LS4 Performance - Cam and intake question

I want to get rid of the DOD on my car. I called speed inc and the gentleman on the phone said I need to replace the cam and lifters on the motor and a tune. He said their is a kit that they used dont know the specs. If someones done this with them I would like some feedback. What kind of gain in HP should I expect? Should I get an intake and if so which one an LS1 or LS6? What kind of gains should I expect from either intake? Should I consider getting a CAI? My car is all stock other than the shitty magnaflow I have on it and a drop in K&N. I just had the plugs replaced due to the fact that all the oil in the #1 cyl fouled the plug. Right now this is my wifes DD and she wants to get a new car and Im thinking about keeping it for my DD and retire my GTP to storage. Any other advice is appreciated.

all you need is a tune. Had my tuner turn off DoD, and its been off for 30k miles now.

all you need is a tune. Had my tuner turn off DoD, and its been off for 30k miles now.

Youv'e had no problems with it? The only thing I really want to do is disable the DOD. Its quick enough for a DD. But if I really had to do the cam swap I would want to make it worth my while. If I was to buy a tuner like a Diablo could I just disable it with that? Sorry I dont keep up with this car like I used to im sure this question was asked a million times. Any other suggestions would be appreciated.

all you need is a tune. Had my tuner turn off DoD, and its been off for 30k miles now.

Youv'e had no problems with it? The only thing I really want to do is disable the DOD. Its quick enough for a DD. But if I really had to do the cam swap I would want to make it worth my while. If I was to buy a tuner like a Diablo could I just disable it with that? Sorry I dont keep up with this car like I used to im sure this question was asked a million times. Any other suggestions would be appreciated.

you can just tune out the dod and change nothing else.

Doing a cam swap is well worth the efforts, but expensive.
I would get a hold of Lewis Eaton and purchase a Trinity.
With a tune, catback, and k&n your car should be good for 13.8s

Youv'e had no problems with it? The only thing I really want to do is disable the DOD. Its quick enough for a DD. But if I really had to do the cam swap I would want to make it worth my while. If I was to buy a tuner like a Diablo could I just disable it with that? Sorry I dont keep up with this car like I used to im sure this question was asked a million times. Any other suggestions would be appreciated.

Ask as many questions as you want, thats why the forum is here. I have had no problems, and yes a Diablo tuner can disable DoD.

I like the idea of the cam swap ($1300+ tune im guessing another $300 for that) but I also like the idea of the trinity ($599). What kind of gains would I expect with the cam and tune vs just the tuner? Im interested in both options reason being even if I spend $1600-$2000 I will never be able to find a DD as nice as my wifes car its got 65k on it and its mint and I know the car.
If there is a significant gain like 30+ whp with the cam/tune I think I would lean toward that. I know these cars are tuned to save the trans (on the second one BTW) so I can Imagine that the trinity may give me a decent number too. Im guessing at least around 20 whp. Again excuse me for my ignorant questions been out of the Grand Prix game for awhile.

Doing a cam swap is well worth the efforts, but expensive.
I would get a hold of Lewis Eaton and purchase a Trinity.
With a tune, catback, and k&n your car should be good for 13.8s

My friend ran a 14 flat with his at Union Grove and I raced him with my wifes on the street, I easily pulled away from him (Ive driven his car several times and he's driven mine and we both agree mines faster). I ran another guy with a white one on the street and pulled away from him too. This was before I put the magnaflow on it both of these cars had the magnaflow. The way I see it every car is a little different.

I think I have everything you need if you decide to go with a cam swap. I also have a TEP transmission with 4K miles on it if you really want to get serious.

I think I have everything you need if you decide to go with a cam swap. I also have a TEP transmission with 4K miles on it if you really want to get serious.

Hopefully I wont need another trans for a while. How much for the cam? Is it new or used?

Honest;y you need to decide on a path for this car first...cause a flash tune and a cam swap are worlds apart in cost, parts required, skill required, etc...

If all you want is a nice DD then you should install a Hogan Performance catted/catless DP with a catback of your choice, a CAI style intake, and get it Diablew tuned. this will be MORE than enough to satisfy the need for a quick DD. You can disable DoD in the tune as well...

If you wanna get serious you need to think with your wallet cause it's gonna be open quite a bit. Headers should be utilized (500 to 1000 dollars) A good cam is 400 bucks new. You'll want new lifters, a LS3 valley cover, Katech OPSU adapter, pushrods, all applicable gaskets, timing set, tensioner, etc...if you swap cams it's not a bad time to pull the heads and have them ported/milled. this is around 1000 bucks just on the heads. You'll also want to ditch the LS4 intake for a LS1/LS6 intake. figure another 250 to 500 there. by now you'll be making 75-100hp over stock so that transmission will really start to take a shit. you'll need to call TEP and order the hard parts and a converter to have a shop rebuild it OR get one directly from then starting at 1750ish plus your trans as core.

I plan to do a cam and head swap after my turbo busa is done. Thinking a TR or TSP cam in the neighborhood of 22x duration and .6xx lift, AI Ported heads, FAST 90mm intake, 90mm TB, and I'll have the intake drilled/tapped for a direct port kit.

Honest;y you need to decide on a path for this car first...cause a flash tune and a cam swap are worlds apart in cost, parts required, skill required, etc...

If all you want is a nice DD then you should install a Hogan Performance catted/catless DP with a catback of your choice, a CAI style intake, and get it Diablew tuned. this will be MORE than enough to satisfy the need for a quick DD. You can disable DoD in the tune as well...

If you wanna get serious you need to think with your wallet cause it's gonna be open quite a bit. Headers should be utilized (500 to 1000 dollars) A good cam is 400 bucks new. You'll want new lifters, a LS3 valley cover, Katech OPSU adapter, pushrods, all applicable gaskets, timing set, tensioner, etc...if you swap cams it's not a bad time to pull the heads and have them ported/milled. this is around 1000 bucks just on the heads. You'll also want to ditch the LS4 intake for a LS1/LS6 intake. figure another 250 to 500 there. by now you'll be making 75-100hp over stock so that transmission will really start to take a shit. you'll need to call TEP and order the hard parts and a converter to have a shop rebuild it OR get one directly from then starting at 1750ish plus your trans as core.

I plan to do a cam and head swap after my turbo busa is done. Thinking a TR or TSP cam in the neighborhood of 22x duration and .6xx lift, AI Ported heads, FAST 90mm intake, 90mm TB, and I'll have the intake drilled/tapped for a direct port kit.

Well if I do go the cam swap route Im gonna just have Speed Inc. do all the work and they gave me a rough estimate for the cam/tune of around $2000.00. Now 75-100 hp over stock sounds tempting with all the other mods you listed probably closer to $4500.00 and my wallet dont strech that far LOL. I do have a Magnaflow on it and a K&N drop in. Its my wifes car (seems like it will be mine sooner or later)and she hates the Magnaflow( I will never buy any of their products again I was very disappointed with the sound and their service), I put a longer resonator on it to get rid of the drone and I'd say 90% of it is gone.

I dont want to get into porting heads and stuff like that but the LS1/LS6 intake would be cool. Which ones better? Whats the difference in price between the two. What cam does everyone use (dont know which one the guy at speed inc was quoting)?? My buddy has a vette and the popular cam swap is an LS9 cam and supposedly it costs less than $100.00 seems like on an LS3 you get 30 whp just from that. I reread your post and from the sounds of it unless I get into all the other stuff the cam swap might not be worth the money.

Chance, where have you been?

Steve, a cam swap with a tune and intake will give you over 75 whp.
Take my car for example..
With a cam, intake, headers, 3" exhaust, and obvious tuning, I tapped 111mph. When I was all stock I trapped 99mph.
Each mph increase equals 10 whp (theory) so I gained 120 hp.
I now have ported heads, with alittle internal block work. I am hoping to trap 114-115 by the end of the year.
If you are serious, I can pm you the details.

Ls6 intake swap is around a grand if you have a shop install it. that price includes parts. Ls6 is more expense but will work a lot better than a ls1 intake with a cam swap. Imo do a dod delete tune with 1.85 rr that will give you a 530 lift I think.

Doing a cam swap is well worth the efforts, but expensive.
I would get a hold of Lewis Eaton and purchase a Trinity.
With a tune, catback, and k&n your car should be good for 13.8s

Thanks Dave! :devil:

:thumb:

yeah, can definitely get that car crankin' without having to go the whole big $$ cam/intake swap route...


Here's what I was able to do with DavidGXP's setup last year:

http://www.gmls4.com/index.php/topic,64.0.html




.

Steve, a cam swap with a tune and intake will give you over 75 whp.
Take my car for example..
With a cam, intake, headers, 3" exhaust, and obvious tuning, I tapped 111mph. When I was all stock I trapped 99mph.
Each mph increase equals 10 whp (theory) so I gained 120 hp.
I now have ported heads, with alittle internal block work. I am hoping to trap 114-115 by the end of the year.
If you are serious, I can pm you the details.



If you have a chance let me know the details I would really appreciate that. It will all boil down to cost in the end. I wanna shop around and see what I can come up with and take it from there. If I can keep it under $2000.00 I think the cam/intake is the way I will go. I really dont want to get too involved with porting, headers, ect. I want it to be quick and dependable dont care if I have the fastest GXP.

Thanks Dave! :devil:

:thumb:

yeah, can definitely get that car crankin' without having to go the whole big $$ cam/intake swap route...


Here's what I was able to do with DavidGXP's setup last year:

http://www.gmls4.com/index.php/topic,64.0.html




.

Do you sell the tuner with the tune already installed? If so how much? What kind of info would you need from me about my car? If I remember correctly the trans has a different computer. Would you be able to reprogram the trans too with the same tuner? Again I havent really looked at the Grand Prix stuff for a while please forgive me if Im asking dumb questions.

Do you sell the tuner with the tune already installed? If so how much? What kind of info would you need from me about my car? If I remember correctly the trans has a different computer. Would you be able to reprogram the trans too with the same tuner? Again I havent really looked at the Grand Prix stuff for a while please forgive me if Im asking dumb questions.

yes I sell the Trinity and offer a package deal for it plus my custom tuning at a reduced rate, so you'd save $$... here's info:

http://www.diablewtune.com/package_deal.html

and no, the tune would not be on it already... custom tunes have to be made from the copies of tune files from your specific car, because the tunes are tied to a vehicle's specific VIN and engine calibration ID's....

so, you'd order the deal, then when you'd get the Trinity in about a couple days, you'd need to install one of the diablo preset tunes into your car, so that the trinity would save the original backup stock tune files in it...

then you'd save a copy of those "original backup" and "last tune written" tune files out of the trinity to your PC - email them to me - I create the custom tune for your car based on those files and email the custom tune file back to you.. you import it into the trinity, then connect the trinity to your car and install the custom tune.

correct, there is a separate TCM module for the tranny, and yes, the Trinity can adjust the tcm/tranny tune settings as well... have had my tcm/tranny tuned since last December ;)

All the info you'd need can be found on my site http://www.diablewtune.com and yes, I'd need to know your vehicle's info - year/model, what mods are done to it, etc.

Thanks for asking man, I appreciate it!
-Lew

Keep in mind with adding that much more power you tranny will need updated to take the abuse. It's only a matter of time before it brakes.

Yes.. The trans will need to be upgraded eventually. My tasks lasted for a long time before needeing a rebuild. In fact, it didn't need a rebuild, it needed a new Chanel plate pressure valve

Davidgxp, with a cam and intake swap with tune and exhaust what do you think the fwhp would be at the wheels?

yes I sell the Trinity and offer a package deal for it plus my custom tuning at a reduced rate, so you'd save $$... here's info:

http://www.diablewtune.com/package_deal.html

and no, the tune would not be on it already... custom tunes have to be made from the copies of tune files from your specific car, because the tunes are tied to a vehicle's specific VIN and engine calibration ID's....

so, you'd order the deal, then when you'd get the Trinity in about a couple days, you'd need to install one of the diablo preset tunes into your car, so that the trinity would save the original backup stock tune files in it...

then you'd save a copy of those "original backup" and "last tune written" tune files out of the trinity to your PC - email them to me - I create the custom tune for your car based on those files and email the custom tune file back to you.. you import it into the trinity, then connect the trinity to your car and install the custom tune.

correct, there is a separate TCM module for the tranny, and yes, the Trinity can adjust the tcm/tranny tune settings as well... have had my tcm/tranny tuned since last December ;)

All the info you'd need can be found on my site http://www.diablewtune.com and yes, I'd need to know your vehicle's info - year/model, what mods are done to it, etc.

Thanks for asking man, I appreciate it!
-Lew

The example on you previous post that tune was done to a stock car? Because David GXP has alot of mods listed.

Keep in mind with adding that much more power you tranny will need updated to take the abuse. It's only a matter of time before it brakes.

I'll take that into consideration.

Davidgxp, with a cam and intake swap with tune and exhaust what do you think the fwhp would be at the wheels?

I dyno'd 238hp/275tq with just a catted Downpipe way back in the day and 256 with HP tuning.
Then I installed a Magnaflolw catback , 1.8 rockers, CAI, and a LS1 intake that was tuned by Lewis, and a put down 276hp/299tq with number 4cyl. injector unplugged.

All stock, I trapped 98-99mph, with a 238whp. After installing the cam and such, as posted before, I trapped 111.33 mph. This would put me around 355-360 whp. I do not plan on getting dyno'd again. I perfer trap speeds:devil:

This cars race weight is 3865 with me in it and 1/8th tank of gas. Best ET was 12.71.

I now have ported heads, lighter valvetrain, std volume oil pump, and a built trans with 3.69's.
With the new heads, the car feels like the cam swap all over again.

Thanks Dave! :devil:

:thumb:

yeah, can definitely get that car crankin' without having to go the whole big $$ cam/intake swap route...


Here's what I was able to do with DavidGXP's setup last year:

http://www.gmls4.com/index.php/topic,64.0.html




.

And thank you Lew! Your tune is still running strong:usa:

Lew was very quick with making changes to my tune, after receiving my logs.
I think it took about 8 logs lol.. I was using the Predator at the time.

Cam swap list:

Camshaft

*Camshaft retainer plate*

LS7 lifters

LS2 lifter buckets

Head gaskets

Head bolts

Pushrods

Valve springs

Katech valley tray http://store.katechengines.com/modified-valley-cover---gen-4-reverse-intake-p149.aspx

Katech opsu adapter http://store.katechengines.com/oil-pressure-sensor-adapter---gen-4-reverse-intake-p148c8.aspx?Thread=True

LS6 intake (Send the intake to me for a fee, and I will do the proper mods for you)

Brian's TB adapter

Stock Injectors with http://fuelinjectorconnection.com/shop/index.php?_a=viewProd&productId=212 adapters. Make sure you get the Lower injector O-rings!

LS6 fuel rail (returnless)

Map extension harness

If you shop around you can find so screaming deals..

I would hit up Chance707, to find out what he would let everything go for, since he has been there and done that.

I wish someone who lived close to me, would get serious.. I could do the whole dam swap, and could use a little extra $$ ;) and I would be much cheaper then a shop, and could get most parts for a fraction of their costs!

* Do not take a chance on reusing the retainer plate unless your engine has less then 50K. Their is a embeded oil seal that is in the plate to seal off the oil galleries. The plate is less the 30.00. *

Cam swap list:

Camshaft

*Camshaft retainer plate*

LS7 lifters

LS2 lifter buckets

Head gaskets

Head bolts

Pushrods

Valve springs

Katech valley tray http://store.katechengines.com/modified-valley-cover---gen-4-reverse-intake-p149.aspx

Katech opsu adapter http://store.katechengines.com/oil-pressure-sensor-adapter---gen-4-reverse-intake-p148c8.aspx?Thread=True

LS6 intake (Send the intake to me for a fee, and I will do the proper mods for you)

Brian's TB adapter

Stock Injectors with http://fuelinjectorconnection.com/shop/index.php?_a=viewProd&productId=212 adapters. Make sure you get the Lower injector O-rings!

LS6 fuel rail (returnless)

Map extension harness

If you shop around you can find so screaming deals..

I would hit up Chance707, to find out what he would let everything go for, since he has been there and done that.

I wish someone who lived close to me, would get serious.. I could do the whole dam swap, and could use a little extra $$ ;) and I would be much cheaper then a shop, and could get most parts for a fraction of their costs!

* Do not take a chance on reusing the retainer plate unless your engine has less then 50K. Their is a embeded oil seal that is in the plate to seal off the oil galleries. The plate is less the 30.00. *

Wow thanks for the info. This helps me out ALOT. Now I just have to think about this for a little. Do I want a real screamer and spend $$$ or should I just go the easy route? Im so confused. How long would a stock trans last behind that much power? I drive my cars kinda hard like say on a scale from 1-10 one being real easy and 10 abusing the shit out of it I'd say would be a7.5. Your car sounds like its alot of fun and I cant imagine having that as a DD. Do you drive it everyday? Or is it your "fun" car? Now with $5 a gallon for gas I got ask this too. Hows the gas milage?
I spoke to my buddy and he said he ran a 13.9 and his trap speed was 99 if I can remember. I know that I pulled a couple of cars on him without the magnaflow his had the magnaflow. Whats the quickest stock GXP/LS4 run? I believe I read somewhere (a while ago) it was a GXP and it ran a 13.6 @ 102 if im not mistaken. Ive been out of the game for a while excuse my ignorance.

Davidgxp car is no longer a dd, the trans is only a ticking time bomb. You might get lucky and it with last for a year or 2 or a week with the new parts.The more power you make the fuel your going to burn. So expect to lose mpg.

I can post more details later.
Right now I average 18.9 but get well over 25 on the highway.
My car is very daily drivable...
For the most part its my fun car now

I can post more details later.
Right now I average 18.9 but get well over 25 on the highway.
My car is very daily drivable...
For the most part its my fun car now

WOW! The car right now gets around 14mpg city and about 22-25 HWY. Now I have a huge decision to make. If I can keep it under $2000 for the cam intake and tune that would make easy. BUT how long is the trans gonna last? Gotta budget in the cost for that too. Which sounds like at least another $2500 installed. So lets just call it $5000.00 total. I know one thing it will be real fun driving it then.