Skip to Content

How Much Horsepower Does a Camshaft Add? (Answered)

Are you tired of the low-performance level of your car? Do you want to boost up the emission of your car? Are you thinking of giving your car a much-needed boost of power? 

Are you also thinking of adding more horsepower to your vehicle? Moreover, are you wondering whether or not it will be a good idea to do an installation of the camshaft to your car?

If the answer is yes then you have landed on the right place, because here we will try to answer all your questions regarding this.

Does a camshaft increase horsepower? 

The camshaft is a vital element of the car and it is made up of two important parts and they are cam and shaft. However, what makes this camshaft crucial is related to the idea that it actually increases horsepower. 

Therefore, the camshaft definitely increases the horsepower of your car and thus increases the acceleration and overall power of your car.

Additionally, it increases the efficiency of your car by powering the control of the valves. Moreover, the camshaft also increases the movement of gas and air thus resulting in more effective powering.

Accordingly, it is the activity of the camshaft which supplies an equal blend of fuel and air which thus leads to the increasing or boosting of the horsepower of your car.

Furthermore, camshaft also does not only give your car the best boost it needs to increase its potentiality rather it provides the best fuel economy, proper durability, long-lasting performance as well. 

Consequently, all these make your car very smooth and more applicable for long drives. A camshaft also assists in making your car’s engine more long-lasting. 

How Much Horsepower Does a Camshaft Add?

It is no surprise that a camshaft can add more horsepower to your car and the exact amount of the horsepower can be ten percent meaning it can give an increase of 10 to 20 levels of horsepower. However, if you want to add more levels of HP then you have to add stage 1 and 2 cam upgrades. 

The camshaft not only increases the power of your car but it will also increase the overall performance of your car therefore, you need to be knowledgeable about this so that it will assist you to mold your decisions accordingly.

To a 5.7 Hemi: 

A camshaft will definitely add almost the amount of 67 horsepower to a 5.7 Hemi which will let your car have the perfect performance boost.

This will also help to prolong the longevity of your car’s engine and will also give better fuel economy to your car.

To a 6.4 Hemi: 

When it comes to increasing the horsepower of a 6.4 Hemi by the camshaft, then it is known for the camshaft to give an increase of 54 horsepower which will improve engine durability and give higher performance.

To a Camaro ss: 

Your trusty camshaft can give almost 50 HP to 75 HP to a Camaro ss and this increase in the horsepower will help the engine of your car to live to its full potential.

In addition, this setting will also help to make the valves sustain longer and will also bring synchronization among all the engine parts. 

How does a camshaft work? How does camshaft affect power? 

The camshaft can definitely affect the power level of your car and therefore, being knowledgeable about the activities of a camshaft can help you to mold your decisions wisely.

Cam and Shaft: 

If you want to prolong the longevity of your engine’s life and if you want to enrich the power and performance of your car, then you must have to upgrade the camshaft of your car.

A camshaft actually works by its two distinct parts which are cam and shaft. Both of these work differently to affect the power of your car.

In addition, both of these parts of the camshaft are utilized in the combustion engines which will control the RPM range of your vehicle and will also work the exhaust and intake systems. 

Valve Operation:

One of the most important activities of a camshaft is that it will work the valve operation. In addition, it is the sole job of the camshaft to allow into the engine the mixture of fuel and air by simultaneously closing and opening the different valves. 

Compression:  

The camshaft also works by controlling all the cylinders of your car and it also seems to control the airflow of your car. Accordingly, this airflow goes into the engine with the help of the camshaft. 

Additionally, the camshaft also works by altering the compression ratio and it is actually the camshaft that estimates how much air to push into the engine. 

Moreover, the camshaft also decides how many times the compression of the mixture of air and fuel is to be done by piston before combustion.

Accordingly, the camshaft also seems to work by deciding the compression level therefore the higher the compression level or ratio will be, the higher the increase of horsepower will be. 

How much hp does a stage 1 cam add? How much hp does a stage 2 cam add?

Installation of a camshaft is one of the best things you can do for your car however, it is not always enough for the camshaft to upgrade or boost all the performance of your vehicles.

Rather you also need some serious upgrades installed in your car and stage 1 cam and stage 2 cam are among those two development processes for your car which not only increase the performance of your car rather it will also boost the emission of your car.

In addition, when it is only the installation of the camshaft as it is, it will give your car a boost of 10 to 20 horsepower but it still can not give the full 50 to 100 horsepower boost and that is only possible by the addition of stage 1 cam and stage 2 cam.

Therefore, by adding the stage 1 cam, your vehicle gets a 50 to 100 boost of horsepower and it will also give your car an increase in the torque output. Accordingly, stage 1 cam will also assist in bettering the RPM throttle response.

Besides, a stage 2 cam can add around 20-25% of horsepower boost to your car.

In addition, if you also develop the exhaust system, intake system, and do the remapping of the ECU, then all these will make the whole up-gradation process of the stage 1 cam and stage 2 cam complete.

 Accordingly, this will give a 20 to 25 percent boost of power which may not be possible by the simple installation of the camshaft alone.

How much horsepower does a bigger camshaft add? How much horsepower does a thumpr/roller cam add? 

When you employ a bigger camshaft, then you can literally double the power and double the whole performance level of your vehicle.

In addition, a double camshaft also gives your car an increase of horsepower and that will be 50 to 100 levels of horsepower.

However, this also varies a lot depending on the different car models and on the type of advanced up-gradation process you are employing for your camshaft installment. 

Additionally, when it comes to how much horsepower a thumpr or a roller adds, then it can be somewhere between 10 to 20 levels of horsepower. 

Moreover, this addition of a bigger camshaft and thumpr or roller will not only boost the timing of the valve but will also give your car a great performance boost.

However, if you also go the extra mile and install elements like the exhaust manifold, valve heads, and air intake then it will double the overall efficiency of your car. 

How to calculate camshaft horsepower? 

There are several ways with which you can figure out a camshaft’s horsepower however, being knowledgeable about the proper ways of calculating the camshaft horsepower will help you to untangle your confusions. 

Find the Torque Value: 

A horsepower is a useful unit that is used for the measurement of the power of the car and the first thing you need to do to calculate the horsepower of your car’s camshaft is related to finding the torque value.

In addition, you need to look at your car’s manual or you have to browse online for finding the car-specific torque value.

Find Your Car’s RPM:

You now need to find your car’s engine (camshaft) speed which is also addressed as RPM. You can find the engine speed or RPM of your car in the car manual. 

Calculate the Camshaft’s Horsepower:

After having both the torque and RPM values, you now need to apply these pieces of information to this formula which is HP=(RPM*T)/5252. If you insert all the information correctly, then you will get your car’s camshaft’s horsepower. 

Final thoughts:

Nothing can beat the performance boost that you can get from the installation of the camshaft. A camshaft can give your car the potential to increase the horsepower to 50 to 100 but, to achieve that, you need to upgrade the exhaust system, and you also need to install stage 1 cam and stage 2 cam.