munn79ta

im gathering parts for my turbo build and wondering if upgrading the cam is worth it. stock 98 shortblock ls1 with 317 heads and on3 turbo kit (76mm). want to keep boost under 10psi to make the motor live longer. not looking for a certain hp. but more is always better... any info would be appreciated

JoeNova

I would just turn the boost up a bit. Normally I would recommend a cam but you can still make good power and torque on the stock cam, and that turbo isn't going to benefit a lot from a large cam. If you do swap cams, keep it fairly small.

stevieturbo

If the engine is already in bits, then yes a cam would make sense now.

If it's already together, wouldnt worry too much about it

munn79ta

Engine is still in the car. I plan on just doing heads but wasn't sure about cam swap. Thanks for the info

yenkm68

iTrader: (1)

Id do a turbo cam! I ran a ls7 cam in my car for almost 2 seasons and was happy with it. I switch to a custom tick cam at the end of last season and let me tell u there is a HUGE differance. On PAPER the cams r with in a cupple hp from each other and the power curve in nearly the same as we'll on the same boost. But driving it there is a night and day differance! It spools WAY faster at any rpm and is so much more fun to drive. At the track there is a huge differance, on the same boost my car picked up 7 mph and nearly a half second. It's the best 400 I've spent on it so far!

munn79ta

what size turbo did you have tho? that is what my issue is with the on3 76 im going to be using.

yenkm68

iTrader: (1)

On3 76mm, stocker 5.3 on 12.5 lbs of boost and pump fuel

samdogmx

iTrader: (14)

id leave stock cam in it

LT1RAY

iTrader: (21)

I have a stock cam in my car.

munn79ta

LT1RAY are you running stock long block?

LILHEMI

jesus why is this even a question??? OF COURSE YOU SHOULD PUT A CAM IN IT! notice all the people saying to leave the stock cam still have the stock cam. cam is one of the most important pieces of the turbo puzzle......

denmah

iTrader: (2)

on my fairmont 3 first combination

i used a 99 4.8 totally stock and just valvesprings
car went 11.0 @ 126 first pass with a so so 60ft
on3 76mm and 18psi 12deg timing pumpgas
installed a isky triple 12 cam from JFR and went back to the track
did not change anything but minor fueling fixes

10.72 @ 136, i picked up 10 mph! from a small turbo cam
that is a significant amount of power

got-a-ls1

iTrader: (12)

a "turbo" cam will def help make more power. that said a 4.8 truck cam is significantly smaller then a stock ls1 cam as well.

munn79ta

dont get me wrong im all for adding parts. just trying to get the right combo for what parts i have instead of wasting money on something that wont help the cause.

so those who say yes to cam what others besides already mentioned isky 12?

denmah

iTrader: (2)

i have also done 500whp with nearly every stock cam shaft haha

so if that is your goal....

munn79ta

i dont have an exact goal but want to optimize my setup. will definitely change turbo in the future so if a cam will work with the on3 setup im not against swapping it out.

denmah

iTrader: (2)

i used the same triple 12 cam in a 5.3 then and a billet 76mm and made 800whp

munn79ta

nice! hows the idle with that cam? this is my first turbo build and am used to lots of "chop" but i realize thats not optimal with turbo setups.

LILHEMI

martin smallwood at tick or john bewley at liljohn motorsports are your best bet for getting a cam.

denmah

iTrader: (2)