Looking for the best cam that is under .600 lift as I have pac1218 springs. Isee the tick performance and others but they are over .600 lift... I saw some say stock48 cams, since I just joined I can't pm him yet. any other good ones before I pull the trigger?? Thanks.

 

Im running Brian Tooleys stage 1 turbo cam and that’s right at .600 lift. Awesome drive ability. Small chop through the turbo. Really nice kit for the money.

 

Best for the most HP or best for your combo? Best is going to depend on more than just the max lift of the springs. Do you have an automatic and will it be required to work with the factory converter?

 

I am going to swap it when I get my 80e built it will have a 3000 stall unlocked. Looking for a good street/strip cam. Mostly street as it will be a weekend driver or couple days a week to work. Trying to stick with my springs now so I dont have to buy more and swap....hope this helps.

 

I really like the looks of the summit stage 2 high lift truck cam. Its a 218/227 112 .600 lift. May be a tad big for a 4.8 street car but a guy did a review said it was a beast in his 4.8 track car. We are going to use it in my friends 6.0 truck build should make a torque monster with a billet gen 1 78/75. I have used stock48 triple 12 cam in my 5.3 street car and it was awesome. At the time with my setup (stock 5.3 pac1218s and an s467/83 with a stock converter 80e) it made huge gains on the street and on the dyno. Picked up almost 90hp under the curve and 60hp peak over stock cam same boost and was night and day more fun driving around town.

 

I'm willing to buy .660 springs if needed to run a better cam. My truck is 4.8l, 78/75 turbo, 98lbs injectors. My hp goals are 700-800 wheel out of a 80e 3k stall.

 

Just pick any mild cam. It'll work. 800 wheel has been done on a stock 4.8 cam.

 

As mentioned any of the mild aftermarket cams will work well... prob arguing about 5-15hp difference at diff rpm ranges between most aftermarket stuff. (between the diff grinds not total power gained) So not a life/death choice here.

I've run 4 different cams in my 4.8's. Each had something I liked about it...

1.) Issky triple 12 was prob the best all around. Didn't sound aggressive tho.
2.) The Edelbrock 2215 had lots of low end and sounded choppy like a big mean cam, It wasn't! lol. Def woke it up down low if thats what your after (not my thing)
3.) Howards version of the GM hot cam. Less aggressive than the 2215 but still chops a little. Had more mid range, less bottome end. But basically the same as the Edelbrock on the butt dyno.
4.) Summit stag2. Isn't very aggressive sounding, which I was surprised about, but makes the most top end power out of the few cams I'd run.

I really like how texas speed lets you choose the tighter LSA on some of their cams. Feel like people run WAY to wide of an LSA on the 4.8's. No reason not to run .600 lift IMO. I like the texas speed stg 2 or 3 on a 110 LSA. (id go tighter if it was an option and u weren't concerned about idle quality.

That David Vizard fella states there is basically 1 LSA that will work best for any given motor for peak power output. And its determined by valve size and cubic inches. Of course this is throwing things like idle quality and cruise quality out the window. Not to mention back pressure from turbos etc... He would pick the LSA first, then adjust the valve O/C points to suit the RPM range. His articles are pretty interesting. And if you watch Richard Holdner at all he just tested the same cam ground on 3 different LSA's, results were in favor of the tightest 108 LSA. .

 

Thanks for the info. I was seeing lots run the sloppy stage 2, any comments on that?

 

Its cheap and opens the valves. Opening the valves makes power.
Your cam choice should be more about driveability, peak HP/TQ RPM, and idle quality. The power will be whatever you want it to be with enough boost.
You could lay out 500 cams, throw a coin blind-folded and make 700-800 HP with whatever it hits. The biggest differences will be the RPM range and idle quality, not the power potential.

 

the SS2 looks like it has good daily drive ability, good ram range (2500-6500) and a nice chop at idle.

 

I run a ss2 in my 5.3 and it works great but it doesnt make power like it did when I ran the isky triple 12. Like I said in my earlier post and many others have said its about what you want out of your set up. With the triple 12 it was good and torquey but still pulled great to 6500 and with the ss2 it makes more power up top but trades low end. If i were to change cams again i would go somewhere between the two and have the best of both worlds. Something like the summit 218/227-112.

 

Summit stage 2 turbo in my 4.8. Love it...no issues.

 

If it's going in a 4.8L truck, you'll probably be happier with the Isky 3x-12.

 

Depends where you want the power and if you want an aggressive sound at idle. The SS2 has been proven to work well and is cheapish. But IMO it’s too big for a 4.8 and not aggressive enough in the right places to make any one RPM range shine on the baby motor. (will still be a big improvement over stock)



Figure out if you want low end grunt or top end pull. There’s a huge range of in between cams, but I’d prefer to focus on one of those and choose the valve events that would target those areas the most. You’re basically spending the same amount of $ for a cam. So why run a average cam? Run one that will maximize whatever RPM range you want to shine the most.



If the turbo isn’t to large for the setup and comes online fast, personally I could care less about low end performance. If boost comes in fast, you can dial in as much or as little power as you want down low. I’m pulling power from all my setups at lower RPM to keep traction. On the street and at the track. Low end power is usually not what is lacking in my experience. If the turbo, hot-side, and converter are on point… even the 4.8’s have more power than you know what do with down low.

 

I sent my build to a engine builder and he recommended the specs in the photo which is pretty similar to these cams, ss2, jegs turbo cam, summit turbo cam. But your saying its too big. Its only going to the track maybe once a quarter. Mostly weekend cruiser and fun riding. Its got a 78/85 turbo. What do u recommend?

 

With a .96 T4 turbo, it should light off relatively quickly. Did I read those wheel numbers right? 78/85? Who makes that? That’s a large exhaust wheel. Esp for a .96 T4. 78/75 maybe? Either way, I’d think you’ll have all the low end you’d need if the hot side/converter/tune is setup well.

How much power are you looking for? Fuel type? Redline? Stock compression I’m guessing? 706 heads? Intake?

That cam could work well. Def. more of a top end cam. Really depends on the setup as a whole. 4.8’s don’t make a lot pf power NA. So they typically run more boost to compensate. That cam has a decent amount of duration and should make power well past the OEM intake manifolds happy place. Which is pintless if you don’t plan on revving g it over 6500ish where the stock truck manifolds peak…. I’d be looking at a 215-220 Duration’s with a much tighter LSA. Like 109-110. Also see no reason not to max out lift at .600ish. Would sound mean too. But again…. ask 10 diff guys to spec a cam and get 10 different answers.

 

yes its a 78/75. Thay was a typo. Looking for 700-800 whp. Fuel right now is pump but might be switching to e85, stock intake and heads. Reving to 6800 prob. So you would get a custom grind of 215-220 110 lsa and around the .590 -.600 lift. What about the springs being a .600 lift spring would that cause any problems? Thanks.

 

I've made 700 HP with both a bone stock cam and a 226/232 110 LSA cam on a stock 4.8 long block.
You're overthinking this. Pick a cam that idles and drives the way you want. Add boost.

 

people like stressing out of cams. its the "which caliber" of the EDC world