I'm gonna be doing a cam swap in a couple months. Going with the ASA cam and leaving my stock stall in it for now due to my current budget. But next summer I'm gonna be getting another vehicle and the Z28 will become a weekend cruiser. I'm looking for a ton of low end torque. It's mainly gonna be used for back roads and spirited highway driving. I'd like to take it to strip a couple times but my work schedule usually doesn't allow me to.

What I was thinking was the TSP 5.3 heads and maybe getting them milled too. The cam is currently between the SNS TorqueMAX Stage 2 and the Stage 3. Although, I dont know how streetable the Stage 3 is because I cant find much info on it.

Are those heads better than TSP's LS6 heads for torque? Does milling your heads create more torque or is that more for hp? Are those cams I listed best for low end torque or am I missing other options?

 

If you have the PTV, definitely mill the heads. Higher compression helps some with hp, but it mainly increases torque and responsiveness. So both static and dynamic compression will be your best friend when it comes to torque production.

Smaller runner heads like the 5.3 with high compression will make more torque than hogged out runners in the TSP LS6 heads.

Smaller cams make more torque at the sacrifice of top end hp by building in more dynamic compression. So I would go with the smaller of those two and go with as much lift as your PTV will allow.

 

If you want to melt some tires, don't forget you can swap out your rear end. Gearing can totally change the feel of a car.

 

Can I check the PTV without having the heads and cam? I haven't purchased anything yet.

Yea I'm gonna be getting some 3.73s for it. I'm just hoping my rear end will hold up til I can upgrade lol

 

PTV clearance is checked upon install of the heads and cam

 

I don't know much about the offerings for the LS but for low end just get the best heads you can afford with the best mid lift numbers while keeping the port size on what some might consider small for your cubic inches. Then pick the cam that keeps your dynamic compression close to max safe for octane without going too high on static compression....the higher you go static the higher you have to go in duration (if using off the shelf cams typically) to keep the same dynamic which pushes your torque band higher.

There's plenty of other things to consider but to me these are the basics.

For instance on my 400 SBC (which an LS will whoop) I went with a 224/224 cam which is a baby for the size of the engine and antiquated design, 195cc AFR heads which are small for the ci as well, and 10:1 compression which with the cam put my dynamic at close to 8.5:1 which for a SBC running 93 octane at 190 degrees is about max safe. On the engine dyno it made over 500 lb ft as soon as they started logging and makes close to 450 lb ft at the wheels. It's miserable to drive. A few changes and it could be a 600hp engine but it was going in a car that was set up from the rear end forward with mild 3.42 gear and 0.64 OD for someone who shifts like a granny (me). When I was doing some tuning on the dyno and started it up and was sitting there rolling the operator said "go ahead and shift it up to fourth" and I said "I started it off in fourth" and he gave me the open mouth. Of course they usually do mean LS cars, turbo foxes, etc.

I know there's not much comparing the LS to a SBC and you guys don't realize how good you have it sometimes.

 

So if I was to get the heads milled I would pretty much be gambling whether I'd have enough PTV clearance? Or could I just ask TSP if a certain cam will work with their heads?

 

gears and stall for torque.

 

It just depends, but if you bought a heads and cam package from TSP you would be fine. Not a bad idea to check the cam upon install though

 

I'm definitely gonna check the clearance when I install the cam. But it sounds like if I go to check it and it doesn't fit correctly then I'm screwed out the money I paid for the cam.

 

AFR 210 milled to 62cc w/ FTI StreetSweeper-HT.

Get the AFR heads prepped from Ed Curtis and the SS-HT.

 

AFR heads are a bit outta my price range. But that cam looks pretty interesting.

 

This is the torque curve I'm shooting for on my studebaker build, what do you mean by miserable to drive? Sarcasm?

 

People think they want low end torque, until they have it and realize they cannot even give it any gas without wheelspin. What I noticed is what most people really want is part throttle torque and midrange.

 

Yes, that is pretty much exactly what I want.

 

Yes. From a dig with a Truetrac and 275 Z rated rubber I get annihilated by a Daewoo. There are things I can do to get it to hook but would compromise what I really wanted the car to be set up for which isn't dragging.

 

ASA cam and stock converter is going to make you very unhappy. Honestly, I'd do a quality converter before I did a cam.

 

A converter will blow the tires off the car with a stock engine. And a stall is cheaper than a cam swap...

 

EXACTLY what I want!

Bishop, why do you think I'd be unhappy with that combo? The driveability should stay the same with some extra fun on the highway, atleast that was my thinking.

 

The ASA cam has a lumpy idle that will not play nicely with the stock torque converter. It's going to pull through the brakes, have poor vacuum, and want to stall.