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OK my turn...CAM choice!

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Old 11-10-2011, 04:28 PM
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Default OK my turn...CAM choice!

Ok so I'm trying to spec a cam for my setup and I'm going back and forth between a few different setups. I have an LS1 with 243 heads, LS7 lifters and an LS6 intake. The motor is in a 1996 RCSB s10 and I'm going to have the weight at or below 3klbs. I'm going with a Yank ss4k or Circle D 5C and I've already got my 8.8 being built now with 3.73 gears, a billet cover and carbon clutches for the trac-loc diff. Down the road I will change to either a FAST 102/102 or have the LS6 intake ported for a 90 or 92mm (forgot what the limit is) and send the heads to AI for porting. The truck will be a daily driver in good weather but I want the most at the track honestly. Being light it should still drive good and I have an excellent tuner. It will be dyno tuned on a Dynojet 248! Anyway cams I'm considering. Which one you like or what would you suggest and why.

238/242 .615/.610 112LSA 109ICL LXL/XE-R
242/246 .605/.607 113LSA 109ICL EPS/EPS
Polluter
MS3
Old 11-10-2011, 09:52 PM
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too much cam for a dd,need a 230/230 with that set-up
Old 11-10-2011, 10:18 PM
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It's going to weight 3klbs and by daily driver I mean 25 miles both ways to work and back or to town for a soda. The main purpose is a track vehicle that I can also drive. If it were a 3500lb vehicle I might agree with you but I'm betting it will be closer to 2800 since I swapped the stock steel tank for the plastic Fbody tank and located it behind the axle, it will never have a tailgate or bumper (it will have a rollpan and net). Will not have a radio and probably no AC (heat only), no plastics behind the seat. Since it's a body on frame setup I'm going to lose any sheetmetal I don't need like in the doors and in the back of the cab. I'm going to ditch the sound deadening and might just ditch all the carpet and just run floormats...
Old 11-10-2011, 10:51 PM
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If you don't mind the few quirks of a big cam and about 15 ish mpg I would run something like a MS3 or MS4. I hear the polluter doesn't sacrifice as much low end power but I'm running a MS4 and I love it but I've got a M6. My car still pulls itself around fine at low rpm you just can't put it in 2nd in a parking lots anymore and you have to let it warm up in the mornings or it tries to flood out and it doesn't like the A/C on as it hunts for idle some. It doesn't bother me at all. Something like a Torquer V3 might be something to look at as well. I hear it gives good low end power which is what you want in a DD.And I wouldn't bother porting a LS6 just wait for a FAST. You could always call TSP and let them reccommend you a cam. Thats what I did. Good Luck.
Old 11-11-2011, 12:22 AM
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sounds like you have a crappy tuner...
Old 11-11-2011, 01:37 AM
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i say tsp233/239 but then again that's all i seem to recommend,,, i think its the perfect balance of DD and race all in one manageable and tunable package... best advise i can give you though is to call up one of the forums sponsors, TSP, Thunder Racing (hope they are a sponsor), get the opinion of someone who does 100+ cam swaps a year... what ever you do go with i bet it will fly and woop up on some unsuspecting cats
Old 11-11-2011, 07:36 AM
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Originally Posted by 3rdCoastPowerSports
i say tsp233/239 but then again that's all i seem to recommend,,, i think its the perfect balance of DD and race all in one manageable and tunable package... best advise i can give you though is to call up one of the forums sponsors, TSP, Thunder Racing (hope they are a sponsor), get the opinion of someone who does 100+ cam swaps a year... what ever you do go with i bet it will fly and woop up on some unsuspecting cats
My cousin owns a race shop and he actually suggested I go MS3 or larger. He started off on the lighter side of the spectrum and actually ran a 228R in his TA for a couple of years and it was mostly for track duty. During that time he tuned a bunch of cars with silly setups and really found out that a lot of driveability issues with big cams are mostly in the tune and how far into it you go. A dyno tune is not the best for a cam you are going to drive IMO. For the most part the tuner is looking for the biggest single number at the top and not the power under the curve. There can be a huge difference with just a change in tune. He once tuned a car that was bone stock except for an MS4...stock manifolds and all. He thought the guy was nuts but he got that thing driving without bucking you to death.
Old 11-11-2011, 09:41 AM
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Once my car is warmed up it drives almost stock it just hates cold mornings trying to be moved. If you just start it and let it idle it does fine. Plus it was tuned in almost 100 degree weather. It never dies but if you just fire it up and back up say 10 feet to let someone out of the driveway it starts loping and coming up on a red light with the A/C on and throw the clutch in fast it'll drop idle for a second and then shoot back up to normal pretty fast. I guess I made it sound worse than what it is lol.
Old 11-11-2011, 10:21 AM
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I'm not really interested in the MS4...I think the intake lobe lift is a bit too agressive for my taste.
Old 11-11-2011, 10:35 AM
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233/239,and all that weight and creature comforts removed is going to make it a pita dd imo.
Old 11-11-2011, 10:40 AM
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Originally Posted by 2manytoyz
233/239,and all that weight and creature comforts removed is going to make it a pita dd imo.
Well it's not going to be something I haul my kids around in...I have the SSS for that. I just want something crazy fast that I can cruise to work in and save some miles on my SSS...I want as much as I can get at the track and still be able to drive it. That's 2 for the 233/239...geez. Being light should make it a better driver with a bigger cam.
Old 11-11-2011, 03:47 PM
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I suggest getting a FAST 102 over porting your LS6 intake and it would be better if you can get the FAST intake ported by a professional guy (Tony Mamo @ AFR is the best guy IMHO). Porting your 243 heads by AI will make a big difference for sure.

Looking at your requirements, I would suggest going for one of these cams:

TSP MS3 : 237/242 .603/.609 112 LSA
TR Raptr: 236/242 .615/.615 111 LSA +2
LG G5X3: 234/242 .598/.598 111 LSA
FTI StreetSweeper: 236/240 .630/.610 111 LSA

Of course a custom cam will perform much better than any of those cams. You can contact Patrick G for that.
Old 11-11-2011, 04:16 PM
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Originally Posted by Samer
I suggest getting a FAST 102 over porting your LS6 intake and it would be better if you can get the FAST intake ported by a professional guy (Tony Mamo @ AFR is the best guy IMHO). Porting your 243 heads by AI will make a big difference for sure.

Looking at your requirements, I would suggest going for one of these cams:

TSP MS3 : 237/242 .603/.609 112 LSA
TR Raptr: 236/242 .615/.615 111 LSA +2
LG G5X3: 234/242 .598/.598 111 LSA
FTI StreetSweeper: 236/240 .630/.610 111 LSA

Of course a custom cam will perform much better than any of those cams. You can contact Patrick G for that.
I agree the FAST would be best and I would send it to Tony if I got it ported. I have hood space for the LSXrt so that would be my choice there. As for the cams you suggested the Raptr is similar to the first custom cam I was looking at but mine had the LXL intake lobe, the G5X3/MS3/Polluter/Trex is just XE-R lobes. The FTI looks interesting though but your other choices are meh. Not ripping on anyone here I like to get down to WHY you guys think these grinds would work for me and sometimes a little back and forth gets the job done better than just "Here...run this cam...it will work"
Old 11-11-2011, 06:35 PM
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if you dont want to know what people think then why ask..? Sounds like you already know what you want to run,so do it,report how you love it or hate it ect. btw ive only seen s-10s that light in full blown race trim,ie,full fiberglass race body-it wont be easy,
Old 11-11-2011, 09:44 PM
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Originally Posted by 2manytoyz
if you dont want to know what people think then why ask..? Sounds like you already know what you want to run,so do it,report how you love it or hate it ect. btw ive only seen s-10s that light in full blown race trim,ie,full fiberglass race body-it wont be easy,


You're right...I should have known better than to expect anything other than the same ole rehashed advice. I don't know what trucks you've been around but this truck will not be over 3klbs for sure...Mervs square body is 2860 in full stock trim and these aren't that much heavier. I actuall expected some discussion about what works and why or why not. Like most people I know more of what I don't want than what I do.
Old 11-12-2011, 06:46 AM
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I just gave you options to search about and see their results in other applications. I also mentioned that the best option would be a custom cam.

I'd prefer an LSL intake lobe over the LXL lobe which is designed to work with cams that have LSL intake lobe or at least that's what I have been told !
Old 11-12-2011, 10:11 AM
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Originally Posted by Samer
I just gave you options to search about and see their results in other applications. I also mentioned that the best option would be a custom cam.

I'd prefer an LSL intake lobe over the LXL lobe which is designed to work with cams that have LSL intake lobe or at least that's what I have been told !

Cool, I just picked the LXL lobe to see what some people thought about them. The only things I've read is they're supposed to be a bit easier on the valvetrain and that EPS is using them on some of their grinds. I've also been thinking of saving my pennies and buying a cam from AI and going ahead with their port work. The only down side there is the LS6 intake will be holding me back BIG TIME if I had ported heads and the cam they would suggest for a FAST probably wouldn't be the same as what they would spec for the LS6 so I was going to do head and FAST at the same time.

The thing is I would rather have a cam that is a bit too much for stock 243s and LS6 intake so I could grow into it and not have to change it. Now I don't know and I might hold off on everything until I can do it all...the only down side is the longer I wait the more tempted I am to sell the LS1 shortblock and go with a 6.0.
Old 11-12-2011, 05:57 PM
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If you are palnning to have your heads ported by AI, why don't ask them to provide you with a cam from now that will fit your ported heads later on... LOL

I don't know if it works this way or not but by having a ported FAST, ported 243's, and a custom cam, you will have a killer combo.
Old 11-12-2011, 07:22 PM
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Originally Posted by ss454327
You're right...I should have known better than to expect anything other than the same ole rehashed advice. I don't know what trucks you've been around but this truck will not be over 3klbs for sure...Mervs square body is 2860 in full stock trim and these aren't that much heavier. I actuall expected some discussion about what works and why or why not. Like most people I know more of what I don't want than what I do.
im not trying to be rude but i thought i read you wanted a 2500 lb truck.Btw i have a 67 datsun 520 truck with a blown 454-its called texas gambler and was in some mags back in the 90's.It weighs 2500 with a iron bigblock and is back-halfed.Used to run 8's Gotta redo the cage to be legal-anyways just call a cam company,they know alot more than anyone here,most here have 3500lb f-bodys,and not many corvettes run big cams
Old 11-13-2011, 04:55 PM
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the first one would run great the 2nd could out do the first and with the 112-3 they could be tuned pretty easy and with some weight reduction could be stupid fast. these things can take big cams if the tuner can handle it. the trex cam has run good in cam only cars i saw the raptor cam i'm looking at it's just a hair smaller.


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