This is great info and I really appreciate it. Anyone else with experience or graphs on the TR224, 216/220, etc.?

 

What is the biggest determiner of valvetrain noise? Is it ramp angles, or total lift, or both combined?

I have read that some folks were able to quiet the noise somewhat by adding aftermarket rockers - any truth to that?

-Jake

 

I would highly recommend the TR 220/220 cam on a 114 LSA- it should meet all of your requirements. I had this cam, and wish I had never taken it out. I now have the TR 224/224 on a 112 LSA. The 224 cam on a 114 LSA might be okay, but with a 112 LSA it will have some issues.

 

One more thing, I forgot to add...

The CC 216/220 will work with the LS6 springs or CC915 springs. You won't be doing a annual or 20K or whatever spring change. The TR220 or TR224 have aggressive lobe profiles which are great for making power, but they do have a down size and that is they require an excellent spring and that you periodically change the springs.

The CC 216/220 does not require periodic spring changes due to its lower lift and milder lobe profile. This is a no maintenance cam, which fits your #9 requirement. If your car is a daily driver, this may be a strong point of consideration.

I had very similar goals to yours and looked long and hard at all the cams. I had a short list that I considered:
1. LS6 cam
2. CC 216/220 114
3. CC 218/218 0.563/0.563 114
4. TR220 114

The LS6 cam would be a good strip cam but made no more power below 5000 rpm than a stock LS1 cam. I wanted more torque for the street.

The CC218 and TR220 are both nice cams. They would make great hp and torque for a stock head, LT car but with the agresssive lobe profiles there is the question of spring reliability and maintenance, I decided to trade 5 HP or so and go with a reliable performer that is easy on the valvetrain.

As you review the dyno graphs and read other posts, I think you'll see the CC216/220 makes about 375 peak rwhp and 375 peak rwtq on a stock head but what I really liked was the cam's very flat torque curve from below 3000 to 5500 rpm your making over 350 rwtq. It's a great street cam.

Now, if you don't mind changing springs periodically...every 20K or so, I'd use a TR220. I personally think the TR220 is as big as you would ever want to go on a stock head. Anymore any you are wasting your time....unless you plan to do heads later.

...it turned out to be more than one more thing, didn't it?

 

The TR220 is a really good small cam. I made 380rwhp with it, bolt ons and stock heads. It ended up making 416rwhp 392rwtq with all boltons and a set of Patriot Stage II 5.3 heads, and that was on the STOCK tune... all I did was lean it out 4% at WOT with a MAFT. My TR220 was a 112lsa btw and I had no trouble on the stock tune.

 

I'm looking for about the same cam equandt is. Is the comp cams 216/220 really a no maintenance cam?
I know the TR 220 has similar lift, but is its more aggressive ramp rate the cause of the additional spring wear?
I'd like to also hear from any Comp Cams owners of the 216/220. Also, how would this cam compare to the 212/218 that is dubbed the LS6 replacement cam? Does the 212/218 have more aggressive ramp rates, leading to increased valve spring wear?

 

What about a 221/224 114 with a 560-ish lift?

 

what kind of lobe? might as well just get the tr224 and get the extra 3* of intake duration.

 

Folks need to realize that with proper spring selection and setup you can run just about any of the cams listed here for the life of your engine. Improper sprng setup and selection is the case of spring wear and spring replacement in most cams these days. In the past spring selection was a bit more limited. If you are worried about ramp rate, use an XE instead of an XE-R lobe for instance. Look at the LPE cam, they put that in their package cars, and you don't think they mandate 30K spring replacements. Look at the MTI cams like the C1/C2/T1, etc... which have tons of miles on them with no spring replacemments. Now, on something more agressive like the TR OMC or OMC2, yes, you might whoop up on the intake spring on the OMC, since it is a solid roller profile on a hydr. cam. But with proper selection, you might run forever on it. ON the "stocker" cams or "stealth cams" whatver you want to call them, just about any of the good springs out these days will give you a long service life...

 

hows the lobe on the tr224 on a 114?

 

Thanks for all the feedback. I am still undecided but leaning toward the cc 216/220 or 218/224. The TR220 and 224 have the XE - R profile and I am inclined to think will break springs over time. My goal was not to get the most HP out of a cam and still have the car daily driver freindly, but to have a daily driver freindly cam that offers a decent boost in power - say 20 to 30 HP - and remain low maintenance. I only go to the track perhaps once or twice a year, other than that, I just want a good seat of the pants pull when I get on the gas a bit.

Thoughts?

 

DADDYSS, I would give CRANE CAMS a call and they will custom grind you one that cost about the same as an existing grind. This is what is important:

1, Weight of car
2. Intended Use
3. Tranny used along with Rear end ratio (stall etc. if auto)
4. Flow Sheet on heads if you have this
5. Other Mods you have (headers etc)
6. Mods you PLAN to make
7. NA or Juice (or boasted)
8. Desired ET looking for

These guys are doing HUNDREDS of LS! custom grinds!!!

 

Thanks. I have spoken to several companies about custom grinds and it's all good info and interesting but I am really looking for the "tried and true" real world LS1 experience from folks like you all. The cc 224/224 114 xr highlift, or tr224 114 seem to be highly recommended but I think they will put the power too high in the rpm range. The Ls6 cam - 204/218 - is a little mild. That's why I think the 216/220 or 218/224 on xr lobe will bring the pwer down in the range, give a flatter torque curve and be easy on the springs. My inclination is to put the rev double springs on so if I want to change the cam for something more aggressive (as we often do) then I will not have to do a spring change, and can just swap the cam.

 

have you looked into the old mti B1 221/221 .558/.558 114+4* on an XE lope.

 

another suggestion:

Thunder Racing Custom "Old Man" Camshaft - 215/220 .600/.523 115 LSA This is the perfect cam for someone looking for a stock range power band and stock sounding idle. Significant horsepower gains throughout the RPM range. No computer tuning required. Due to the fast ramp rate of this camshaft, the use of 1.8 rockers is not recommended

dyno

 

Another good suggestion and worth consideration.

 

I don't the the "Old Man" Camshaft will be easy on the valve springs with a .600 intake lift.

I too am very interested in the Comp 216/220 but there seems to be very few people who have used them. It seems that most of the guys who post here are into middle range (TR224) or higher cams and don't have a lot of experience with "small" cams like the Comp 216/220.
I for one am not too interested in changing valve springs every 20-25K, that's a little much. Would using double valve springs on a cam with very aggressive lobes (TR220 or TR224) negate the need to replace valve springs every 25K?

 

No, the idea of the double springs is that if you do go to a bigger cam - especially the fast ramp cams - you won't have to change the springs to do it. I think the ramp has more to do with killing springs than lift (within reason). The 02 LS6 cam for instance has a 551 554 lift.

 

Isn't the 216/220 or 218/224 on a 114 LSA going to push the torque a little lower in the RPM range (as compared to the old man camshaft) yet allow enough breathing and duration (more overlap) to still give decent power in the 5500 to 6k range?

 

B1 cam has been a great running cam for me , it gives great low to mid power for streetable power and has great manners. I take this car on two long trips per year 1500 miles each and it's great in stop and go traffic too. My spec's came in as 221/221 559/559 and with the Absolute stage 2 heads and 373 gears it's a blast on the street.