[NeighborsComplaint]

I think you have just had a brush with reality. Like Harry Callahan said "A man has to know his limitations." You made some assumptions without a full understanding of the relative benefits of changing the cam timing and the ability to measure the resulting change in performance. Thinking you should "advance the cam like the racers do" just threw the cam-designer's R&D to the curb.

Cam companies rely on engineering and R&D departments to come up with camshaft designs that meet the requirements of compartmentalized engine types and engine families. Racers tweak these designs to suit their specific applications using a dyno or an ET slip to validate any improvement or loss in performance.

If you don't have the proper tools (degree wheel, piston stop, solid lifter and a dial indicator with magnetic base) and the know-how to use them, you can't expect your "guess work" to be more accurate than the camshaft and timing set makers' own timing marks.