I'd like to think that this isn't your typical "what cam should I get" thread, but we'll see what this turns into.

I've done quite a bit of reading on getting optimum performance out of cam selection, without fuel consumption issues and sacrificing driveability. The car will not be my daily, but I don't want it to be a bear to drive on the street comfortably and use a/c in the summer. I realize that with increasing how aggressive the cam specs are, you lose driveability. It's a give and take situation....and I'm not looking for the 'magical cam' that was made with unicorn dust to give me ridiculous lope, and 100whp while keeping daily driving capabilities. That doesn't exist...I understand that.

Here's the setup:
2002 Trans Am- LS6/T56 swap (365whp/359wtq), Moser 12 bolt, 4.10 gears, SLP lid, stock 243 heads, and your typical UMI/BMR/QA1 suspension. HP Tuners is the software that will be used to tune. The goal is 400whp and mid-high 11's with this setup and a cam, which I think is possible, given my criteria.

From my readings, it seems that staying in the 220's-230's range in duration and around a 112 LSA will keep the driveability factor and still make good power. Also, staying around or below .600 lift will reduce excessive valvetrain wear, which will keep reliability.

My options - from the cams that I've seen out there and researched, the
Torquer 2 and 228R seem like they meet my criteria. I've also seen some EPS custom grids in the 230's that put down some good power. People seem to be raving about their lobe design as well.

The engine is out of the car, so now is the time for a cam swap. Obviously, I'll be doing valve springs good to at least .650 lift (better to be safe than sorry), retainers, hardened pushrods, etc...

Thoughts? Opinions? Experiences?

 

Steetsweeper TQ or Streetsweeper High TQ might work out well for you.

http://www.flowtechinduction.com/GMcams.htm

New Era one of the sponsors here sells Ed's cams.

http://www.neweraperformanceparts.com/

 

EPS 226/230, torquer 2, futral fm13 are all great cams and is what I would recommend.

 

228r cam is a good choice I think . Theres so many options out there. You just dont want to put a cam in and 6 months later wish you had gone bigger. I hava torquer 3 in one of my cars and its great for a DD with excellent street manners

 

The SSHT looks like a good option. Lift is just over .600, with the duration in the figures that I'm thinking will be good for street driving. I just watched some Youtube videos of that cam at idle.....sounds mean! Looks like it will easily allow me to reach 400whp...possibly 425+ from some quick searches that I did on here.

 

Sounds like youve suffered from a cam that was too big. I too hate HUGE cams, I had one...it sucked, made it hard to drive, no brakes, etc.....

I love finding the correct camshaft....this is a great thread topic that has realistic thought out goals.

Who told you that? .600" isnt some magical tipping point, in fact reliability has much more to do with system component selection, which results in a stable valvetrain and good reliability.
Dual springs arent the correct component in this situation, a good beehive is the correct spring here. A dual spring with too much load, will actually make you loose lift. They are also heavy and can help lead to valvetrain instability. Yes, spring weight matters. Plus dual springs would be a mile from coil bind, another negative for reliability and valvetrain stability.

I ran a Comp LSR cam 219 @ .050 cam and it made 400rwhp and ran 11.90s in my 6.0L, it was a breeze to drive, pulled to 6500RPM and was extrememly fun all the time because it was properly sized.

When deciding between two camshafts, I alway error to the smaller. You could step yours up a bit. I would do an LSL or EPS intake lobe, and and LXL exhaust lobe to help quiet the valvtrain.

Sizes; Somthing between 219-224 on the intake, 224-230 on the exhaust. LSA something around 112-113. Its a very safe ballpark that will get you what you close to what you want. If you want to be sure you make your goals your cam has to be bigger and start sacraficing. Or you get better, properly sized, heads and FAST intake and not sacrafice. (see sig quote)

 

This is exactly why I created a thread. I like to get discussions going. I've never owned a car that had an aftermarket cam in it. I've just been doing a lot of research and getting multiple view points.

The .600 lift number was thrown in there because I've read that the more you increase lift, the more the valvetrain will be working....therefore, it will wear out quicker. Now, if there are other opinions, which I'm sure there are, I'll listen, as I'm not an expert and don't claim to be. I'll agree that there's no magical number, but .600 is generally where the limit is set for a lot of springs. The next step up that I've seen is .650, and I'd like a 'safety buffer' of sorts.

Heads and an intake may come in the future, but for now, I'd like to get 400+whp out of my setup w/ a cam.

Also, should there be anything else that I should change while I've got the engine out? The engine only has 5,000 miles and I wasn't planning on pulling the heads.....so if there's anything else that would be wise to do, I'll take it into account.

 

Great cam choice for OP's goals imo.

 

I've read some good things about the Polluter cam, but I don't know if that's what you're looking for.

http://www.tick-performance.com/cata...ain/#camshafts

 

^^^ That looks a little more agressive than what I'm looking for

 

224/228 112+4...

 

I just got off the phone with Geoff at EPS. His recommendation was his 230/238 113 LSA cam. He said its just a little over .600 lift, as he said on the stock heads, he found no advantage to opening the valves anymore. He said that any larger of a cam will cause driveability to suffer. He did also say maintaining driveability is mostly in the hands of the tuner tho.
The full package is $830 and comes with PAC dual springs, retainers, pushrods, etc....
He said I could expect it around Jan 1st if I ordered today.
I'll probably be ordering something this week.

 

Cam Motion 228/232 or
TR228 or
228R

What are you going to be shifting at?

 

SSHT gets my vote. Im putting in the cam and prc dual springs (.650) next month probably. 243s will be later down the road. Looking to get a little over 400 to the tires.

 

It's going to be a weekend car, see the drag strip, maybe some auto-x or track days here and there. It's being built in rememberance of my late step father. See the link in my signature.

Shift points are irrelevant in my case. I want good, usable power.

EDIT: I pulled the trigger on the EPS custom grind w/ dual springs, pushrods, etc... Should be here the first/second week of January!

 

Shift points are very relevant in cam selection.

 

I too have heard alot of good things about the polluter. Its a pretty large cam, but is still supposed to be pretty friendly on the street. People are making 420+ on cam, headers and tune alone. I think it's going to be my next purchase but I still worry about having a big donkey dick cam in a DD. Need to keep researching.

 

PZ El toro Cam.

 

My wife's car has an Pat G spec'd EPS 227/230 .614/.609 113 +1 LSA and with milled, unported 799s, SLP lid/Maf, P&P Stock TB, LS6 Intake, SLP Longtubes/hi flows, Magnaflow catback, It made 411/390 and its driven every day. Even has a Tick Master, and Monster Stage 2 clutch.

Tuning definitly plays a BIG part in how driveable the cam is.

 

I'll likely be taking the car to Tracey Scott at Cincy Speed. He is the one that tuned it before and got 365/359 out of it with full exhaust and a lid.