AznMuscle

iTrader: (7)

Yea, I have been thinking about TSP grinding me a cam..plus their cam kits are well priced. The one I am looking at is

Racing 1518 Beehive Valve Springs - Max Lift .650"
FTI Seven Degree Chromemoly Retainers
FTI Hardened Seven Degree Valve Locks
Steel Shelled Viton Valve Stem Seals
FTI Pro-Series Hardened Pushrods
$975 with FREE shipping!

Pricey....which is why I am looking at the asa, or something like an TSP m3 cam kit or similar.

99_SS_LS1

iTrader: (4)

No, my new cam has not been tuned yet. It's still running on the ASA tune. I know my A/F ratio is out of whack, so it'll probably pick up a few hp when it gets adjusted in the spring.

I did do pulls on the same dyno with both cams, and both times were SAE adjusted - so that should rule out any differences. New cam was 27 hp gain and 1 ft/lb, with very similar torque curves, new cam being about 10 ft/lbs more from 1500-3000, then similar the rest of the way out

My my main streetability issue was bucking at anything under 2k rpm (I'm a 6 speed)



The kit I picked up was about the same minus the retainers, locks and seals, and ended up running me about $700 if I remember right.

AznMuscle

iTrader: (7)

under 2k bucking? Damn. Even though this is just a weekend car, I don't want too much bucking around that rpm, since that is what I always try to cruise at.

You have the TSP kit?

99_SS_LS1

iTrader: (4)

Yeah, it was the worst at 1600rpm. A good tune maybe could have helped it? I think the dude that dyno tuned mine did a half *** job. btw.. mine is not a dd either.

Some people say it has good manners. Maybe it's their tune, or maybe just their opinion of what good manners are, and how much surging they are willing to deal with? Hell, even with my new cam it surges a little sometimes, but nothing compared to the asa.

I got my cam spec'd by pat g for $25. Comp grinds it, sends it to TSP, I orginally paid $625 for the cam, pushrods, and comp 918s. I decided not to go with the 918's and got the PAC1518's which I think ended up costing me an extra $75 or something.

AznMuscle

iTrader: (7)

Well we will rule the asa out now. I am going to call TSP tomorrow, and see if they can custom spec me something, and get a quick quote. I wont be buying a cam for another month or so though...get paid next week, but still wont be enough to buy the cam after I pay my cc bill, and other bills.

zank28

iTrader: (2)

With the right combo the asa is one awesome cam for what it is,and i dont give a rats *** what anyone one here has to say otherwise Like i said before the torque curve as flat as it gets, there is no abuse on your valve train, (good for daily driver) and still puts out decent dyno #'s. My old setup was ls1 intake and flowmaster80 with no pully or ported tb and it still put down 369hp on a mustang dyno from a tuner who was dogshit. The only reason i changed out mine is because im an idiot and i was dealing with a terrible shop.( not that i'm not happy with my torquer2). The asa is perfectly dailydrivable and anyone who tells you otherwise is either clueless or has dogshit for a tuner. haha... sorry for the hostile post.

108dragon

iTrader: (5)

+1
GM didn't invest millions of dollars and years of research just to market something that doesn't work acreoss the board.

99_SS_LS1

iTrader: (4)

haha.. I never said it was a horrible cam or anything. I straight up admitted that my tuner sucks. As a matter of fact, it's stated in my sig...

My point is that I am much happier with my custom spec'd cam. More power and better driveability. My torque curve is actually flatter with my cam than it was with the asa. I'll try to post my graphs.

Agreed. 2 things though. GM developed that cam as a racing (not street) cam - under the regulations of the class it was performing in. Had it been "anything goes" I'd be willing to bet it wouldn't be the same specs.

http://www.corvetteidaho.com/hib/02ls6/page2.htm

That's a great article. Read the last 3 paragraphs. With exhaust, it is only worth a couple horse over the ls6 cam. I was told it was my exhaust that was holding the cam back. I don't consider mine very restrictive, and changing it wasn't an option. (ARH, catted-y, gmmg).


To each their own though

zank28

iTrader: (2)

haha. I wasnt referring to any one post in particular, just all the negative feedback on this forum in general about the asa cam because i think for what it is , its a pretty dang good performer. But yeah, thats what i recommended to the op also. Custom spec cam is the way to go if you are particular with your goals.

108dragon

iTrader: (5)

The ASA cam has always been billed as an "ASA inspired street cam". GM wouldn't be offering it knowing that people would be stuffing it into thier DD Camaro engines if it hadn't been extensively tested. It is rather mild in comparison to a lot of the LS1Tech favorites like the TR228, MS3, and MS4. Hell, it may even pass emissions with the proper tuning. I probably wouldn't use it in an automatic tranny car. But it's **** with clutch action.
All GMPP cams are streetable, as far as I know. Of course, that depends on an individual assessment of the word "streetable" though. I'm getting ready to field an LS7 Stage3 cam in a 427cid LS3.
You're probably right about GM not going with the specs they did if it were an open class of racing. But I bet they pushed it right to the edge in the class they were competing in.

99_SS_LS1

iTrader: (4)

As said all over this site, streetability is all about the tuning. Agreed that the ASA probably could be a very streetable cam, my point being it will require alot more work to get it there than other mild cams and will probably make less power.

As stated above, one major benefit is the low lift - which will promote long valvetrain life. Plus it just sounds mean as hell with the 110lsa

So in the end it's all about what you want.

Good luck on the ls3 build dragon.

108dragon

iTrader: (5)

Thanks.. My problem is I purchased my rotating assembly for a 4.125" bore because I was initially told that Darton had sleeves for the 6.2liter platform. Later I find out that those sleeves are still in developement. So I either have to pull my LS1, tear it down, and send it in for sleeving, or I purchase a rotating assembly for the 6.2liter bore, or I wait for Darton to finish the 6.2 sleeve. Sorry if if it seems I hijacked the thread. Back to op;
GMPP is getting 515 crank hp out of the ASA in an LS3. I don't see any reason we can't. I'm kinda back to the 360 degree thing. You can steal from Peter to pay Paul, but there is only so much you can do with 360 degrees in a cam. To make more horsepower in a given range with a given engine, you will inevitably make sacrifices in others. To make more power all the way across the board, you end up making less peak. And then you end up making more changes to compensate for the previous compromise. I'm thinking about snaggin a GMPP 515 myself.. I'd rather be driving than waiting on "mythical" parts. lol

slowandrichws6

iTrader: (2)

thats a great setup, i know a guy that just recently did this to his and he put down 604 rw threw a 6speed. car ran 8.40 in the 1000 ft.

AznMuscle

iTrader: (7)

I am still thinking about the ASA due to the valve train life...but...I think I will just go with the custom cam. If anything, my next F body I will do a street build with the asa cam, until I go max effort. Thanks for the help. Dragon, good luck with the build. I want a ls3 based engine....

108dragon

iTrader: (5)

+1 on that tuning thing. 20 years ago I'd have laughed at you if you had told me that I'd have to buy a PC to tune my car. lol Up until recently, I had no clue that the programming could do as much as it does to effect streetability of an otherwise "race cam". I was still trying to dial these engines in mechanically.

01badz28

iTrader: (5)

I ran the ASA last year in my LS1, and was pretty pleased with it. I really think the key is the tune. After a couple of attempts at getting it tuned, it would cold and hot start with no trouble, and had zero bucking below 2,000 rpm. I could also drive around with the AC and radio going full blast and not have to worry about the car dieing.

My LS1 threw a rod back in October, so I'm getting an L92 / LS3 swapped into the car. I decided against reusing an ASA due to the fact that the new motor uses a different head style. However, I did have Patrick G spec me out a cam for the new engine (main criteria was valvetrain longevity and a flat torque curve) and he specked out nearly the same cam in terms of duration, but raised the lift to over .600. I'm curious to see how it works in the new engine.

AznMuscle

iTrader: (7)

Yea, tuning is key for any cam really. I will be having a guy tune it...one of the best here in Southern AZ. Problem here is, there are no real shops and whatnot around here, especially lsx ones. Several in Phoenix, but 3-4 hours driving time each way, kind of sucks lol.

AznMuscle

iTrader: (7)

Update on what I'm going with. AZPS03 cam...custom grind from guy in AZ, built for stock heads, ls6 mani. 240's durration, 111 lsa. Nice lift too. I don't want to give away full specs, in respect to him, so the numbers are a bit off. But Streetability and torque should be nice.