hasher

wanting a cam upgrade:
iv done some searching for some good cam specs, but it seems to be all over the place, from mild to wild. i was hoping to get some first hand advise from the cam gurus.

keep in mind we are working with a low budget and looking to see if we could help wake up a customers car.
stock 04 ls6 w/boltons (intake,headers, no cats)
the customer wants to do a cam wile the motor is out and easy to work on.
he wants to push his heavy car around the track with some more lower end torque/power to get the car up and moving, with hopes of making more power as well. after a cam is chosen, the car will be sent for a tune.
he is looking for something with the best bang for the buck. not looking to re do the whole top end, just a cam to wake up the car.

with him having a low budget, is it even worth it to change just the cam, or should he leave it alone till more funds become available?

is there a good off the shelf cam ?

with the recommended cam will there need to be other changes(pushrods, springs,...)?

what changes will the recommended cam provide?



thanks guys

any insight and advice would be great

ColeGraham

iTrader: (8)

define "low budget"...

hasher

$1000 or less
keep in mind we are in northern canada up in the boonies, and pay a premium for auto parts.
thanks

DMM

Lots of variables here...daily driver? Will it still have to pass Emissions? Is the owner ok with a little lope? Stock exhaust or headers?

The stock LS6 cam has 117.5* LSA which puts the power band up higher in the RPM band. You would be looking for around 112* or 113* to get max torque (2k - 6k RPM), although it will have a decent lope at idle. If you are looking at having near stock driving and powerband, just with more power everywhere, I would look at the Thunder Racing CheaTRV3 (219/230 .607/.604 117 LSA)...the V3 has been a proven performer for years and will still pass emissions. You could also do a C6 LS7 cam or LS9 cam (CHEAP!..$120 from the dealers), but you will have to change front covers and extend the cam sensor harness and get a new cam gear from an LS2. Both these cams are higher LSA (LS7=120, LS9=122.5, 211*/230* .558"/.558") but are identical otherwise, except for the LS7's 1.8 rockers that increase valve lift...cam duration and lobe lift are identical. The higher LSA will push the power band even a little higher than stock.

https://ls1tech.com/forums/generatio...cam-specs.html

Just make sure you keep it above 112* LSA and below 230* duration (@ .50) for a stock cubed street motor, or it will just end up being a PITA to drive. All LS motors seem to respond best to an exhaust biased cam (longer duration on the exhaust side) even with a free flowing exhaust, so do not be surprised if that is the direction you are pointed.

You will need dual valve springs for anything over .600" (IMO - stay away from Comp 918 beehive springs as many have broken) and hardened push rods. The LS6 hollow valves are a little longer than regular LS motors so you will really have to measure the pushrod length carefully during assembly.

ColeGraham

iTrader: (8)

^^^Could not have said it any better myself.

Off the shelf cams that come to my mind are VRX4 from Vengence. Texas Speed Torquer v.2 or 228R. And as awlays, changing the springs and push rods is always better then now. If this guy has supporting mods (i.e. exhuast work, tune, etc.) it will make the cam more worth while. If the engine is still stock, IMO, a cam swap with be almost pointless.

It is possible to daily big cams, but it can be a PITA.

hasher

its his weekend toy, not a daily driver that needs to feel like a "Cadillac". a little lope is no problem, and has headers and no emissions.

ColeGraham

iTrader: (8)

Then the 3 I listed above may be what he would like.

hasher

thanks for the input and pointing us in the right direction. i will reserch them all.

Greed4Speed

iTrader: (7)

Not true. There are many daily driven 346 cui's with low to mid 230 duration that have no issues. Its all in the tune. I'll even disagree with the exhaust bias. Cathedral port LS's do fine with straight duration grinds. Even with an exhaust bias it is usually only a matter of 2-4 degrees. There for a while reverse bias grinds were popular and LS's responded very well to them too. Now the rectangle port heads need exhaust bias.


OP,
Save up a little more $ and get a decent cam and tune. Don't cheap out. You'll end up spending so much $ to run a LS7 or LS9 cam (both of which are designed for the rectangle port heads and not the cathedral ports of the LS6 and LS2) for minimal gains when you can save a little longer and get a cam designed for your engine and heads and have very noticable gains. Do it right and do it once!

NeverSatisfied02

iTrader: (12)

I like my cam. Nice lope, drives well and makes good power from 2100-6800...

ichpen

Welcome to camworld where everyone has an opinion

Honestly I did similar research and ended up 'downgrading' to a standard ls9 cam from a vrx2. Lost lope but very happy with its street manners and seems to go well with FI.

Good piece of advice from my engine builder as my previous setup had torn itself apart due to daily driving, don't go crazy on the lift if it's a daily driver. And check spring pressure on those fancy dual springs.

Greed4Speed

iTrader: (7)

I had over 80k miles on patriot gold springs with grinds that were over .6" lift. The last cam was a 240/244 duration that was in for almost 40k miles. The springs were still good when I got rid of the car.
The wide split of a LS9 would be decent for a blower, but it will be lacking for a NA set up. Its all about how the car is set up and what you want out of it.