First ride and drive in a big cam ls1
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Teching In
Joined: Jan 2012
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First ride and drive in a big cam ls1 Well i've been killing myself over what style of cam I really want to go with for my H/C build. I thought I didn't want a huge cam because it would be a pain to drive on the street and not to small because I wouldn't be happy with the power gain. So my friend lined up to borrow a ws6 he helped build for a buddy of his that had a bigger cam in it to see what I thought. I'm not 100% and the specs on the car but I will try. I saw the cam sheet and it was very close to a ms3 with 113, 6speed, aftermarket clutch, 4.56 gears, bbk intake, and stock heads with some porting work done.
Well my first thought while driving the car was why do people complain about how hard it is to drive a car with a big style cam. Sure it wasn't like stock but by no means a bear to drive. The hardest thing was learning the stiff style clutch. I drove it stop sign to stop sign, 25mph down city streets/housing areas, and of course some back roads to open it up. I didn't see anything bad enough to be scared away from going bigger with a cam choice. I loved the big hit on the top end but the only thing I would like better would be for the power to come on earlier in the rpm's. It felt strongest at around 6000+rpm. I didn't care much for the 4.56's just to low for me. I'm leaning to 4.10's for my build. I'm going with an eps custom grind for sure but now my toughts have changed in what I want in a cam. I was told 226/234 113 or 230/234 112 would be a good choice. Now im not worried to go alittle bigger or would this still be good choices? I saw somewhere on here people liked the 230/238 cam would this be a better choice? My car will not be a d/d car so i'm open to suggestions.
Well my first thought while driving the car was why do people complain about how hard it is to drive a car with a big style cam. Sure it wasn't like stock but by no means a bear to drive. The hardest thing was learning the stiff style clutch. I drove it stop sign to stop sign, 25mph down city streets/housing areas, and of course some back roads to open it up. I didn't see anything bad enough to be scared away from going bigger with a cam choice. I loved the big hit on the top end but the only thing I would like better would be for the power to come on earlier in the rpm's. It felt strongest at around 6000+rpm. I didn't care much for the 4.56's just to low for me. I'm leaning to 4.10's for my build. I'm going with an eps custom grind for sure but now my toughts have changed in what I want in a cam. I was told 226/234 113 or 230/234 112 would be a good choice. Now im not worried to go alittle bigger or would this still be good choices? I saw somewhere on here people liked the 230/238 cam would this be a better choice? My car will not be a d/d car so i'm open to suggestions.
TECH Enthusiast
Joined: Apr 2010
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Yea either one of those cams I think will be fun. ^^^this guy hit it on the head when he said you just need a good tune. I've also heard a lot of people complain about big cams being difficult and only having top end power. 6000 rpms is way too high for me to have to really enjoy my cam. I would want it to come in lower. I prefer and LSA of 113-115 depending on the intake/exhaust duration.
Without commenting on the cams selected it should be considered also that what is "fine" for a 15 minute drive might get old after 6 months. Also 4.56 gears can eat up a lot of cam, going with a lower gear ratio could compromise the manners of a large cam.
Very good advice^^^. There is a lot of difference in drivability between 3.73-4.10 & 4.56 gears with a big cam. I don't care what some people say you can only tune so much for drivabilty.
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I love my 4.56 gears and 275/60-15 drag radials. I just barely cracked into the 11's with just bolt ons and stock cam. Throw anything in there with 223 and higher on the intake side and you will have a car in the 11's easily. I would not go with 4.56 gears though unless you were going to run a 28" tire or larger though.
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a 230/238 will suite your wants very well
Mine makes killer torque from idle up. Around 4k rpm it starts really getting work done and there is no noticeable drop off until redline (6600rpm for me, Geoff at EPS said it would go 6800rpm before it drops).
Mine makes killer torque from idle up. Around 4k rpm it starts really getting work done and there is no noticeable drop off until redline (6600rpm for me, Geoff at EPS said it would go 6800rpm before it drops).
IMO, 230/230, 230/232 or the 230/234 depending on the heads and how well they flow. I wouldn't get too hung-up on the cam size, focus on the power band you want, and go with the cam duration/s that gives you the most power within that range. I would stick with a single pattern cam if you heads and exhaust flow well enough.
TECH Addict
Joined: Sep 2009
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From: PA/MD
A 228 is the best "no brainer" cam to go with. It makes most people happy if your not trying to get every last bit of power out of your set up....it would give you a good gain all across the rpm range, and still be very streetable with a good tune.
For my first cam swap I went with a 220/224 .595/.595 112lsa cam. In my opinion this one was too small for "me" it had a good idle, but you could hear that it had a cam. I later pulled my 241s, ported the hell out of them and milled them, then went with a 238/242 .595/.595 112lsa....it was bitchy when cold, and had a hell of a lope, but matched up behind a 4,000 it was really fun to drive and I loved it.
When I went to my 408 I swapped the 238/242 cam into it and it felt like the old 220/224 in my stock cube motor....then in the end I dropped a 255/263 .624/.624 115 lsa cam in my 408 and am happy with it again.
So, since you said it will not be a dd you can go on the bigger side and still love it....but if you larger you might want to think about getting your heads ported and milled...with bigger cams your dynamic compression and cranking psi starts to drop because of the valve timing ()later the intake valve closes the lower your dcr and psi will be)
This is how I am getting away with running 12.5:1 compression on pump gas....but the more you mill and the larger your cam is the more you have to be concerned with piston to valve clearance.
For my first cam swap I went with a 220/224 .595/.595 112lsa cam. In my opinion this one was too small for "me" it had a good idle, but you could hear that it had a cam. I later pulled my 241s, ported the hell out of them and milled them, then went with a 238/242 .595/.595 112lsa....it was bitchy when cold, and had a hell of a lope, but matched up behind a 4,000 it was really fun to drive and I loved it.
When I went to my 408 I swapped the 238/242 cam into it and it felt like the old 220/224 in my stock cube motor....then in the end I dropped a 255/263 .624/.624 115 lsa cam in my 408 and am happy with it again.
So, since you said it will not be a dd you can go on the bigger side and still love it....but if you larger you might want to think about getting your heads ported and milled...with bigger cams your dynamic compression and cranking psi starts to drop because of the valve timing ()later the intake valve closes the lower your dcr and psi will be)
This is how I am getting away with running 12.5:1 compression on pump gas....but the more you mill and the larger your cam is the more you have to be concerned with piston to valve clearance.
I think the 230/238 would be the best option. I have had several F-bodys with very similar cams and they always had great drivability and made excellent power in the mid-range and top end. 4.10 gears would work well with that size cam. A good tune is definitely key to having good drivability with a large cam.
Staging Lane
Joined: May 2008
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From: Tucson, AZ
I drive my camaro every other day about 30miles with the g5x3 and a 4400 stall and cant really complain. it is a slight bit cranky before coolant temps reach about 130 but after that it dosent bitch on the road at all.
TECH Addict
Joined: Sep 2009
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From: PA/MD
I wouldn't say "big as possible", but the bigger your cam is the tune becomes more and more important, and your parts must match up better to keep them more streetable. With bigger cams your gears and stall (if automatic) are very important too.
I daily drive my GTO with a 4,000 stall and a 238/242 50+ miles a day mostly in town, now in my 408 I have a 255/263 and it ran pretty good on the street till my tranny went south
I daily drive my GTO with a 4,000 stall and a 238/242 50+ miles a day mostly in town, now in my 408 I have a 255/263 and it ran pretty good on the street till my tranny went south
TECH Addict
Joined: Sep 2009
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From: PA/MD
Also remember, the bigger the can the higher the the rpms your power will come in. This is why a car that may put down 500+ peak HP can get beat by a car that only puts down 400 HP with a good strong/ wide torque curve....don't get Hung up on getting the biggest cam you can fit in there, get the cam that suits your driving style and rpm range
