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Old Jul 27, 2010 | 05:57 PM
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Default lq4 cam opinions here

can i get close to 500+HP with just a cam swap in an lq4? i can get lq4's all day at a discount so this would be like a mass effort mostly drag raced engine most the time so F drivability and street manners. anyone who has lq4 cammed with anything please let me hear what you have to say about your cam selection.
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Old Jul 27, 2010 | 06:07 PM
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If you have the means to stroke it out to 400+ cubes, get the texas speed giant cam, have the heads ported minimal, and voila, 500+
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Old Jul 27, 2010 | 06:22 PM
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Not with the dished pistons and 317 heads.
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Old Jul 27, 2010 | 07:25 PM
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I to have a 2002LQ4, and want to do a cam swap, but my concern is what are the springs good for lift wise? Any one know the specs on stock springs?
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Old Jul 28, 2010 | 11:26 AM
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See i thought the 317 heads were the better ones to have...... I stand corrected op
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Old Jul 28, 2010 | 01:44 PM
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i am also looking for an answer to this....
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Old Jul 28, 2010 | 04:05 PM
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LQ4 motors have a dished piston in them so you need to get the compression up. If you change the heads out with some ported LS6 or 5.3l heads and get a nice cam you can get aruond 500 crank hp out of them. IMO the best thing to do would be to build a 408 stroker using that iron block. You would have a pretty decent running motor at that point.
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Old Jul 29, 2010 | 07:27 PM
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thanks for all the input guys its very appreciated. to get a little more specific, what is my best choice for a stock head to put on the LQ4? I hear 5.3 are good others say to mill the 317s what would be the more cost effective route to work around the stock lq4 shortblock. i dont want to put money into the bottom end yet i can wait just want to go as far as it takes to get to the 11.90s with stock bottom end its a long shot but thats my goal with the car.
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Old Jul 29, 2010 | 07:42 PM
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i asked a shop about my lq4 they recommended something like a tr224 or a tsp 228 since the compression is about 9.4 to 1 but a set of 243s or 799s of a newer silverado will bump the compression up to around 10.2 or so and that can open up for a lot more cam choices i bought my 243s from a machine shop for around 150
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Old Jul 29, 2010 | 08:19 PM
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Go with 243s or 799s. That will put your comp around 10.25:1. If you mill .010 or so, you'll be closer to 10.5:1.
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Old Jul 30, 2010 | 04:17 PM
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with a low lift higher duration cam like vrx5 or six should i have to worry about ptv clearance if i milled .010 off the 243's? also the 799's are still cathedral port right?
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Old Jul 30, 2010 | 04:49 PM
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talk to vengeance about PTV.you need a good thought out combo to do 11.xx not hp.3.73 rear gears ,3600 stall,after market lower control arms and torque arm and drag radials.ls6 intake ,pnp throttle body.a good flowing exhaust ,and a eps cam,and a good tune.
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Old Jul 30, 2010 | 10:10 PM
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@garygnu sorry i should have told you guys im planning out my build on the impala im figuring somewhere near 500 at the crank should bring me somewhat close to the 11 second club but the car already has a built 4l60e and is waiting to mate to a 4000 vig stall and 4:10's but all this is nothing without track time im not expecting to just run 11's i see A4 cars with stalls and cam only boltons run low twelves easy i need just a lil more power
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Old Jul 30, 2010 | 10:19 PM
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I can only speak to what I have read because I am building my LQ9 as we speak. However, what I read says that cam in the 220s duration area should put an LQ4 at around 450 Hp with headers and a good intake. To get to 500 HP you will need ported and/or aftermarket heads.

The conclusion that I came to is that the LQ4 500hp recipe is some TSP or TEA ported 243 heads and a cam with a duration in the 220s.

I would be reluctant to get into the cams in the 230s because the motor will want shift points closer to 6800 to 7000. I fear potential rotating assembly failures at that RPM level.
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Old Jul 30, 2010 | 10:49 PM
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I disagree that you can get 500 hp with a small 22X cam. You are going to need good heads and a bigger cam, along with all the other bolt-ons to have a chance at 500 hp at the wheels.

Originally Posted by MillsMotorvation
I to have a 2002LQ4, and want to do a cam swap, but my concern is what are the springs good for lift wise? Any one know the specs on stock springs?
If you change cams, you'll need better springs and I'd get hardened pushrods too.
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Old Jul 30, 2010 | 11:20 PM
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Originally Posted by batboy
I disagree that you can get 500 hp with a small 22X cam. You are going to need good heads and a bigger cam, along with all the other bolt-ons to have a chance at 500 hp at the wheels.
I would agree with that too if you are talking at the wheels. The dyno tests that I saw cresting 500HP with the 220s duration cams with good heads were all engine dyno tests. Most of them were 500 to 525 hp crank horsepower. However, I did not see the OP specify at the wheels
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Old Aug 6, 2010 | 08:15 PM
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i knew id have to spin it a little bit im doing the rod bolts when i get the cash together for the cam swap but i also heard that the pistons might explode running it that high a shift point no higher than 68 and rev limiter at 69. the valvetrain i want o get is titanium and expensive its a lot more but i figure the least amount of stress on the stock long block or short block depending on if i can find decent 243's on the cheap.
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Old May 24, 2016 | 12:16 AM
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I want to do i lq4 bore to 040 wit flat top pistons and 243 heads stock crank an rods. What cams can i go wit????
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Old May 24, 2016 | 03:01 PM
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With everything in my signature I put down 430 to the wheels with it going thru a M6 and 8.8 rear with 4.10 gears.


Now with ported or after market heads and a different cam I would expect to be very close to or over 500 to the wheels.
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Old May 24, 2016 | 03:04 PM
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Originally Posted by Carlos Alcala
I want to do i lq4 bore to 040 wit flat top pistons and 243 heads stock crank an rods. What cams can i go wit????
Talk with Martin Smallwood or Brian Tooley. Both can give you a great blueprint for your build.
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