budget 5.3 cam input
11-04-2013, 10:43 PM
#1
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budget 5.3 cam input I decided scrap all my gen 1 stuff and go ls in my 55 bel air I can pick up 5.3s cheap all day long mainly lm7's and I should have one in next few weeks. I plan to just use what ever heads are on the motor maybe just a little porting/smoothing and will be hooked to muncie 4 speed with 3.73 gears around 3200 pounds. I see MS3 cam mentioned quite a bit but usually on the bottle. Any input for cheap cam springs setup for best bang for buck on a 5.3?
Last edited by kodyowenby10; 11-04-2013 at 10:49 PM.
11-05-2013, 11:32 AM
#4
What are your plans for the car? Is it just a fun cruiser, or drag car? Are you looking for a nasty sounding cam or just a good pickup in power over the stock truck cam?
If a nasty sound isn't a requirement or max power isn't too important, the GM LS9 cam has been worth a noticeable bump in power and is dirt cheap ( under 150 bucks)
One of the mags (I forget which one, GMHP?) tested most of the factory cams in a 5.3 and the LS9 made around 420 with dyno headers on a stock truck 5.3. The LSA is really wide for a carbed build, but I haven't seen anything that proves a wide LSA is all bad on a carbed build. Just that a tight LSA will drain the last HP out of a carbed setup. LS6 springs will work fine on the LS9 cam. Just a thought. If you want all the power you can get, just give Martin at Tick or one of the other cam gurus a call and have a custom grind built.
If a nasty sound isn't a requirement or max power isn't too important, the GM LS9 cam has been worth a noticeable bump in power and is dirt cheap ( under 150 bucks)
One of the mags (I forget which one, GMHP?) tested most of the factory cams in a 5.3 and the LS9 made around 420 with dyno headers on a stock truck 5.3. The LSA is really wide for a carbed build, but I haven't seen anything that proves a wide LSA is all bad on a carbed build. Just that a tight LSA will drain the last HP out of a carbed setup. LS6 springs will work fine on the LS9 cam. Just a thought. If you want all the power you can get, just give Martin at Tick or one of the other cam gurus a call and have a custom grind built.
11-05-2013, 02:20 PM
#5
All of the GM cams tested, LS1,2,3,6,7,9,ect... resulted in dramatically huge increases in HP, but generally at the expense of low and midrange power. The larger factory cams didn't start to make any more power until after 4500-rpm and most sapped the low speed output by over 20-40 ft/lbs.
The aftermarket Crane cams in the same test trounce the LS9 cam.
A custom cam might be a hundred extra bucks, but if it does everything better it sure is money well spent.
The aftermarket Crane cams in the same test trounce the LS9 cam.
A custom cam might be a hundred extra bucks, but if it does everything better it sure is money well spent.
The 224 cam from Crane increased the power output of the 5.3L to an impressive 442 hp and 412 lb-ft of torque while offering less of a trade off in low-speed torque than the LS6, LS7, or LS9 grinds. In fact, the 224 cam was consistently up by 25 lb-ft over the LS7 and LS9 cams and equaled or bettered the LM7 cam from 2,900 rpm to 6,500 rpm.
Read more of that CarCraft 5.3L cam test: http://www.carcraft.com/techarticles...#ixzz2jnv6oHyx
Read more of that CarCraft 5.3L cam test: http://www.carcraft.com/techarticles...#ixzz2jnv6oHyx
11-05-2013, 02:42 PM
#6
If the OP is running a carb'd set up than the high RPM numbers in that carcraft article are going to be understated. The truck intake is definitely hurting air flow at higher RPM. Still a very good article.
Since the OP is running a 4 speed with 3.73 gears the motor is going to spend the majority of it's time above 3000 RPM anyway. The car is relatively light too. I wouldn't get too worried about dropping 20 or 30 ft-lbs of torque at low RPM. Even with a monster cam the low RPM torque should still kick the *** of any first get 283.
Since the OP is running a 4 speed with 3.73 gears the motor is going to spend the majority of it's time above 3000 RPM anyway. The car is relatively light too. I wouldn't get too worried about dropping 20 or 30 ft-lbs of torque at low RPM. Even with a monster cam the low RPM torque should still kick the *** of any first get 283.
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11-05-2013, 05:56 PM
#9
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It will be a street car might drag it every now and then. I like the big nasty idle and as much power as I can squeeze. I been looking at used cams for sale every where I guess I really just need a round about lift and lobe seperation. How about a MS3 cam tho?
11-06-2013, 07:18 AM
#10
If it was me, and Im the guy that leans towards the conservative side on cam selection, somewhere around 224* at .050, 108-110LSA with a lot of advance ground in. Lift somewhere in the mid 500s, because the stock heads aren't going to get much use out of any more lift and big lift #s are hard on springs. With the tight LSA and low 220s on duration, in a small engine, the cam will talk pretty loud with a good rap, but hopefully, be drive able enough to not kill the fun of driving that shoe box. I don't know anything about the MS3, but if its much bigger than the description above, its too much, IMO.
11-11-2013, 11:36 AM
#12
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Im hearing all about these gm cams, ls1,2,3,6,7,9 .... i recently acquired a gen IV 5.3
heads are #243 my plans are carb build topped on victor. my aim is aet at 450+++ hp.
Not a DD.. weekend car. What cams out there for me? i plan on nice set of trunnion rockers,,,,port matching .... ideas, thoughts?
heads are #243 my plans are carb build topped on victor. my aim is aet at 450+++ hp.
Not a DD.. weekend car. What cams out there for me? i plan on nice set of trunnion rockers,,,,port matching .... ideas, thoughts?
11-26-2013, 11:14 PM
#14
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I ran across this while on ebay http://www.ebay.com/itm/271330425238...84.m1423.l2649 Would this be over kill becaue of amount of lift I see most carbs are 540ish or lower duration about the same tho? I plan to measure but is .600 lift around the time you start running into clearance issues will be dish 5.3 with 706's if deal goes threw?
