Adjusting Cam Sprockets

[twnygren]

I have been looking all over but I cannot find much info about this. I know the m42 has adjustable camshaft sprockets, but I haven't read much about people changing the settings. I would like to get a little more low end torque for daily driving the car, what would need to be done to do this? Would I make changes to the intake or exhaust cam? and would I advance or retard the cam position? By changing these do I run the risk of a valve coming into contact with the top of a piston?

Any info would be appreciated, thanks

[markus24q]

I've heard that advancing the intake timing by 5 degrees and leaving the exhaust the same works, but I have no idea about how you would go about this. My dad is a mechanic so I usually leave these things up to him and simply drive the car as hard as I can

[rac3r]

I did a timing chain job recently and debated advancing the intake timing 5 degrees as markus24q mentioned. I ended up not doing it because I didn't want to make troubleshooting any harder if there were any issues. From what I understand, all you have to do is lift the valve cover, loosen the qty (4) bolts that hold the sprocket onto the camshaft (10 mm) and use a 24mm wrench on the camshaft to rotate it 5 degrees while the sprocket stays still. Tighten the 10 mm bolts back up, put the valve cover back on, and you're good to go.

The other reason why I didn't do it already is because I haven't come up with a way to accurately measure out 5 degrees. Ideas, anyone?