bigblockquad

Just bought another project today and need some advise on a cam choice.
Car is just under 2900lbs and here are the requirements.

1)Need operating power between 2500/3000 to 6500 rpm.
2)Will be matched to 1 3/4 LT's and CNC ported Chevy performance LS6 heads
3)Needs to be free of cold weather driveability issues.
4)Will be on an 04 LS6 motor.
5)Will need to run on California 91 octane.
6)Would like the idle to be as choppy as possible yet still meeting above goals

I'm kinda leaning towards the LG X3 camshaft. Any opinions would be greatly appreciated. BTW, being smog legal is not my biggest concern either.

TIA
Rich.

00Z28SS

iTrader: (2)

Your question is really vague as to "what is the best cam"?

1. most aftermarket camshafts will make power in the range you are looking for.

2. any supporting airflow modification will accompany a camshaft nicely.

3. Even high lift and long duration camshafts can be tuned to behave nicely in cold weather.

4. camshafts have no effect on how much octane you need to run. This is for boosted, nitroused and high compression motors.

5. lift and duration have no effect on how a camshaft idles (how lopey it will be). This is in your LSA, lobe separation.

Hope this information helps

jermzz

iTrader: (18)

I dasagree with that. You mean to tell me a Torquer 2 on a 112 will not be more lopey then a 224 on a 112? Or even a MS3 on a 113LSA. Intake duration has effect on lopeyness.

Other then that, I agree on everything else.

You might want to go to ls1sounds.com and listen to some cars with cams and see which one gets your interest. There's plenty of cam threads on here to figure out how much power pretty much any cam ever sold will make.

Good luck.

orangeapeel

iTrader: (18)

It is hard to decifer what sounds good from audio clips though, but they will definitely tell you what the inconsistency is in the idle. You almost have to hear it in person. If you are talking about california, are you worried about smog realated cams? I didnt think that the G5X3 would be a "smog friendly" cam. But it is up to you. And to beat on the other subject. The "lope" is determined from most of the aspects of the cam. You can't base it on just LSA....but yes, it does play a role in how it behaves. The lift and duration also do. I learned this from experience with high duration and high lift and high LSA. It lopes like a mother and it is on a 115. So it is not just the lobe separation that has to do with the sounds it makes. now you want valvetrain noise? Get a large duration!

00Z28SS

iTrader: (2)

I am sorry if I am preaching wrong information. I thought LSA was the biggest factor when it comes to lope.

Another curiosity I had is why do LS1's have so much valvetrain noise? It sounds like a damn sewing machine under my hood. I could understand where the noise would be coming from if they were solid surface lifters, but roller?

jermzz

iTrader: (18)

I'm not sure about this and someone will sure correct me if i'm wrong, but I think it's the valves closing so fast due to the fast ramp rate of the cam. That and better springs. It would make sense anyway.

orangeapeel

iTrader: (18)

It is just cause it was built for economy, and sewing machine is what big performace sounds like. Sort of like solid rod ends...if you want a quiet car then keep it stock. otherwise you are going to have to put up with noises.

00Z28SS

iTrader: (2)

I actually very much enjoy the noise. I just wondered if anyone knew why it actually created that much noise.

jermzz

iTrader: (18)

That wasn't really much of a technical answer, but I can dig it. haha.

WKMCD

iTrader: (2)

Stiff springs - I run Comp 921's - and an agressive cam (230/236 112lsa .598/.610 XE-R) will make some valve noise. The aluminum block and heads also are a major contributor to the LS1 valve train noise. They don't absorb the sound like an iron block.