AllThrottleNoBottle

I'm not going to ask what cam is streetable, so calm down I want to know what factors determine what is streetable...

-Surging
-Lope
-Changing the springs

What else determines streetable, when looking for a cam, what should I be thinking about when purchasing one for a daily driver?

ls1hybrid

-gas mileage
-control
-the ability of accessories (AC, WP, PS, alternator) to operate at idle

AllThrottleNoBottle

So, theoretically if you had all the mods to accommodate a cam swap, you could really put any cam in you want, just as long as you have the heads and exhaust to flow with it, and springs to handle the bigger cam?

ls1hybrid

and a tune

Another_User

No less than 112 LSA (probably 114+ for best idle), no more than .550 lift so it won't eat springs, keep the duration from being too excessive (no more than 224ish). If you keep it in that area you will have a mild cam that idles well without eating springs every 10-15k miles and provides an excellent power increase.

I run a hotcam which can be a pretty rough cam, but since I tuned it the only real difference you can notice from stock is very slight (hardly noticable) surging under 2k rpms.

Another_User

No. A cam that isn't very streetable isn't going to be more streetable with any mods except a tune. Tuning helps a lot. But all those extra mods will build more power.

AllThrottleNoBottle

When I get a cam, I want it to lope a lot, but thats just about every cam. This will be my daily driver, and I will drive approximately 15 - 30 miles a day, and about 150 miles about twice a month. I don't care about surging, if the only thing that is, is a rough idle. I do care about gas mileage, but that only goes down with the biggest of cams if I understood correctly. I want all the accessories to be able to opperate at idle (ie. AC, WP, PS, Radio etc.) I am ok with changing the springs once a year, but I could deal with changing them a little sooner, if it would net me enough horsepower to justify spending the extra money on springs all the time.

When its time for a cam, I will have the following:

-Kooks 1 3/4 Stainless Long Tubes
-TSP True Duals
-ASP Pulley
-TSP Lid
-Jantzer Performance Throttle Body
-Tune

Thanks for your time, Ryan

Tranzor

Tuning definitely determines how streetable your cam setup is... my 231/237 cam is extremely liveable, it has a lot of lope but idles great after tuning, even with the A/C on full blast and running in stop & go traffic. Also, with the proper springs you won't have to worry about having to change the springs a lot on your car... I'm not worried about my cam 'eating' my Patriot gold dual springs.

pdd

iTrader: (3)

i tell ya. i like my cam alot. no stalling, no idle issues. the fm11 228/230 595lift on a 114lsa. really great cam

AllThrottleNoBottle

At what cam specs, does even tuning fail to make the car able to be a daily driver?

God of Thunder

my f13 (230/232 .595/.585 112 lsa 108 icl) is pretty streetable even without tuning. all the accessories work fine. i used the patriot golds too so im not concerned. i would think though, that if you got something too big that you would be bogging from stoplights and stuff, especially with stock gearing. im not sure though, im no expert by any means.

AllThrottleNoBottle

Would another thing to really consider be where you want the power (ie. down low, mid, or high)?

OneMeanZ

iTrader: (2)

Yes, most people who want a street setup go with a cam with good low to mid range torque......but for me I would go with a cam that's range is 3000-6300 and I'd put a 4.10 gear to help get it up there

AllThrottleNoBottle

I would want a cam with good low - mid torque for the street, I think that would make it more fun to drive. I just got through reading jrp's cam guide, and it look like if I want a cam to have low-mid range power, then I should get a cam with 2 or 4 degrees of advance ground in. I also found that to keep the car "streetable" that you need to keep the LSA between 112 and 114, but isn't it the lower the LSA, the more torque you gain? Did I misunderstand the advance and LSA?

jrp

iTrader: (16)

its not the cam specs that fail, its the tuners ability. someone who doesnt know what the **** there doing could make a 224 112 unstreetable and someone with skill can make something as big as the grand am cam (239/251 .570/.570 106lsa) run just fine.

jrp

iTrader: (16)

i put 112-114 because frankly thats 90% of what off the shelf cams come like. 112 +2 or +4 and 114 +2 or +4. but a cam spec'd with VE's to your application would come out quite different as the LSA is just the by product.

Ben R

Those are some pretty broad generalizations, don't you think?

Another_User

There are a lot of cams out there. In general, those are good specs to follow for durability and streetability IMHO...