The carbon ultra-poly composite distributor gear is the solution to an annoying engine builder challenge.
Innovative products are at the heart of any successful company. Having a team of talented engineers who can solve challenging problems is critical to getting ahead of the competition and maintaining that lead. The COMP Cams Carbon Ultra-Poly Composite Distributor Gear is yet another in the line of products so revolutionary that the list of benefits is at first not to be believed. This amazing space age technology gear fixes a multitude of problems, doing anything from eliminating simple gear wear and camshaft material compatibility problems to curing “spark scatter,” a condition of inconsistent timing due to excessive backlash between the gear facings. How this gear came to be is an interesting story.
The Need
While many may believe that the creation of carbon ultra-poly composite gears was the result of the distributor and cam gear incompatibility, it was a spark scatter problem resulting in inconsistent timing that was the real motivator. Spark scatter occurs when distributor gear backlash problem occurs, a case where the distributor gear can actually bounce off the camshaft gear, losing contact due to improper in-block alignment. Runout in the cam-mounted gear is most often blamed. To fix the problem initially, engineers designed a three-piece cam gear incorporating a CNC gear with a press on journal.
 An upclose look at these innovative distributor gears |
While the above noted change was an improvement, engineers sought out a better and somewhat less costly mass-produced solution – enter the bronze distributor gear. This gear greatly helped remedy the incompatibility problem between cam and distributor gears but generated some new problems as well. The bronze gear increased the spark scatter problem due to increased backlash (and resulting bounce) and also required a special oil supply to avoid excessive wear.
The first bronze gear correction was the creation of differently sized bronze gears ranging from - .010 to -.020-inch in increments of 0.001-inch to help engine builders find the precise gear that worked for them. The result was 30 different gear choices and a lot of trial and error fitment to find the right gear for the application. To further tune up the bronze gear solution, one version included the creation of an eccentric to locate the bottom of the distributor gear more snuggly into the block. This improved the gear-to-gear fit by forcing the gears together to minimize backlash but it further served to increase bronze gear wear and resulting bronze metal shavings.
Super Gear
The carbon ultra-poly composite gear was created to fix both spark scatter and problems found with metal-based gears where compatibility issues had been a problem. Made from proprietary materials, the gears come in a variety of sizes for a variety of different engine offerings, especially the engine platform most known for distributor gear problems (because of the narrowness of the gear facings), the Small Block Ford Windsor. COMP Cams currently offers gears for Chevrolet, Ford and Chrysler distributors. In addition, they make 0.006 and 0.009-inch oversize gears for custom Chevrolet racing applications and both 0.491 and 0.500-inch distributor shaft diameter gears for Chevrolet.
The immediate benefit from use of the carbon ultra-poly composite gear was the lack of break-in requirements and/or special oiling system modifications. The gear is a simple bolt-in operation and works well in both race and street applications, unaffected by the high volume, high pressure and high viscosity environment common with street engines. What had been a problem with some short track and street-based engines, especially when the oil was cold, had been cured.
In addition to the above noted benefits, the carbon ultra-poly composite gear is very forgiving with regards to inconsistent block, cam or distributor configurations. The more pliable gear, a bit oversized by design, features less “bounce” than metal gears, thus eliminating the spark scatter condition, which was the initial rationale for previous distributor gear “solutions.”
Today the carbon ultra-poly composite distributor gear is the choice of many top engine builders and street enthusiasts looking for a quick, “$100 insurance policy” that helps improve performance and eliminates many of the common distributor gear problems that have plagued engine builders for years. This innovative gear may just be the best new product to come along in many years . . . a testament to COMP Cams innovative engineering and out-of-the box thinking.
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