I'm lookin for opinions on my cam I got spec'd from a reputable vendor on here.
Goin with a 215/223 .604/.610 on a 114+4 lsa. Comp lsl lobes.
I requested a cam to be spec'd for good low-end grunt for a daily driver retaining smog passing capabilities. The car will be stock displacement with 243 heads (not sure on how much porting but they will be ported) (same with milling, wanna stay close to stock compression), a fast 90 and preferably a nick williams 90mm tb. I am in California so I need to keep egr (it's a 98 Z28), stock exhaust manifolds and cats unless I can find shorty headers and high flow cats. I have an slp lm1 on the car now but want to try out true duals in 2.5". I know I would have to have a custom exhaust done basically from the cats back. I don't think I need dual 3" since I don't plan on ever running forced induction or nitrous. Additionally, do you think I should use arp rod bolts and head bolts or stay stock? I don't plan on revving this engine over 6200. The bottom end will be freshened up since it has 125k on it and at the very least it would get new gm stock bolts. The car is an a4 (4l60e) with (10 bolt) 3.23 gears. The trans will have a circle d 2800 stall and a vette servo

In short, build list goes like this :
Balanced, refreshened stock shortblock
215/223 .604/.610 on 114+4
243 heads ported/milled
Tooley dual springs (.650 or .660 limit?) w/tool steel retainers
EDIT:forgot to add I am using Ls7 lifters
Fast 90 intake/ nw 90 or 92 tb
Stock exhaust manifolds Stock cats
Ls6 oil pump
Ls2 timing chain
Possibly arp rod bolts/head bolts
2800 stall
Vette servo

Thank you for the help, I know this is a long thread but I want to be absolutely sure of this before I dive in head first. Please don't tell me I need longtubes to help the car breathe, I know. But I need to pass California smog since this will be my daily driver when it's done...

 

fyi if you do change cats dont throw your stock ones away. i believe they have platinum inside. i found out the hard way ....... thats all i wanted to say, goodluck passing emissions. no fun dealing with that building a high performance car.

 

Thanks, from all the reading I have done, a minimum of -6 degrees overlap is needed to pass smog and this cam has about -9.5 if I recall. My comp 212/218 by comparison had -13.5 degrees overlap and stock cams have around -34 degrees overlap. The guy who spec'd my cam said it should idle pretty close to stock

 

Low end grunt is exactly what that cam would do. It's going to peak around 58-5900 or so.

ARP rod bolts will be a waste of time and will do more harm than good.

Same with the head bolts, just stick with stock unless you think you're gonna be pulling heads more than once.

 

Thanks for the heads up, I don't plan on pulling the heads again for a long time, I want this to be as reliable and labor-intensive maintainance free as possible. Would the arp cracked rod bolts be a bad idea because they can throw the big end out of round? That is what I have read they end up doing.... Rebalancing the crank pistons and rods would be worth the time/cost, correct?

 

IMO, I'd consider running either a 222 LXL lobe(#13157) or a Xtreme RPM (high lift) 224(#3715) lobes on the exhaust side so the valve train will be quieter and you'll have a little bit more overall exhaust duration to help get the exhaust through the restrictive factory exhaust manifolds and cats..
Which ever lobes you end up going with on the exhaust side it'll still be a nice cam choice, and not have a problem with passing smog.

 

The intake center line for this cam is 114 and the exhaust is 110. Aren't the lxl lobes harder or noisier then the lsl's? That is my understanding, that the lsl's provide good lift without being TOO aggressive for a daily driver?

 

No, the LXL lobes are less aggressive, and have slightly lower lift(.602" with 222 lobes).

 

Is there much difference in terms of performance or longevity to justify the less duration and lift from one to the other?

 

The BTR .650 springs are max pressure springs. You have no need for those.

I'll be using the .660's with titanium retainers.

 

You might be giving up a little power, but you'll have better valve train longevity. I choose the 222 LXL lobes only because that's the closest in duration to the 223 LSL. The next larger size in the LXL lobes is a 226, which is larger than I think you really need. That's why I also threw in the recommendation for the Xtreme RPM (high lift) 224(#3715) lobes, which I think would probably a little better choice then LXL 222 lobes because of the added duration.

 

I'm not looking for max effort power so if it means giving up a little power for longevity, then I have no problem with it. I'm looking for at least 40k miles before I had to change springs.

Blu, what are your thoughts on the tooley dual springs? Overkill?

 

With the 215 LSL lobes I would stick with the BTR dual springs, their not overkill. Now if you went with a milder LXL 214 lobes instead, then I'd throw in the option of PAC 1211x beehive springs. IMO, for the added insurance dual springs offer it's hard to go wrong with the BTR dual springs.

You might want to reconsider your lobe choice, since 40k is asking a lot for valve spring life with even with running less aggressive LXL lobes.

Comp Cams Xtreme RPM (high lift) would be a better choice, and PAC 1211x beehive springs would be more than enough!
Here's what I'd run with these lobes:
216/224 114lsa+4, lift .561"/.568"
216(#3711) for the intake, and 224(#3715) for the exhaust.
Now if you want a shelf grind and don't mind going with a Crane cam then consider this one:
216/224 114lsa+4, lift .585"/.585".
http://www.ws6project.com/user_stor/...oducts_id=4926

I'd still talk it over with who ever you'll be getting the cam from to determine the best overall compromise on cam lobe choice for you.

 

No need for any of that man. You're going to be shifting at stock redline with that cam, or around 6250-6300.

You will do more harm than good trying to add arp rod bolts without a full rebuild.

 

I'd go XE on the exhaust lobe. It's easier and makes more power due to more seat to seat duration. Get it on a 224 or 226 and keep everything the same.

Also since this is a custom ground cam, please degree it.

 

What kinda mileage do you think I'd get outta lsl or lxl lobes and btr duals blu? I'd prefer to stay with comp, I've had good luck so far with them. On the tsp website, are the extreme rpm high lift lobes the ones listed as xer?

 

On the TSP site, it says "XE" or "XE-R" in the custom cam configurator. But the extreme rpm high lift is XE.

Lobe intensity goes as follows: XE > XFI > LXL > LSL > XE-R > LSK

XFI is somewhere around the LXL/LSL but isn't as stable. LXL is just an LSL lobe with a slower closing ramp, making it ideal for the exhaust lobe. It's closing ramp is about like an XE. The XE, has more seat-to-seat duration than any of the lobes, because it is a slower ramp cam. It is also less intense and isn't shaped like a square.

Testing performed by Brian Tooley and Martin @ Tick show that going to an XE lobe provides more power than LSL/LXL when combined with the LSL intake. The bonus is that it is less aggressive.

I'd do the LSL/XE combination. 215/224.

 

Thank you for the info, it was very informative haha. I have an understanding of probally the very basic 1% of info regarding cams...

 

It's hard to say, the LXL lobes will give better valve train life, but it isn't anything substantial over the LSL lobes(2-3k) .

As already stated by Jake, the xtreme rpm high lift lobes are the ones listed as XE.

 

Updating this, I'm going with the cam selection that I was originally spec'd. Looking forward to puttin everything together