DP 08 GXP

iTrader: (3)

I have talked with Martin at Tick and he recommended that I go with their SNS Stage 3 cam and to have the head work done at AI with their 232cc port program.

I have also talked with Texas Speed and they recommended their Stage 2.5 LS6 PRC heads with their Tourqer V3 cam.

The car is a 02 T/A WS6 A4 with around 74,000 miles. Once I get the car out of storage I will be getting Speed Engineering race headers, true duals dumped before the axle. I have a Volant air intake to put on. I also have a Yank SS3600 stall to go in with a shift kit. The car already has 3.73 gears on the stock 10 bolt. It will getting a dyno tune after everything is on. The car is not a DD and will see the track maybe once or twice a year.

Goals for the car are to be in the 425 rwhp range. When I had talked with them I told them I was looking for a cam that has a noticeable idle also.

Which route would you go with?

jsteele90

iTrader: (13)

Both cams are great cams and will definitely have a noticeable idle. The results from both cams are well documented on this forum. However I would go with the Tick cam and AI heads.

mchicia1

iTrader: (5)

Keep the lift around .600 to .61x for longer valve spring life.

The lift on the TV3 is huge on the intake side.

DP 08 GXP

iTrader: (3)

I've been watching videos of both cams and reading a lot of different threads on each. I have figured out at least that either way I will get good numbers from both set ups. I was leaning more towards Tick's cam and AI's head work because of all the things I have read about them. Just wanted to get some input from people to make sure I was leaning the right way.

DREAMZ28

iTrader: (1)

I know the v3 runs LSK lobes on the intake side, which are very harsh but they do make power. I would go with whichever Martin steers you toward.


If you do choose the v3, I would have a talk with Martin about how to set up your valvetrain for that cam. It will be very crucial to longevity that you set everything up right.

DP 08 GXP

iTrader: (3)

Thanks for the info. Let's say I do a cam only until I get the funds for the heads. Would both of these cams be alright until I got the heads?

thunderstruck507

iTrader: (18)

I wouldn't run the V3 because of the intake lobes.

z28SSilvest

Unless your tuner doesn't know what he's doing or something isn't installed right, you should be well over 425 with that setup. 2.5 heads with the "S" cam have made 455 before

BrntWS6

iTrader: (7)

I have that setup and it makes good power, planning on spraying it eventually. But yeah...LSK lobes aren't too friendy on a valvetrain, especially if it's not setup for them. I'm not too concerned with it because I don't drive my car much, maybe 500mi / year, but if I could do it again I would go with something different just for peace of mind.

I did get a 100rwhp increase with that setup and an UD pulley though. Make sure you go with 1 7/8" headers.

JakeFusion

iTrader: (7)

The SNS Stage 3 is very similar to what I have, the G5X3, and the BTR Stage 4. The 234/242 is a very good grind in these cars. The difference between the EPS, Tick, LG, and BTR grinds are the lobes. EPS uses the EPS endurance lobes, Tick uses LSL/LSL combo, LG uses XE-R/XE-R, and BTR uses LSL/XE.

If I were going with a Comp grinded cam, the BTR with the LSL/XE would get the nod. LSL is a great intake valve and the mild XE works exceptionally well in these cars as an intake lobe. The added duration on the exhaust side helps.

I went with the Cam Motion billet core from EPS and EPS lobes for stability and valvetrain precision.

DP 08 GXP

iTrader: (3)

Thanks for the info. Thoughts on running the SNS cam without getting heads?

JakeFusion

iTrader: (7)

I should say I really respect Martin. From the shelf grinds, the BTR would get the nod of the Comp Cams lot. But he has a custom 233/236 that uses the LSL/XE combo that would also work very well.

Any of those cams would work great with stock heads or ported heads. It's a max-effort type of cam with a lot of overlap and thus, power.

BEAns_99

Im doing that samething...no heads...yet!

DP 08 GXP

iTrader: (3)

Well I thought I had it narrowed down to 2 cams but looks like there is another one in the mix with the BTR stage 4

jsteele90

iTrader: (13)

also when you talk to Martin with your goals for the car he might spec you something totally custom like my cam or he might recommend one of their off the shelf grinds. mine is just a tad bit bigger than their SNS stage 2.

01ssreda4

iTrader: (96)

TSP has been in business a long time, they won't steer you wrong. However, both combos sound pretty solid.

BrntWS6

iTrader: (7)

^^ I don't know.....a little heads up on how tough LSK lobes are would help....especially since a lot of their cams use those. Cam grinds are very confusing for most buyers let alone what lobes to get.

Sales@Tick

iTrader: (3)

SNS Stage 3 is proven to gain 60-70rwhp/30-40rwtq every single time over the stock camshaft.

DREAMZ28

iTrader: (1)

Yea IMO its the most important aspect of the cam. You'll end up with some broken parts if you think you can just throw any parts in there with LSKs and run it for 30k miles without checking.