1st cam buy, need opinions
08-26-2008, 12:37 PM
#1
1st cam buy, need opinions Well here I am. Been a long road going from Ford to Chevy, and now it's time for a cam. Being unfamilair with the LS1 family, i'm unsure of how to approach this.
My setup is as follows:
2000 Z28 A4
2002 LS1 complete with LS6 intake and injectors from a T/A
HP tuned by myself
Cutout
Lid
Stock converter
2.73's out back
I called Thunder Racing today, they recommend the Cheatr cam or the Old Man Cam. I am unwilling to change my rearend gear or stall. Reasoning, I mess around a lot on the street and don't need drag radials at the strip. cutting a 1.9 '60 on 245 radials is something I like.
Looking at Thunder's website, looks like i need the $800 or so kit.
Are there other cams out there? Maybe Texas Speed? I really need some direction here, or maybe the Old Man or Cheatr are the ones?
My setup is as follows:
2000 Z28 A4
2002 LS1 complete with LS6 intake and injectors from a T/A
HP tuned by myself
Cutout
Lid
Stock converter
2.73's out back
I called Thunder Racing today, they recommend the Cheatr cam or the Old Man Cam. I am unwilling to change my rearend gear or stall. Reasoning, I mess around a lot on the street and don't need drag radials at the strip. cutting a 1.9 '60 on 245 radials is something I like.
Looking at Thunder's website, looks like i need the $800 or so kit.
Are there other cams out there? Maybe Texas Speed? I really need some direction here, or maybe the Old Man or Cheatr are the ones?
08-26-2008, 12:51 PM
#3
I figured that might be the reply, and it does run great stock. But surely there has to be a cam that will work with my setup, although maybe I won't gain near as much as if I changed some other items. Thunder claims 20hp with the cheatr cam, although not much, it's still a gain. I'm assuming that's 20rwhp.
08-26-2008, 12:59 PM
#4
I would recommend you get all the bolt-ons before you get a cam. Long tubes, an underdrive pulley, and a ported throttle body will net better results than those cams. I would install a good converter and gears over any cam any day. The car will be faster with a stall converter and stock cam than it will with a stock converter and aftermarket cam.
08-26-2008, 01:12 PM
#5
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maybe you would be interested in 2002-2004 LS6 cam 204/218 dur w/ .550 lift on a 117.5 lsa You really wouldnt have to change anything else...ie bolt on's....but those would help. It will also need some gm valve springs.
cam pn 12565308
spring pn 12586484
should work well for your needs
cam pn 12565308
spring pn 12586484
should work well for your needs
08-26-2008, 01:22 PM
#6
You may not want to hear this but what the hell. Your car will be much faster with a stall and 3:73 gears. Don't mess around with the cam yet. You dont have near the supporting mods that you need. You will cut alot better 60's with a stall, gears, and drag radials. Good luck Trevor
08-26-2008, 01:29 PM
#7
lol, no I don't want to hear that....
But, if it's the truth, that's all there is to it.
I plan on installing full exhaust in the near future, that's it.
So, with this in mind, there really isn't a cam that will pick up anything? I'm not going to go all out with this, it runs high 12's as is. I'm just lookin for mid 12's at best with the car, nothing more.
But, if it's the truth, that's all there is to it.
I plan on installing full exhaust in the near future, that's it.
So, with this in mind, there really isn't a cam that will pick up anything? I'm not going to go all out with this, it runs high 12's as is. I'm just lookin for mid 12's at best with the car, nothing more.
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08-26-2008, 01:43 PM
#9
u dont need a cam to hit 12's!! but you will definitely need all the boltons like lid, pulley, longtubes and nice catback. also u will need to change out the gears..even if u put a little cam in there those 2.73 will be killing your whole setup!!
also man, it wouldnt be a bad idea to run drag radials on the street. that way you will always hook up..
also man, it wouldnt be a bad idea to run drag radials on the street. that way you will always hook up..
08-26-2008, 02:05 PM
#11
u dont need a cam to hit 12's!! but you will definitely need all the boltons like lid, pulley, longtubes and nice catback. also u will need to change out the gears..even if u put a little cam in there those 2.73 will be killing your whole setup!!
also man, it wouldnt be a bad idea to run drag radials on the street. that way you will always hook up..
also man, it wouldnt be a bad idea to run drag radials on the street. that way you will always hook up..
I have two other F-body friends. We all have nearly the same tune with HP. The other two guys have longtubes and full exhaust. one car has 3.73's and one has 3.27's? it's a factory WS6. All other mods are the same as mine. They only run .2-.3 and 1 to 2 mph quicker.
We also had a big F-body day here at our local dragstrip, and there were a lot of full bolt-on cars. There was a M6 I raced a lot, full boltons with a FAST intake and running 12.8@109 to my 13.1@108.5. I get accused of having more done than stated a lot, but I don't.
I think with the LS1 head being such an animal, even a small cam will probably net some decent HP with my given mods, I hope.
08-26-2008, 02:16 PM
#12
If your set on the stock stall then the two cams you listed are good choices. I wouldnt go any larger than say a 224/224 (minus the CheaTR, thats a 215/231 I think). With all bolt ons on the stock stall i would say low 12's are doable. If you toss in say a 2800-3000 stall you could certainly hit 11's (if gears dont limit you).
08-26-2008, 02:21 PM
#13
If your set on the stock stall then the two cams you listed are good choices. I wouldnt go any larger than say a 224/224 (minus the CheaTR, thats a 215/231 I think). With all bolt ons on the stock stall i would say low 12's are doable. If you toss in say a 2800-3000 stall you could certainly hit 11's (if gears dont limit you).
08-26-2008, 02:32 PM
#14
Lol, honestly, the only reason I don't want a stall or gears is because a stall will probably cause my 7.5" to give, if not the 4L60. I'm pretty much on the ragged edge of dumping a lot of cash into it or be happy with it. I'm perfectly happy with high 12's now coming from a 14 sec Mustang.
i know you dont want gears but 3.73s would wake it up without killing MPG. that plus your full exhaust idea and full bolt ons, youd be seeing mid-low 12s easy. youd be a medium sized stall away from 11s
08-26-2008, 02:58 PM
#15
havent heard someone call it a 7.5" in a while. 10bolt same dif but jsut funny to hear 7.5"
i know you dont want gears but 3.73s would wake it up without killing MPG. that plus your full exhaust idea and full bolt ons, youd be seeing mid-low 12s easy. youd be a medium sized stall away from 11s
i know you dont want gears but 3.73s would wake it up without killing MPG. that plus your full exhaust idea and full bolt ons, youd be seeing mid-low 12s easy. youd be a medium sized stall away from 11s
lol, sorry, it's ford terminology coming out of me.
08-26-2008, 03:00 PM
#16
You may not want to hear this but what the hell. Your car will be much faster with a stall and 3:73 gears. Don't mess around with the cam yet. You dont have near the supporting mods that you need. You will cut alot better 60's with a stall, gears, and drag radials. Good luck Trevor
08-26-2008, 04:13 PM
#17
i think the 10 bolt is a little more giving on a automatic because the converter will eat up some of the shock vs. the M6 guys to the 10 bolt. plus as long as your car doesnt have slicks it will be fine. it makes no sense to put a little cam when your not gonna do a stall. if i were you, i would do all bolt ons like headers, and everything else and just do gears swap to atleast some 3.42 and some drag radials.
08-27-2008, 12:34 PM
#18
http://members.***.net/aledesma/DSC00034.JPG
Here's some food for thought. As I stated above, there is a group of us around here that have F-Bodies. We race at the track extremely often. Here's a slip with me (on the right) vs my friend. His car is an '02 WS6, True Dual, Pacesetter longtubes, X midpipe and cutouts. stock 3.42's i believe, whatever the WS6 Package comes with, and an A4 trans. We are the same mod for mod except for the gears and exhaust on his part.
To me, getting a couple of tenths and less than 1 mph isn't a big gain for almost 1K in mods. I'm sure the cam will pickup more then that, even if I don't have all the supporting mods. And, when I do get exhaust, it will be even more beneficial with the cam in place. I even cut a better '60 with my 2.73's, although he had some minor wheelspin.
I think i'm going to get the cheaTR cam, that way I have a little growing room if I ever decide to get a stall.
Here's some food for thought. As I stated above, there is a group of us around here that have F-Bodies. We race at the track extremely often. Here's a slip with me (on the right) vs my friend. His car is an '02 WS6, True Dual, Pacesetter longtubes, X midpipe and cutouts. stock 3.42's i believe, whatever the WS6 Package comes with, and an A4 trans. We are the same mod for mod except for the gears and exhaust on his part.
To me, getting a couple of tenths and less than 1 mph isn't a big gain for almost 1K in mods. I'm sure the cam will pickup more then that, even if I don't have all the supporting mods. And, when I do get exhaust, it will be even more beneficial with the cam in place. I even cut a better '60 with my 2.73's, although he had some minor wheelspin.
I think i'm going to get the cheaTR cam, that way I have a little growing room if I ever decide to get a stall.
08-27-2008, 05:35 PM
#19
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For your mods if you are set on a cam, why not get the GMPP Hotcam?
219/228
Designed to work with factory heads, factory springs and headers.
Sounds tough. Goes better. Have a search
(Yes, Im a HotCam groupie
)
219/228
Designed to work with factory heads, factory springs and headers.
Sounds tough. Goes better. Have a search
(Yes, Im a HotCam groupie
)
08-27-2008, 05:54 PM
#20
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Honestly......don't even bother with a cam....unless you are definitely going to do headers and catback in the future.
My car made the same exact power with full exhaust as my buddies car did with the tr224 cam (he did not have headers).
Put the squeeze on it for $800....that way you can run into the 11's when you want, and be as streetable as you like off the juice.
Just my $.02
My car made the same exact power with full exhaust as my buddies car did with the tr224 cam (he did not have headers).
Put the squeeze on it for $800....that way you can run into the 11's when you want, and be as streetable as you like off the juice.
Just my $.02