Seifer

i think you are seriously over-reacting, and i also think you are a little bit one sided. you may have convinced yourself that a cam like that is streetable, but ive seen the cam in cars, and i am a somewhat conservative guy but that car was a monster.

idle was set at 1000rpm and other tuning issues, you have to change the springs out every 10k miles, its loud as all hell, lopey, the smell of raw fuel seeps into the interior anytime the windows are down, and it shreds the tires at half throttle(good thing but still its crazy HP, ALOT more than stock). This is no cam for any amature that doesnt understand the nature of these cars. If you cant even read the specs and realize that the cam is insane, and you are concerned about streetability, i was just trying to make a point that the latest and greatest cams are good for a minority of people, but a huge amount of people think they fit into it, then they are later dissapointed with the end result. like i was.

a car with this cam i would not recommend to someone that is looking for something streetable. you wont really be able to drive in the rain ever without getting all sorts of sideways, even dry traction is hard to get unless you have some drag radials(another streetability issue due to low treadlife).. theres a million reasons why a cam can make a car unstreetable, and many of those reasons have nothing to do with the idle.

SouthFL.02.SS

It seems that tuning has come a long way and has allowed us to run larger cams with decent streetability.

DR's are necessary, true, but that's just part of the equation. If you don't like it, don't do it.

Don't use the drive thru, get off your *** and walk up to the counter.

Gas fumes smell prrrrty.

There are small cams, medium cams, and large cams. We have plenty to choose from now. Pick one and enjoy.

x phantom x

iTrader: (14)

Yep, which is exactly why you should NOT be giving out advice on large cams. I do not understand why you continue to debate this .... everything you say is backwards, you are the one who is one-sided. I have OWNED a 220 114 cam, a 224 112 cam and now the T-Rex. I have a close friend who has a 231/237 112 cam, and another who has a Hotcam. I am not speaking from random theories, I am speaking from experience.

ROTFL ... why the hell would anyone put a larger cam in their car, then complain about the added HP? I cannot believe you just complained that it added TOO MUCH hp. Dude, what the hell is the point of modding your car???? I was just jokin about the Honda thing before, but it's really starting to sound good now. My idle is at 900, and idles great ... did you actually take this to a professional tuner, or did you and your buddies try to figure it out yourselves? Of course the car is running crazy rich when it first goes in, and of course you will smell some gas due to the huge overlap .... this should all be expected when you get a huge cam, and will be greatly deminished with a REAL tune. Just as the extra power should be expected (come on now)
If you don't like Loud and lopey you're not a real car guy, sorry.

Yep, you're perfectly right, yet again. Just drove the car home from the gf's house (4am) in a thunder storm. Crazy rain .... you know what is weird? I didn't get "all sorts of sideways" and I'm running on Firehawk SZ50ep's, which are on their last 2k miles or so and an f'd up clutch master cyl .... weird eh? Maybe it's because I realize the throttle has various positions, and I don't have to drive around at WOT all the time?

Please, realize that most of the people who put a larger cam in their cars want to go FAST, and accept that there will be some consequences to that, such as some more mechanical work (spring changes) and some broken parts here and there. Just because you were not prepared to have 'alot more hp then stock' doesn't mean that someone else will not be. You are not here to make that decision for someone, just as I am not, but you cannot spew out bad information because of your personal opinion which is completely and totally not based on any fact whatsoever. You look at numbers, and you get scared ... period.

I'll tell ya what. You can go take your little baby cam, I'll take my loud, lopey, smelly cam, "not streetable" cam ... I'll drive 200 miles to a dragstrip, stage next to you, and be waiting for ya at the finish line.
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BigBronco

iTrader: (2)

In most cases, i said most, Bigger cams = more powerful.

When you are going to install a larger cam then stock, or say a TR224, you should be aware of what you are going to have to do extra with this car. Things will wear quicker or break. Things will have to be adjusted more often. It comes with the territory. Same thing as a 10 bolt rear end in the F-bodies. When you start drag racing and getting on a bigger stickier tire. you already know that "hey this axle is going to break if i launch hard" It is something you should know.

With tuning now, we can really make these bigger cams not that bad on the street. And they have half assed driveability. But it all depends on you the driver, and not everyone is the same. You might not like a larger lope and the car shaking some what at idle. While others like me, phantom and quite a few others on the site enjoy a big lope. We put nice sized cams in often at the shop, and we can get them at a good idle when we tune.

Cliff notes:

1) bigger cam, more power, more things are liable to break, deal with it

2) big cams are not you, not a fan of non stealthy big loping idles, like a more non harsh cam on the valve train etc.

3) get what suits you, but in this guys case and many others, the T-rex is not a terror as much as people thinks it is. This cam can be tamed and tuned, and have very respectable daily driver habits. ONCE AGAIN, IT DEPENDS ON THE DRIVER, NOT THE CAR




Gray

99WS6LS1T/A

Big Bronco you stated your point very well, this cam is for some people and not for others, it all comes down to an individuals preferance. I can say my car drives great even w/ 3:42s. I'm 29 years old, and I wonder if I'll ever stop loving hot rods, insane fast cars, and nasty sounding cams. I guess I'm not over the hill yet.

BigBronco

iTrader: (2)

I hear you on that one, i am 18 turning 19 this summer. I work at HPE and i do not think i will ever get tired of a nice and QUICK car ever!



Gray

PREDATOR-Z

And which car/truck in your sig is the QUICK one ???

TRex or any cam that revs close to 6800 rpms and beyond on a stock LS1 bottom is definitly the misconception of a novice at any type of racing.

Please post your " I blew my motor " so I can have a good laugh.

Tell me " I have a forged motor with stage II/III heads, full fuel upgrades, harmonic upgrades, full bolt ons and a TREX"
Then and only then will I say "HECK of a nice set up".

Guys please grooOOW up.

"Feels good to get it off my chest"

lilone

I have a completely built car... stage 2 heads... TREX cam... FLP LVL5... Nitrous... and definitely not a stock bottom end... A high stall torque converter... the works... and I love it... I am getting a bit tired of the big cam bashing... hell look at the new rapid cam. 502 RWHP N/A. Looks like a knock off TREX to me but it has over 400 RWHP for over 3k RPMs. BIG CAM = YES. Stick that in your bowl and smoke it.

x phantom x

iTrader: (14)

Yeah okay, you should talk buddy. As I said in my other post which you were showing us your extensive racing experience in ....

Smokin01TA .... T-Rex, stock heads, bolt-ons .... 11.22 @ 121.

You, a ridiculously large shot of nitrous on a stock engine .... 11.3x @ 118 mph ....

Humm, I wonder which one is safer for the engine? I wonder which one I would rather have? The Slower car with the HUGE shot of nitrous, or a big cam that sounds badass, smokes your ***, and can run that ALL DAY without having to go refill a bottle. Maybe it's time for a second stage with no jets? I would love to see what happens when a guy with a T-Rex runs into you on the street and your bottle is sitting at home .... I also wouldn't consider a car that requires a 200hp blast of juice to run mid 11's "quick" ... I would call that an average car with a huge shot of nitrous.

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SMOKIN01TA

iTrader: (10)

hey man, you cant stamp those times in stone yet, that was only my first trip to the track.

PREDATOR-Z

You are comparing my stock cam and nitrous to a Trex spec cam????

JFYI. NOS 5177 no jets is only around a 140 rwhp shot. (It is dry) an very gentle on the motor Never sees more than 6150 rpm, car is without headers, no pulleys, well almost stock

And Lilone, NICE set up man, that is doing it the right way. Congrats.

I in no way, shape or form, am bashing the T-Rex. I'm bashing the way some poeple use it.

But didn't Colonel do 11.2's with a 224/220, .581/.581 116 lsa N/A .
" just reminding you that big muscles and little heads don't always make a winner"

99WS6LS1T/A

Dude post when you have something to say and stop hating b/c your POS runs 11.3s on the gas.

PREDATOR-Z

Jaleous? Because I know how to use it?

Reality is a lot of "amateurs" , are being missled by posts that say "My huge cam did this".
Fact is these huge cams are designed to work in conjunction with many other parts, also designed to complement the rest of the setup.

A 6800 >7000 rpm cam IS NOT designed to work with STOCK heads, SHORTIES, and especialy not a STOCK bottom end.

A car that does 11.xx on an otherwise unballanced setup, should actually be doing low 10's with a proper one.

Maybe this is an adolescent "manhood" thing about "mine is bigger than yours". I don't know.
We (modding fanatics) all want MORE power. But it has to be done right.
Also, part of life is about agreements and dissagreements.
So I dissagree.

SMOKIN01TA

iTrader: (10)

you are correct about a few things, its not really good on a stock bottom end car, but this particular cam was designed to make killer power on stock heads. obvioulsy it would do way better with better heads but so would every other cam on the planet. and people who are dumb enough to waste there money on shorties have no need for a cam like this becaus obviously they dont have big plans yet.

and of course i would go faster on a better bottom end and heads, who wouldnt, that like saying i could have went faster on the bottle. there is always going to be something to make you go faster. but im perfectly happy with its current performance considering all factors surrounding the runs.
there are lots of head cam packages making more power and torque still in the high 11's with a similar setup so im not going to complain. and yea i should go 10.5 with a forged 346 with heads. ill find out soon.
P.S. i didnt buy this cam for size or bragging right, just for performance which it is giving me plent of imo. and as far as im concerned, i did build the rest of the car to match the cam.

PREDATOR-Z

BTW, has anyone used T-Rex in a stroker set up and reach 9's with juice??

99WS6LS1T/A

The cam has been out for two months, give it time. Jealous of what my car is at Thunder now getting a new engine. Forged 370 c.i. Absolute Stage II 5.3 heads, Ford 9" with 4:57 s. I just think you are being a bit irrational bashing on the T-REX, please post up when you have a rod hanging out of your block so we can all get a real good laugh. As they say in AA "thanks for sharing".

hellbents10

iTrader: (10)

I think everyone should settle down. I do not think this cam iss too much either. It seems to be showing well. Hatts off to smokin01ta for his first time out. Just shows you what this thing will do. Also i have seen posts of somone driving 400-500mi a week on this cam. I have done the n20 on a stock motor thing. I sprayed my 4.3 s-10 into the low13's, not fast or quick by any means but fun. I would rather have the cubes and a big cam so I can run hard all the time and not worry about fillin a bottle. Thats why mine is gettin a 6.0l w/ a trex.
Also I agree this is not a novice cam, but no reason to bash it. Someone who is into fast cars would have no reason not to love this cam. I have a 96 w/ a 355 and a turbo 350, it has a 520/540 236/248@.050. Its a comp n20 grind. I think it is very very streetable. It has a Demon 750 and I can drive it through rush hour stop and go traffic with no problems at all. Just sit there and listen to that lovely idle at about 750-800. I could only imagine how streetable a cam of this size would be with proper tuning. It is not for the weak of hart though. You sort of have to be into the that nasty small block sound to like it. Nothin can match that. I mean nothin. Let me tell ya that lopey *** idle will turn a head or 10 at every light.

Benjamin Russick

iTrader: (1)

I have a "big" cam (proprietary grind) in my Z28 and while I love it, I wouldn't want to drive to work every day with it. I think some people here are just stating that the individual should know his/her goals and what sacfrifices might have to be made to get there. I'm not bashing the big cams, but they aren't for everybody...

x phantom x

iTrader: (14)

I agree 100%. I believe what stock01ta, 99WS6LS1T/A, and myself are trying to get across is that the rumors running around this board, which are started by people who have absolutely no experience with the T-Rex at all, are completely and totally false .... but yet they are being taken as fact, and detering fellow LS1 members from buying a cam which may be exactly what they are looking for.
I cannot count how many times I have seen someone say "T-rex cannot fit on stock heads" ... really? That is exactly what it was designed to do... I'm sure we are all just tired of hearing all of these blatent misconceptions being tossed around, which is probably why we responded so strong in this thread.
While I agree this cam is not for everyone, my girlfriend who barely knows how to drive stick, was able to rip it around a parking lot with ease.

Honestly, if you don't think you can handle the badass lope, the 17mpg, spinning the engine to 6700rpms, needing 4.10 gears, etc etc .... that is fine with me, a year or two ago I would be saying the same things you are ... but there are plenty of people who would get along great with this cam.

For all I care you can believe whatever you want to believe about this cam, and spray your engine to hell and back .... I'll be waiting for you at the finish line, and then I'll rip you apart on the drive home.
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Benjamin Russick

iTrader: (1)

Yep. I'm not slamming the T-rex cuz I don't have any experience with it. I also don't mind all the sacrifices for a big cam such as surging, some false misfire from the lope (mine REALLY lopes) at idle, throttle "sponginess" below 2500rpm, etc. because I don't drive the car every day. Hell, I'm going to put a roll-cage in her, so I don't think I'm some wussy who would be better served driving a Volvo/Lexus! I applaud the guys who can suck it up and work hard to get a monster cam to work for them on a daily basis, whether through tuning effort, or reckless abandon. I just wanted to put in my $.02 that some of these cams may not be what you're looking for and to thoroughly research them first.