<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>So it looks like the rough idle (which is great!) isn't so much from lift but more a result of the valve overlap???<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Correct. I'm no mechanic, but let me take a stab at it (and then get flamed by those who really know what they're talking about
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Cam overlap is a measure of how long both the intake and exhaust valves are simultaneously open. Overlap helps power at higher RPM because the exhaust gasses rushing out of the cylinders and through the headers have momentum, and keep moving after the piston has stopped pushing them. They thus create a vacuum which pulls the intake charge into the cylinder. Reflected exhaust pulses from the header's collector amplify this effect.
On the flip side, overlap can lead to an uneven idle and loss of low-RPM power because when the exhaust gasses are not flowing out of the cylinder at velocity, back pressure from the cats / mufflers / etc. will tend to reverse the flow of the exhaust and leave excess exhaust in the cylinder. This will in turn disrupt the flow of intake charge into the cylinder, leading to uneven amounts of intake charge and mixture levels, and thus lumpy idle.