt will slip and your timing will be off. If its of by enough (which it would be if it tears up multiple teeth) you will have piston to valve contact and have a mess of trouble.
 

dc2GS-R

Super Moderator
Just the fact that it is exposed to all the elements of dust, dirt, road spray and what ever other random crap that may get into your engine bay and decrease the life of important components prevents me from thinking it's a good idea.

Honestly, how often to you change your cam timing? It's not like it's done every 3,000 miles. You pretty much just set the cams to their optimal timing when tuning the engine and leave them alone. Plus the valvecover isn't hard to remove anyway if it needed to be changed down the road for whatever reason.
 
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