cam selection.
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Teching In
Joined: Apr 2012
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cam selection. I bought a 00 z28 a few weeks back and looking to do a cam. currently have lt headers, ory, tsp cat back, slp lid, ls6 mani.. i was thinking of doing the 228r cam. what are your thoughts on this. its not my daily and dont need a "great" dd. would like to be around 400hp.
car is a a4
currently still on stock heads. would like to upgrade to 243s. are 799s and 243s the exact same things?
now hear is when i get lost ( being a former 4cylinder turbo guy without of a lot of cam choices.)
when i order the cam package what lsa should i choose?
and how long of push rods? i dont understand these things. ive search and tried to understand it but im not a numbers kinda guy.
thanks in advance for the input fellas
car is a a4
currently still on stock heads. would like to upgrade to 243s. are 799s and 243s the exact same things?
now hear is when i get lost ( being a former 4cylinder turbo guy without of a lot of cam choices.)
when i order the cam package what lsa should i choose?
and how long of push rods? i dont understand these things. ive search and tried to understand it but im not a numbers kinda guy.
thanks in advance for the input fellas
TECH Senior Member
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 5,445
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243 /799 heads have the same ports and chambers.what tranny and rear gears do you have ?the 228r cam is a great daily driver cam,it should make 380 hp .you can get 243/799 heads for $400.how will it be tuned ?how many miles on the motor ?consider some trunnion bearing upgrades .
The 228r would be a good choice. You will definitely need a stall. If you want 400whp you should definitely get a set of 243's and have them ported. I would also look into the trunion upgrade as well.
TECH Senior Member
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 5,445
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you will need a higher rpm stall converter if going with a cam bigger then 224*.consider getting a good 3500+rpm stall converter .you probably got 3.23 rear gears.give TSP a call and get a complete cam kit..also get a new timing chain,lifters ,and a cam install kit.you can do a mail order tune from frost for $150.get the comp cam trunnion bearings TSP sells.you can go to ls1howto.com for pics and instruction.
If you are on a budget, just buy a set of LS6 heads off someone. Give you a nice bump in compression and flow better. Dont have to worry about porting them right off the bat unless you have the coin. There are cams for sale ALL the time on the classifieds. Or you can look at texas-speed, thunder racing, vengeance, LG, etc, for cam kits. For the money, I would look at getting a used cam, by LS7 lifters ($120), 7.4'' pushrods ($100), good valvesprings (dual or single depending on the lift of the cam $225-$275) I'd recommend a 3400 up to a 4000 stall (PTC, Vig, etc.) Do not get a mail in order tune, personally, I think it is a waste of time and money. Find a tuner and let him do it right and save yourself the worry if a mail in tune is on point or not or if you are leaving power on the table, because you most certainly will. Misc, gaskets, fluids, and the total you can spend on a decent as cast heads/cam setup, looking around $3,000 tune included. I say a minimum 40 rwhp increase with above mentioned mods.
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I agree with the statement above about a mail order tune. They are not nearly as spot on as getting a tune at a shop. Also they cost $150-$200 and you can get a dyno tune for around $450. Have you car tuned spot on and get the enjoyment of a few pulls on the dyno.
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From: Lima,OH
Yea i had a dyno tune actually for under the 450 mark. They are right on though about mail order tunes. I would highly reccomend a dyno tune as i just had one recently and it was much more accurate. A mail order tune can only be as spot on as the information you give them.
Nope you can not use ls6 springs and its not a good choice to use stock push rods. Like stated above give texas speed a call and order everything you need for a cam install which includes springs, push rods, oil pump, timing chain, all you gaskets and so on. If this car isnt a dd then why not step it up a bit in the cam size?
Valve springs are a hell no...I know people that use stock pushrods but they are more susceptible to failure at high RPM's. Some people preference is to bend the stockers rather than shatter the hardened pushrods. I use hardened...
Thread Starter
Teching In
Joined: Apr 2012
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Nope you can not use ls6 springs and its not a good choice to use stock push rods. Like stated above give texas speed a call and order everything you need for a cam install which includes springs, push rods, oil pump, timing chain, all you gaskets and so on. If this car isnt a dd then why not step it up a bit in the cam size?
Oh they'll make more power...on a dyno. For instance, 2 f-body's with full exhaust, Ls6 heads, and Ls6 intake and 3.42 geared M6's. One with a 228R cam and one with a T-Rex. In a 1/4 mi, guy with the T-rex is gonna be butt hurt. You have to really set up those big duration/lift cam application right. Gears, heads, intakes, fuel, etc.
Thread Starter
Teching In
Joined: Apr 2012
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Oh they'll make more power...on a dyno. For instance, 2 f-body's with full exhaust, Ls6 heads, and Ls6 intake and 3.42 geared M6's. One with a 228R cam and one with a T-Rex. In a 1/4 mi, guy with the T-rex is gonna be butt hurt. You have to really set up those big duration/lift cam application right. Gears, heads, intakes, fuel, etc.
im not saying get an ms4 cam or something on the lines of that but bump it up a bit bigger like 99bluz28 choices of cams. Honestly i'm a huge fan on the futral f13 cam. its a well round cam as the 228 but its got a bit more to it.
I'd call up TSP they cam easily spec you a custom grind on XER lobes(or just about any lobe you want) in a 228/232, 230/230 or 230/232, and it won't cost any more than a shelf grind.
