Adjustable Cam Gears

In this video, we dive deep into the new Adjustable Cam Gears feature in our Assetto Corsa ECU tuner app, giving you granular control over intake and exhaust cam timing from -10° (retard) to +10° (advance).

What you’ll learn:

How cam timing affects torque and horsepower across the RPM range:

Advancing cams (+ degrees) shifts power to higher RPMs with more top-end torque

Retarding cams (− degrees) improves low and mid-range torque at the cost of peak power

Turbo spool and boost threshold tuning:

Advancing both intake and exhaust cams (+ overlap) lowers turbo spool threshold RPM and reduces turbo lag

Retarding cams raises the threshold RPM, increasing turbo lag but potentially improving drivability at low RPM

Exhaust Gas Temperature (EGT) management:

More cam overlap (+10/+10) increases EGT by up to 80°C, indicating hotter combustion and potential knock risk

Retarding cams reduces EGT, improving engine safety margins

How to balance intake vs exhaust cam adjustments:

Intake cam timing impacts cylinder filling and air charge timing

Exhaust cam timing controls scavenging and turbo spool dynamics

Practical tuning tips:

For quicker turbo spool and earlier boost, advance both intake and exhaust cams towards +10° For maximum high-RPM power on naturally aspirated engines, optimize cam timing for advanced intake and moderate exhaust timing

For street or daily driving, moderate cam timing (near 0°) balances drivability and performance

Assetto Corsa - Ecu Tuner #153 - Adjustable Cam Gears (YouTube)