heads/cam on a daily driver
08-11-2007, 01:56 PM
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heads/cam on a daily driver Im looking at a 98 ws6 that has heads/cams on it. The cam is a 224/224 (sorry dont know anything about cams or any of the other specs) and the heads are... well i dont really know that either! lsa 110(something like that pops into my head, ill ask about both heads/cam when i go take a look at the car). anyway, i have to use the car as a daily driver, and ive heard that heads/cam make it tough to be a daily driver. 1. Why is it so hard to use a car with heads/cam as a daily driver? My friend told me that its gas mileage, but is there any other reason? I read that its hard to steer? could someone explain?
08-11-2007, 02:05 PM
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Hard to steer? 
As long as you stay away from race only cams and wild head ports that you will never be able to take advantage of, with a good tune and WELL matched head cam package will make a great daily driver. Gas mileage will probably go down a little but that is to be expected, but with a mild set up and a good tune you may actually gain a LITTLE mileage. (Maybe)
As long as you stay away from race only cams and wild head ports that you will never be able to take advantage of, with a good tune and WELL matched head cam package will make a great daily driver. Gas mileage will probably go down a little but that is to be expected, but with a mild set up and a good tune you may actually gain a LITTLE mileage. (Maybe)
08-11-2007, 02:08 PM
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ive never heard of anyone gaining mileage, but w/ a good tune and a decent cam like a 224 it wont use much more than stock. with cam upgrades its all about the tune.
you need to drive a stock fbody and then drive this one to be able to compare.
you need to drive a stock fbody and then drive this one to be able to compare.
08-11-2007, 02:25 PM
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"Just because you buy the biggest cam on the market, and the biggest-port highest-flowing heads on the market, does not mean that you will make a ton of power. It does not work like that. When purchasing a H/C package, you want a setup that is:
1. Matched to each other's strong points
2. Compensates for the weak points
3. Best suited for the displacement of your motor
1. Matched to each other's strong points:
Every head has its strong points and weak points. If you have a set of heads that flows particularly well on the intake side, then your cam selection should take that into account. If it has excellent port velocity, then your cam should again be geared to exploit that. For example, if your heads make the best flow at higher lift, then your cam should have the lift numbers to get it there.
2. Compensates for the weak points:
Like the strong points, every set of heads have its weak points. It is my belief that the cam should compensate for the shortcomings in your heads (since cams cost less). For instance, if your heads do not flow as well on the exhaust side, you may want to consider a cam that has a longer exhaust duration, to allow more time for the waste gasses to escape.
3. is Best suited for the displacement of your motor:
If you go out and purchase the biggest-port highest-flowing heads, and the most monstrous cam you can find, and slap it on your stock 346, what will you have? The baddest, fastest 346 this side of the Pecos, right, buddy? WRONG... you will have a over-priced, under-thought pile, that won't hold an idle, falls on its face, and never makes power in any usable power band. Good luck with that... What you want, is the highest-flowing smallest-port heads suited for your cubes, and a cam that makes the very most out of them."
https://ls1tech.com/forums/new-ls1-owners-newbie-tech/361959-so-you-wanna-fast.html
1. Matched to each other's strong points
2. Compensates for the weak points
3. Best suited for the displacement of your motor
1. Matched to each other's strong points:
Every head has its strong points and weak points. If you have a set of heads that flows particularly well on the intake side, then your cam selection should take that into account. If it has excellent port velocity, then your cam should again be geared to exploit that. For example, if your heads make the best flow at higher lift, then your cam should have the lift numbers to get it there.
2. Compensates for the weak points:
Like the strong points, every set of heads have its weak points. It is my belief that the cam should compensate for the shortcomings in your heads (since cams cost less). For instance, if your heads do not flow as well on the exhaust side, you may want to consider a cam that has a longer exhaust duration, to allow more time for the waste gasses to escape.
3. is Best suited for the displacement of your motor:
If you go out and purchase the biggest-port highest-flowing heads, and the most monstrous cam you can find, and slap it on your stock 346, what will you have? The baddest, fastest 346 this side of the Pecos, right, buddy? WRONG... you will have a over-priced, under-thought pile, that won't hold an idle, falls on its face, and never makes power in any usable power band. Good luck with that... What you want, is the highest-flowing smallest-port heads suited for your cubes, and a cam that makes the very most out of them."
https://ls1tech.com/forums/new-ls1-owners-newbie-tech/361959-so-you-wanna-fast.html
08-11-2007, 04:59 PM
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m6 or a4....if a4 does it have a stall???
we dont daily drive the t/a because of the converter and how loud it is....but when I was younger I had an H/C/I mustang gt that was a pretty radical setup....I drove it to work everyday for 2 years...its all a matter of prefferance...
we dont daily drive the t/a because of the converter and how loud it is....but when I was younger I had an H/C/I mustang gt that was a pretty radical setup....I drove it to work everyday for 2 years...its all a matter of prefferance...
08-12-2007, 04:03 PM
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My gas milage is the same as it was stock with all the mods in my sig. gears did bring it down, but headers showed a gain as did the heads. Cam made no difference in gas milage.
As for drivability for a DD. A small cam like the 224, is great for a daily driver. larger cams need more gas petal to get them moving and "lug" at low rpm's, but scream as the rpm's increas, making them harder to drive in traffic. The tune in the car also has a great deal to do with driveability.
As for drivability for a DD. A small cam like the 224, is great for a daily driver. larger cams need more gas petal to get them moving and "lug" at low rpm's, but scream as the rpm's increas, making them harder to drive in traffic. The tune in the car also has a great deal to do with driveability.
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08-13-2007, 10:08 PM
#8
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Well I went and test drove the thing. It had a pretty choppy idle(m6) and it would take some getting used to for it to be a daily driver. I might end up buying the car and selling/swapping the cam/heads to a friend for stock ones.
08-14-2007, 03:42 PM
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you shouldnt have to change the heads unless they are so high compression that you get pinging or knock. the cam maybe to large (sounds like it) i chose to mild a cam, ls6 runs smooth but dyno numbers are weak. if you want smooth idle i called lunati and for my A4 they recommended a 115 lsa, 560 lift, 221 duration cam, tpis says 559 lift 215 / 220 duration, (i think ZL11) , a lower cost cam at summit is trick flow $270 560 216/ 220. just my 2 cents! lots of web guys like the TR224. make sure you have good springs for any high lift cam!
