69-chvl

iTrader: (11)

Car Craft did a real nice cam comparo this month of factory cams in a 5.3 test mule. The 5.3 was stock including the lm7 cam and the Holley EFI. Pretty suprising results.

I think they have the ls6 cam specs incorrect????

lm7 cam 190/191 .466/.457 116lsa
353hp/5200
384tq/4300

ls1 cam (early) 202/210 .496/.496 116lsa
382hp/5500
389tq/4800
-22tq 2500
+31tq/32hp 5500
+45tq/53hp 6200
+51tq/63hp 6500

ls2 cam 204/211 .525/.525 116lsa
403hp/6100
399/4900
-18tq 2500
+46tq/48hp 5500
+67tq/78hp 6200

ls3 cam 204/211 .551/.525 117lsa
405hp/6100
398tq/4900
-21tq 2500
+47tq/49hp 5500
+73tq/91hp 6500


**Appears Car Craft has a misprint here**
ls6 cam 196/207 .479/.467 116lsa
376hp/5900
389tq/4500
-8tq/2500
+23tq/24hp 5500
+32tq/40hp 6500


lq9 cam 196/207 .479/.467 116lsa
376hp/5900
389tq/4500
-8tq/2500
+23tq/24hp 5500
+32tq/40hp 6500

l33 cam 193/193 .479/.479 116
362hp/5300
387tq/4500
-4tq 2500
+9tq/10hp 5500
+12tq/14hp 6200

ls7 cam 211/230 .558/.558 121lsa
422hp/6300
395tq/5000
-40tq 2500
-19tq 3500
+51tq/53hp 5500
+92tq/115hp 6500

1.8 rockers increased HP 10-12

ls9 cam 211/230 .558/.562 122.5lsa
420hp/6200
393tq/5100
-41tq 2500
-20tq 3500
-2tq 4500
+51tq/53hp 5500
+90tq/112hp 6500

lsa cam 198/216 .480/.480 122.5lsa
389hp/5600
394tq/4800
-27tq 2500
-3tq 3500
+8tq 4500
+37tq/38hp 5500
+54tq/68hp 6500

Crane cams

These are interesting b/c they have very nice gains and didnt give up too much down low.

200/200 .502/.502 113lsa
380hp/5400
401tq/4700
no tq change 2500
+14tq 3500
+15tq 4500
+29tq/30hp 5500
+32tq/40hp 6500

210/218 .551/.551 116lsa
411hp/6000
406tq/4700
-10tq 2500
-9tq 3500
+15tq 4500
+55tq/57hp 5500
+80tq/99hp 6500

224/232 .590/.590 115lsa
442hp/6200
412tq/5000
-25tq 2500
-8tq 3500
+16tq 4500
+69tq/72hp 5500
+105/130hp 6500


The ls2/ls3 cams seem to make nice power w/o too much loss down low. The ls7 and ls9 gained big but gave up alot of tq and probably hp down low. Suprised to see the ls1 cam - nice increase and not too much loss either down low.

Moter

iTrader: (20)

I was toldby a freind last night that the LS9 cam works really well in a 5.3 with boost. I have an ls6 cam in mine now...just wondering if its worth the time to change and if so how much gain could i see?

BMF_Racing

iTrader: (6)

Interesting info there, thank you for posting.

oange ss

iTrader: (50)

those LS6 cam specs listed are incorrect, those are specs for the 01-02 LS1 and the later 5.3

69-chvl

iTrader: (11)

the LS6 and LS2 cams are similar correct? Guess we can go by the LS2's #'s then, which are pretty strong IMO.

Beanslsxnova

iTrader: (1)

Did I read that right the crane cams 224/232 picked up 105tq/130hp. Thats like spaying a 150 shot haha.

oange ss

iTrader: (50)

the original LS6 cam (2001) cam is close to the LS2 cam, the 02-04 LS6 cam is a little healthier 204/218 .551/.547

Mike@Diablosport

iTrader: (2)

Gains are relative...the stock cam had likely nosed way over by then, so just carrying the power a little higher will show huge gains, but I bet the power was already falling off at that point. Peak to peak gains would be nowhere near that big.
Seeing the curves would tell the story much better...

HRHohio

Link to the old 2009 article: http://www.carcraft.com/techarticles...e/viewall.html

Looks like they did some head work too in their testing in 2009. Surprisingly, it didn't add a lot of bang, for the buck.
$1000 heads added 16 hp
$2200 heads added 27 hp

Looks like the cam swap on stock heads is the best bang for the buck.

T/ALT1

iTrader: (3)

Impressive numbers for cam swaps.

71 chevy

iTrader: (18)

good information.

good to know that even a bone stock engine at 15 psi is still 700 hp

1fastpickup

I had just ordered an LS9 for mine and then got my Car Craft with this article...I was happy to see the gains for it...pretty strong. I'm using it in a boosted 5.3 and yes these are boost friendly. Lingenfelter stopped using their own GT7 cams and started using these in their own boosted stuff... http://www.lingenfelter.com/mm5/merc...1#.UYRymGjv4UU

1fastpickup

just to be clear these are two different articles...the one in this thread is from this months Car Craft...and yours is from 2009. According to this new article these tests were on a "bone stock" 5.3 with only valve spring upgrades.

HRHohio

Ahhh, gotcha. Thanks for clarifying.... now I gotta check out the new one.

69-chvl

iTrader: (11)

You guys think the loss of tq with some of the cams will be zeroed-out with some boost?

The thought of losing 20-40lbs of tq in a 5.3 combined with a street gear (~3.42-3.73) just doesnt sound appealing to me. 2500 rpm is sorta below where boost is being made is most cases.

T/ALT1

iTrader: (3)

Anybody that adds a cam normally adds a stall converter of 2800-3600 depending on cam size so you'll never see the loss of torque.

tjwashow

iTrader: (2)

Wow really good info. I would love to change the cam in my Tahoe. Would I need the valve spring upgrades for ls2 cam in this instance? Also what tuning would be required?

05_quick4door

iTrader: (1)

Do you have a link to the article by chance?

Jason Haines @ LPE

Yes, if you chane to the LS2 camshaft (or the 2001 LS6 camshaft, same lobe profiles) you need to change to the LS6/LS2/LS9 valve springs.

If you have a newer truck you will likely want a newer LS2 camshaft (2007+) that is a single bolt camshaft so you don't have to change your timing gear. If you have an earlier truck with a 3 bolt camshaft to begin with then you want the earlier LS2 camshaft (2005-2006) so you don't have to change your timing gear.

If you have a 1999-2006 truck with a Gen IV engine then you want a 2001 LS6 camshaft because the LS2 camshaft doesn't have the rear camshaft sensor reluctor that you need for camshaft position. You can switch to the newer timing cover, timing gear and front mounted camshaft sensor but that is a lot of added cost that you could avoid if you get a camshaft that has the rear reluctor wheel. Not an issue with most aftermarket camshafts because most aftermarket camshaft cores have the rear reluctor wheel since you can use those camshafts in both the new and old engines (Gen III & Gen IV).

The 2002-2004 LS6 camshaft has even more lift and really should be used with lighter valves, at least if you plan to go to higher RPM (past roughly 5600-6000 rpm).

Just changing from the stock truck camshaft to a LS2 production or 2001 LS6 production camshaft shouldn't require calibration. Your power peak RPM will likely go up and the stock shift points/RPM limit won't fully take advantage of that but you shouldn't have to get the ECM/PCM calibrated due to a mild camshaft change like that. The trucks generally have a 500 to 550 RPM in gear idle speed but the LS2/2001 LS6 camshaft should be ok with that. Some of the newer MT applications run 600 rpm idle speed with similar camshaft profiles and more effective overlap area due to cylinder head flow and valve area.

tjwashow

iTrader: (2)

damn thanks man, great info. ill end up with the ls6 cam , my buddy has one from an 01 z06. ill grab some springs too