FrankieWS6

Hey guys! I have a 02 WS6 I just picked up which I love! Great car.. needs a few things but overall I love it.

Has SLP headers and electric cutouts. Now curious about a head/cam package. I don't want to change the daily drivability at all. Would prefer for it not to get much louder, preferably not louder at all, but I know that may be difficult. I would rather the car "feel" about the same, as I don't want it rocking back and forth and idling completely different. I definitely want some added power, obviously, as I am getting a head/cam package, but I want the drivability to remain very similar and still have a very relaxed feel when I'm cruising the car. Any suggestions? And if so, what type of HP/TQ gains should I expect from the setup you suggest?

Tony @ Mamo Motorsports

Right up my alley....I'm pretty good at designing the wolf in sheep's clothing combinations (and the wolf has teeth!). In fact I would say its one of my specialties

It's naturally more difficult to accomplish big power gains in a modest package that's still smooth and drives well but you would be surprised what you can achieve with a really efficient combination.....the heads and proper cam selection are paramount for big results but I can certainly help you with all of that. Headers are a must for serious numbers but stock exhaust manifolds help to reduce valvetrain clatter a bit.....once again though the right cam can reduce some of that anyway but a car with headers will always amplify the valvetrain noise. There are a few mufflers that do a good job and don't emit the dreaded low RPM drone on the freeway....an X pipe helps quiet things down and a full exhaust to the back of your car is a must.

At the end of the day it always comes down to budget, but you can easily gain 125 horses over stock in a package the actually drives better than stock and is much more responsive and completely user friendly. That's a serious horsepower infusion (a decent whack of nitrous with no bottle filling and the risks associated), but even more impressive in a package that offers no downsides whatsoever besides the cost of admission.

My former 346 combo in my Vette.....crank up the volume and listen to how smooth it idles right before I stage to launch (car drove perfect on the street....lugged it in 3rd gear with zero protest at 1000 RPM's around a 5-10 mph neighborhood street corner).

http://www.minitruckinweb.com/videos...ld_video/1334/

PM me and we can discuss some of the details or call me even better.....leave a message if I don't pick up.

Cheers,
Tony

PS....My new 220 heads would compliment this package well with the proper custom camshaft that targets the virtues of the combination I just highlighted.....first ones are coming off the CNC machines now!

cali_bear2003

iTrader: (7)

I may also have Tony spec me a cam to go with the heads that I just purchased from him...

ls1 down under

My ls1 drives better than stock. Extremely smooth. Love driving it. My Nanna could drive it with such ease. But yet , put your foot down and it throws you back in your seat.

With cam , heads , full exhaust , air intake and tune. I gained 122rwhp over stock baseline run.

However , I've retained 2 centre mufflers and a rear resonator to keep the sound toned down as I'm running dual 3 inch exhaust.

Tuskyz28

I personally like how Tony spec cams.... they never seem to be really huge but they lay down huge numbers on the dyno. I'm still impressed with his 227 cam that pumped out 490rwhp.....

whatsa347

iTrader: (6)

The better the heads, the less cam you need. It's why Tony Mamo can make stupid power with cams we consider a decent size. It might be expensive, but you get your money's worth with his stuff.

Cold Zero

iTrader: (1)

Do it right the 1st time.

Go with a MAMOFIED setup if you're looking for a top end package and still love to drive your bird every day. Search the forum and you will see how Tony was able to help people get 470-480 rwhp with 224-228 cams. Not to mentioned some already hit "almighty" 500rwhp mark.

SoonerBrad88

iTrader: (15)

You can't go wrong with Mamo!

ChameleonFormula3

iTrader: (1)

My builder suggested the VRX5 cam for a good street able cam with good power.

Tuskyz28

In a LS1? That cam is approaching the 240 duration mark which is pretty big for a 5.7.... not exactly the best "streetable" cam out there.....

redtan

iTrader: (5)

He wouldn't do that if he was actually the tuner of the car. But seeing how he's just the builder and has nothing to do with how the car drives afterward of course he's going to recommend you a big nasty cam just so you can salivate at a few extra horsepower at 7000rpm.

99Bluz28

iTrader: (35)

FrankieWS6, a cam somewhere between a 218/222 114lsa+3(-8* overlap, IVC of 40) and a 222/226 114lsa+4(-4* overlap, IVC of 41) is what I'd look at, with mild lobes of course.

Tony @ Mamo Motorsports

Start looking for a new builder.....LOL

Seriously??

Did he mention flycutting pistons just to get that much cam to fit?!

Bad choice for an all around package.....missed the mark by a mile

-Tony

dckmn52

90% of that has to do with the tuner.



how is it any worse than a MS3, or a Polluter? both of which have more duration and lift.


Like I said, it has to do with the tune and not the cam. You can have a 220 cam that drives like **** and a 240s cam that drives like butter depending on who tunes it.

Call around the vendors and see what they all suggest. Youll make more low end on a smaller cam, but a lot of the time people end up wanting a bigger cam, rather than a smaller one.

Rise of the Phoenix

iTrader: (27)

Like with so many things, it's all about the combination. You need the right combination of parts that work together like a well oiled machine in order to acheive maximum potential, no matter what you want to do with the car. A big cam can run great and a small cam can run like ****. A good tuner is worth his weight in gold. A good tuner will make a Ron Jeremy donkey dick cam run great with little to no cam surge and Joe Pisshispants down the road could make a little 224 cam drive like it's a custom grind 250/264 110 lsa cam. I do agree that lots of guys end up wanting a bigger cam. Horepower wins races and torque pulls trailers, right Tony.

Tuskyz28

From what I have seen big cams make the PEAK number which is what 9 out of 10 people LOOK at... a smaller cam can provide better average power and a broader power torque curve which is what win races. Right or wrong ? A motor only go stay at its PEAK horsepower/torque for a split second. I personally think if you got to run a huge cam to achieve your horsepower goal you might have a shitty pair of heads to begin with....

Rise of the Phoenix

iTrader: (27)

You can make up for a big cam by milling the heads, fly-cutting, and running high compression. A lot of people don't get that. The bump in compression will do wonders on a combo with good heads and a big cam.

TXZ28LS1

iTrader: (5)

How streetable your car is depends on your tuner and how much you can handle. My first cam was an old X1 from MTI 230/227. I never had experience with any cams prior. It was so easy to drive that i could have stepped up to a bit more cam.

In my opinion i would not go any smaller than a 228/228 and no bigger than something like a TSP Torquer 2 232/234.

The last thing you want is to dump money and know you could have gone a little bigger.

redtan

iTrader: (5)

Dis true, having a big cam like the VRX5 and also being able to pump out 8.6+ DCR is a killer combo. Although that still doesn't make up for the fact it's a big cam and might suffer driveability down low.

And there is only so much even a great tuner can do to tame a cam, at some point it just doesn't get any better regardless of what you do in the tune.

Rise of the Phoenix

iTrader: (27)

If a big cam is what you want to run, then talk to some of the well known tuners who have tuned some of the big cams. I've heard that Ed Curtis' Hellion cam is easier to tune than his Streetsweeper cam, which is quite a bit smaller. I'm sure there is a noticeable difference in regards to tuning from one big cam to another.