[blykins]

Actually, those numbers are given at tappet lift. Some cam cards can be deceiving by saying "Valve timing", but if you looked at a Crane cam card, they word it more correctly as "Cam timing".

You have to make sure you use the correct range of numbers on the degree wheel if you use the valve event method. This method is actually more accurate as a lot of cams today do not have symmetrical lobes. If they were perfectly symmetrical as far as lobe design, then the centerline method would be accurate as you would have the same amount of lobe on either side of the centerline.

I use a lot of Bullet cams and a lot of their lobes are asymmetrical, so there's only one way to accurately degree the cam in.

There's a lot of room for error when degreeing a cam. Some common mistakes are:

1. Not finding true TDC.
2. Mounting the dial indicator so that it goes out of travel, or mounting it so that the lifter or dial indicator plunger doesn't auto-return easily.
3. Using the wrong set of numbers on the degree wheel.

You should be able to find TDC, tear everything down, do it again, and get exactly the same number. You should also be able to repeat every step that you make, and also double check yourself at the end by degreeing the exhaust lobe as well, then checking the LSA against your results.

Lift numbers are often given in both lobe lift and valve lift. If you get the valve lift numbers, then you have to divide by the rocker ratio that's given on the cam card, then multiply by the actual rocker ratio that you're using.