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Looking for suggestions (or cam gurus to ask) for this combo:
5.3L w/stock crank
Wiesco 3.800 flat top forged pistons
H beam rods
317 heads (should be 9.1-9.25 comp w/ flat tops)
Victor jr intake w/intake elbow
80lb injectors
Turbonetics T76 BB .96 a/r T4 flange
1 3/4" primary turbo headers into 2.25" to the merge
TH400 with brake (haven't picked converter yet. Will go with cam)
9" w/spool 3.50 gears
93 pump gas with Meth (no E85 up here)
would like to run 20psi w/18* timing
car weighs 2400lbs with drive train
This will be driven on the street but I can live with race car mannerisms as it is not a daily driver by any means. I don't have a goal for HP. What it makes it makes. 600hp in this car will probably be a handful. Thanks in advance
Already buy the turbo? That's a small turbo/housing. Will have pretty high back pressure at 20lbs. I'd want a smallish low overlap cam. Can't go wrong with any of the usuals. JFR triple 12, Stage 1 for 4.8/5.3 turbo deals from tick, stg1 lil john, etc.
If you're on a budget an OEM ls1 cam would make over 600 whp easy.
Last edited by Forcefed86; 08-11-2016 at 08:34 PM.
Pretty small turbine, I'd be conserative on my cam. Triple 12 fits the bill, but I wouldn't go any bigger if you stick with a 112 LSA with that turbine.
I doubt you're going to need 20 lbs to make 600 HP. You're also going to blow it all over the street with 18 degrees of timing. Even with 9:1, I would keep it down around 14 degrees on pump gas.
I thought the T series 76 came standard with the 68mm, and the Billet came with the 75? I could be wrong but I wasn't aware the 75mm turbine was available with anything less than a .96 A/R.
I would rather it make more mid range usable power than an all out big number. If I wanted to do that I would step up to an 80 or 88 but this car will be a handful at even 600hp with the short wheel base and light weight. Keeping the power in the middle will make it a bit more driveable in the long run.
I love my triple 12. The driveability is night and day over the stock cam. Pulls so much better down low, through midrange, and it gained big up top too. From the stock cam the 3x12 gained 90hp under the curve and 50hp up top on 2 psi less boost. I was just running on spring no boost controller.
I thought the T series 76 came standard with the 68mm, and the Billet came with the 75? I could be wrong but I wasn't aware the 75mm turbine was available with anything less than a .96 A/R.
Thats kinda why I asked since he stated in the original post that his had .96 A/R....
Thanks. I painted the cage white to try to hide it. Still have to cut the rear seat to fit the mini tubs in the rear. I'm going to have the drag buckets covered in white and match the stock pattern on the rear seat. Attempting to hide everything I can short of the tire size and exhaust note.
How big of a tire are you going with? I run a 4" down pipe with 4" electric cutout. Then run a little 2" pipe to a 2" muffler. With the dump closed the cars pretty docile sounding with no noticeable lope. With a 255/60 drag radial on that sucker you could make a heck of a sleeper! (pretty light weight overall too)
You could go with the ever-popular LS6 cam for 600-700 rwhp. I like it b/c its a factory grind and should be problem free and quiet, doesnt need a ton of spring. Although, I have to admit I have my eye on the JFR Triple 12.
LS6/9 cams are just terrible for turbo cars. On just 7 pounds from a 7675 my stage 1 shelf cam was worth an extra 110 horsepower at the crank.
the lobes on them arent as "easy" as everyone thinks.
My guess is if that stage1 cam has like 20* more duration and just carries further up top compared to where the factory cam falls off, yeah I could see a 100+ hp difference. How about making a cam with similar durations to the factory cams, just manipulate the valve events and lift and lets see how much more power it would make over a factory cam.
Just trying to learn...no jabs being taken in anyway shape or form.
PS - I had a BTR turbo cam that I pulled out b/c of excessive valve train noise.
LS6/9 cams are just terrible for turbo cars. On just 7 pounds from a 7675 my stage 1 shelf cam was worth an extra 110 horsepower at the crank.
the lobes on them arent as "easy" as everyone thinks.
I get you’re a cam/engine guy and know 10x more than me, not debating that. Would be cool to have a little more information though.
What engine, intake, heads, and at what RPM range did your Stage 1 pickup 107 HP over the LS9?
Seems like a bit much to say the LS9 is terrible. Terrible compared to what? What other cam can you get for $113 that picks up 100+ HP over the OEM LM7 cam NA? The LS1/LS6 cams don’t pick up near as much. Is picking up 15-20hp (NA) over the LS9 cam worth another $500-800 in cam/valve train parts? What is the ultimate goal for the engine?
I’ve seen over 1000 WHP easily made on a 317 headed SBE 5.3 with an LS9 cam and china 76/75’s at 26lbs. So if I can make 1000+whp with a $113 cam on factory valve train and wimpy single springs… Why spend $$500-800 on a “better” cam and valve train?
The tests they’ve done in the magazines show the LS9 is down on power slightly over the factory truck cam to about 4600 then made 90-112 more crank HP than the factory truck cam up to 6500. That’s on a 100% stock 5.3, NA. Factor in a bar of boost and that’s about 200hp over the factory truck cam in the upper RPM. That’s healthy gain for a $113 cam I think.
I ran the LS9 cam with PAC1218’s to 6800 on a 100% factory valve train (push rods too) up to 25lbs and never had any float or valve train issues. Pushed my 8.6:1 $220 JY GEN3 5.3 to 8.9X @ 153. I also batch fired off the crank sensor alone so I didn’t need to convert to FWD cam sensor pickup to run the LS9 cam. I liked the fact that the LS9 made squat for power under 4600 and I think that’s why my gen3 engine stayed alive as long as it did.
[QUOTE=Forcefed86;19363084]How big of a tire are you going with?
Originally Posted by kingtal0n
no overdrive, t-brake, 3-speed auto
for this trailer car, nitrous and t-brake are asking you how much tire and cage you have?
Then you pick cam/converter
275/50/15 Drag radial
Thanks everyone for the cam suggestions. Although I will run an LS6/9 cam in turbo motors when I'm doing them on the cheap they are not optimal for those applications. The LS6 was meant to be in a N/A motor and the LS9 is meant for a supercharged motor which makes power much differently than a turbo car.
08-11-2016, 07:29 PM
Yup another 5.3L turbo cam selection thread 
