Someday (in the far future) I will be supercharged.

Currently I have a small 221/221 .558 114 cam in a 99 TA.

If I can only afford to do one mod right now, which would be better:
LS6 intake
Blower cam (if so which one?)

 

That is basically a slightly smaller cam than a typical 224/224 blower cam. LS6 in a heartbeat.

 

if you search around you can get a ls6 intake for about 250-275 dollars. That is the way to go.

 

Intake will help, but remember an LS6 intake will not really help you with a FI setup.. So I say get a larger Blower cam..

Clint

 

the ls6 will help you in a FI application, most definatly
i deffinatly noticed more top end pull when i switched it out.

 

Thanks for the responses, the votes are split right now, anyone else have an opinion and explaination for it?

(BTW, if I went cam, I think it would be a decent sized one, like 230ish)

 

if you put a cam in it will need more air plain and simple. You will not get the results you should get without a good intake.

Intake first- you'll need it for the blower anyway and if you do a cam it will need to suck in more air. An engine is just a big air pump, the more efficient you make it the more power it'll make.
Blower-second Any Vortech or ATI blower will give you a minimum of 120 hp extra at the wheels, you won't be thinking about a cam unless you want to achieve a certain number. Its easier to just run more boost than do a cam install anyway.
Cam third-when you're looking to compliment the blower's power and get more power throughout the rpm range.

my car with a vortech and 9 lbs made 476 with no cam, btw i'm an A4 that's well over 500 with an M6. Just something to think about.

 

your cam CAN be a blower cam so id save the $3-400 and go use it for an LS6 and get SFC's!

 

We've pushed 700hp with Cams as small as your's so I would keep that and go with the intake

 

how about this.... get a LS2 intake (pretty good for F/I) and the blower cam...

 

Ideally that is what I'd do, but I'm a little short on cash right now, so can only do one.

I'm leaning strongly toward the intake though, thanks to some of what was said above.

 

thought i saw someone put a 90 intake on a forced induction setup and LOST power cause they lost the velocity.

 

I have heard some people say that they gain 2-3 hp with the LS6 intake. I have an LS1 intake with a blower cam and I personally would not spend the money on the intake. Good luck with your decision! Try and flip a coin > that's what I do....

 

plain and simple.. for 400 dollars.. you will see more power to the wheels with a "blower grind cam" VS a LS6 intake..

Clint

 

Very well said. Id get the intake and stay with the cam you already have. Its not ur typical split that nitrous/supercharger folks like but the cam you have will work out, its a mild cam, but it'll get the job done once the blowers on and tuned. U'LL see Jus my 2cents

 

I believe with stock heads he will not see much results with the higher flowing intake on a FI setup.. A good blower cam will provide more power RWHP to the ground than a LS6 intake, on a FI setup..

Clint

 

i disagree...hes not going from a stock cam to a blower cam....hes going from a cam the could be considered a blower cam to a blower cam....whereas hes going from a stock intake to an LS6 which is a big difference.

 

exactly

 

Not really on a FI setup.. The intake is pressurized, thus pressureized against the CAM.... In a NA application, the motor tries it's best to get air sucked into the combustion chamber, add the fuel and fire that cylinder, then despence the exhaust.. In order to do that you need as little restriction on the intake/exhaust as possible. The LS6 intake is less restrictive than the LS1 which is why you make more power with it.. But in a FI setup where as the motor is getting more air than it could suck on it's own, restriction on the intake side is really no longer a factor.. Getting the air into the cylinder, add the fuel, fire it and get that expensed air out as efficent and quick as possible becomes more important. Which is why a split longer exhaust durration cam is important, to get that fired expensed air out the the cylinder as best and as effiecent as possible. Then when that intake valve opens up the cylinder will be properly filled with cooler, denser air..

But I guess we will never know..

Remember.. My realization comes from Pressure.. When you pressurize a manifold, the cam plays a key role in how the air will be dispersed into the cylinder, and how the air will be expensed from the cylinder on the exhaust stroke.. How more volumetric efficiency will be important in the combustion chamber.. Yes the intake does flow more air than the stock LS1 intake, but with a intake that is pressurized on the positive side, the proper cam will utilize the pressure the best, thus providing more HP.. When you pressurize the intake, what makes you think the volume of the air in the intake is moving faster, or being dispersed more efficiency into the combustion chamber. It's not necessarily the case.. A good flowing Cam and heads play more in the roll on getting the air in the cylinder more efficiently, but since he's running stock heads, he will probably see little to no gains with the LS6, as it's again under pressure..

If the LS6 over LS1 intake theory is correct he should see a loss in boost form the intake swap, meaning the air is flowing more efficiently into the combustion chamber, thus providing more power. I don't think he will see a loss in boost, as the cam keeps the pressure at bay until the intake valve opens up.. The way he will provide better flowing air into the cylinder will be from the cam or heads, as a first.. Later on, when you have some money to spend, then go intake as that will complement the cam and heads further..

Again.. Will he see a increase in RWHP with the swap of the LS6 intake? Probibly yes. But it will be marginal compared to a larger split duration 114 115 LSA blower cam..

There comes a time to yes get that intake.. But you asked the simple question which one "Proper Cam, or the Ls6 intake" will give me more HP to the wheels. Well you know my answer..

Just my 2 cents.. Though sometimes I'm wrong.

PS here's another example.. Do a search on 2K2CamaroSS he just did his dyno on his setup.. I did the tuning.. He's seeing just over 9psi of boost with a stock bottom end. He's got a custom blower cam and stage 2 heads 9.2 to 1 compression.. He dynoed 623RWHP..

Also to a search on 618Hawk.. He dynoed his car right after 2K2CamaroSS did. So conditions were the same, dyno the same.. He's seeing right at 9psi as well.. Stock Cam, 1.85 Rockers and Stock heads 10.1 to 1 compression. Seeing the same amount of boost on the intake side, but with the internal compression higher, 618Hawk is seeing more final compression under boost due to the stock 10.1 to 1 compression motor. Even though 618Hawk has higher internal compression, his numbers are over 80RWHP less than 2K2CamaroSS's numbers. Why? They both have the LS6 intake.. It's not the tune.. It's because the engine is more efficent in getting the charged air in and out on 2K2CamaroSS's car V.S. 618Hawks. Efficent true because on the heads, but also because of the Cam..

Clint

 

i get the impresssion that he doesnt want a huge cam.I would totally agree with you that if he got a like a 232/226 114 itd make more hp,but would it really make such a difference over the cam he already has in there now?Im hardpressed to believe that.And with the ls6 he would make the same hp at less boost(like you said),ie the motor is more efficient,which means that if he went back up to the psi that he was previously at,he could make quite a bit more,and more efficiently.With the cam,hes at the same psi,same efficiency,just bigger numbers.I think it makes sense to get an ls6 or FAST now,see how that works and then if still not satisfied THEN get a bigger cam.Either way he could really use an LS6,but he may not need a larger cam,after he got the intake then he could assess weither to get heads and a larger cam.But then again....ive been wrong before too