IrateTA

iTrader: (4)

First off - I did a search, came up with hundreds of results. I was having trouble refining my search, so here goes... At least this isn't a "which cam do I buy" thread

The low-down: I have an M6 and I'm installing FLP LT's, ORP, and a TR 224 114 LSA cam.

The question: Aftermarket companies suggest tuning an A4 to handle a cam like this. Concerning my M6 - will I have to sit on the throttle during cold (20 degree F) startups or raise the idle a couple hundred w/ tuning? Will I have any problems keeping an idle at stop lights? What is it about the A4 that necessitates the tune?

My best guess is "no", but I won't be able to afford an edit for a while (the FLP's and cam killed me ), so will I have any grief living w/ this setup?

A couple last dumb questions just for fun - will this cam lope much? What ET can I expect w/ my setup? 12.8 maybe?

Thanks Guys...

jrp

iTrader: (16)

a4's require tuning because there in gear idle is set low and its hard to keep a cam like that alive. my tr230 idled fine with no tune and a drilled out TB, of course it wasnt very driveable but it did idle . m6 + 224 114 should be fine, will take a few miles to have the pcm learn the new fuel curves and it might hunt and search for idle but should be driveable. w/o tune it should lope alright, once tuned it'll probably smooth out depending on where you set your idle. the car will definately be capable of mid 12's, the better question is are you

IrateTA

iTrader: (4)

Yeah, well, ask me again after I've had the car for more than 6 months

A couple last things - I'm not planning on spinning the engine past 6,000 rpms - are titanium retainers a must? I'll be going w/ 918's and chromemoly rods... And hearing that I'd have to deal w/ a "searching idle" makes me think of going w/ a cam that has 220ish duration or a 115 or 116 LSA... The MTI Stealth II seems good and the Old Man Cam is nice (except for the .600 lift)... Choices choices. I think I recall the Colonel referring to the Stealth I (Sanders I ) as sounding "definately NOT stock"...

Hmm... I know I'll probably get one of those "well, what do you want your car to be" questions, so I want my car to idle nice, but not sound stock. On the same token, I don't want a lope or crappy idle that my local GM tech would **** his pants over either.

mcflyz28

If your not spinning the motor up over 6,000 why bother with a cam, of course with the LT's see how fast the rev limiter comes up. and that's 6200. I'm confused at what your looking for in this thread.

jrp

iTrader: (16)

your cam will peak at probably 6400rpm and you'll want to shift at like 6500-6600. the idle searching is only on intial start ups, once it finds it and warms up its fine. i say hold off on buying the cam until you can tune relatively soon. every car responds different to mods; the LT's and cam might be fine or you might be way rich or lean. might want to look into a MAFT if you dont want to tune soon and dial in your a/f ratio.

IrateTA

iTrader: (4)

Thanks for the input guys. After reading what you have said here, and a couple more cam threads - I've decided on the MTI SSI cam. I like the 115 LSA and the 220 duration instead should offer better midrange torque. I'm more of a low-mid power fan, rather than making the engine scream.

I honestly didn't think this was going to be a "what cam?" thread, but seeing as how it will be my first cam buy, I'm just being indecisive.

Brian2001SS

iTrader: (1)

Ok, I have the tr224 on a 114lsa on my 01 mn6. I have had it in for a year and have not had the computer tuned yet. Or even touched for that matter. Car idles fine, never has stalled and started and idled fine when I 1st started it after I slid the cam in. Only time it stumbles is after I rev it up. But it learns. And sometimes on a warm startup, but thats rare. Car lives on the rev limiter. 6200 is tooooo low for this cam, I need to bump it up to about 6800 when I get it tuned. Then I will shift at 6500. The stock tach sucks in predicting a proper rpm shift. (Too Slow).

Anyways, its a great cam, you will not hurt the motor turning it up to 6500rpm. Anything smaller just won't put out the numbers that this cam will.
Stock retainers will work as well. You wil have to get use to the sewing machine sound though.

IrateTA

iTrader: (4)

Damnit - I need to stop reading competing theories between the MTI SS's and the TR 224 114.

As for the retainers - I'm not going to be messing w/ my cylinder heads very often, so I think I'd sleep better at night w/ the titanium retainers... especially if I plan on running up to 6500 after a tune. Hopefully I won't be pissing my $100 away.

dug

iTrader: (10)

I have a 230 114 cam with mac headers no tuning. Its actually not that bad. On COLD starts it will surge for 20-30s then it idles fine. Hot starts are difficult. It takes a little gas to help the engine find the idle, after that its ok.

As far as driving around, its fine as long as the speed is over 30mph. Anything below that the car will surge and buck a bit. Surprisingly the engine can be lugged down to 900rpms in 6th gear and accelerate with no surging or bucking with some finesse. It really comes down to learnin the cam with practice. At low rpms there is only so much throttle the engine can take b4 it starts to surge and buck. If you keep it below that the engine drives smoothly.

The cam causes the biggest problems while driving in the parking lot. Turning the wheel causes enough load from the power steering to kill the engine at idle. Also stop n go traffic with the A/C on is brutal. The engine will die without some throttle.

For reference my car ran 13.29 @ 107 b4 the cam, intake and headers. Afterwards it ran 12.48 @ 116 on regular radials. This was with the stock tune and rev limiter. Youll want to shift around 6600 but even shifting at 6200 the cam will be makin more power than stock. My favorite thing about the cam and headers is the increase in torque from 3500-5500rpms. The engine really pulls.

Brian2001SS

iTrader: (1)

The same reason I went titanium. It pays off in some way.

And I ran a 13.27 at 107 with some boltons. Went to a 12.99 at 112 with cam and headers. Definitly room for improvement. My 60's suck. 2.2's
My vert is heavy to. But I think with a 3.73 gear and a tune, I can get consistant 12.7's at least.

IrateTA

iTrader: (4)

I was able to run my 13.22 w/ just the lid and Corsa catback. I got a 2.0 60' w/ the Eagles on there. I'm hoping that I'll be sub-12.8 w/ the FLP setup and the cam.

I'm going to give MTI and TR a call and ask for their opinion. This is killing me. Right now I'm leaned about 65% to the TR cam.

98SS Blackattack

You will be fine with a 224 on a 114lsa w/o tunning. My a4 idles fine on a 114lsa but it took a while for the pcm to learn

INMY01TA

iTrader: (1)

I just put the TR224/112 cam in my M6 in last week and it was surprisingly tame. You'd be fine with the TR224/114.