Crane Cam direct Fit cams?
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Sup guyzzzzzz, quick question.
Any personal experineces with the Crane Cam Direct fit cams for the 4.8, 5.3 and 6.0 truck motors???
Apparently it's a plug and play using stock valvetrain. Cam only deal to gain around 50hp.
Let me know what intel you all have
Any personal experineces with the Crane Cam Direct fit cams for the 4.8, 5.3 and 6.0 truck motors???
Apparently it's a plug and play using stock valvetrain. Cam only deal to gain around 50hp.
Let me know what intel you all have
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I would think springs are required as well. I would also stay with the beehive design springs when you change them. Not sure which motor you have, but there was an article about a year ago where they swapped several GM cams into a smaller truck motor (5.3 as I recall) using the LS1 cam, LS6, LS9, etc. and got excellent results.
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Plug and play is what it meant, put it in and go. This cam is meant to run with factory springs. They have 3 cams 1. 380hp 2. 411hp and 3. 442hp.
They did a big test with the Ls cams at CarCrarft. It's online if you google best cams for 5.3 or Ls.
Here's what it said about the Crane cams.
To finish up the Ultimate LS cam test, we decided to test a trio of LS grinds offered by Crane Cams. The cams range from a mild Direct-Fit cam, designed to drop right into a 5.3L truck or other LS application without need to swap springs, to a healthy (but still streetable) performance grind that offered up 130 hp over the factory LM7. The first cam from Crane offered 0.502-inch lift, 200 degrees of duration, and a 113-degree LSA. This Direct-Fit cam offered substantial torque gains, besting all of the factory offerings for peak torque production—impressive given the mild specs (smaller than most of the factory offerings). The Direct-Fit line is perfect for LS owners looking to swap cams without the need to change springs. Cam number two sported 0.551 lift, a 210/218 duration split and 116-degree LSA (think LS6 with slightly more intake duration). This cam offered 411 hp and 406 lb-ft of torque, bettering the LM7 from 2,800 rpm through 6,500 rpm while besting the LS2, LS3 and LS6 grinds. The final cam was the high-horsepower and torque champ of the test, with 0.590 lift, a 224/232 duration split and 115-degree LSA. This cam shared the exhaust specs with the LS7 and LS9 and lift specs with the LS7 (with 1.8 rockers). The 224 cam from Crane increased the power output of the 5.3L to an impressive 442 hp and 412 lb-ft of torque while offering less of a trade off in low-speed torque than the LS6, LS7, or LS9 grinds. In fact, the 224 cam was consistently up by 25 lb-ft over the LS7 and LS9 cams and equaled or bettered the LM7 cam from 2,900 rpm to 6,500 rpm.
They did a big test with the Ls cams at CarCrarft. It's online if you google best cams for 5.3 or Ls.
Here's what it said about the Crane cams.
To finish up the Ultimate LS cam test, we decided to test a trio of LS grinds offered by Crane Cams. The cams range from a mild Direct-Fit cam, designed to drop right into a 5.3L truck or other LS application without need to swap springs, to a healthy (but still streetable) performance grind that offered up 130 hp over the factory LM7. The first cam from Crane offered 0.502-inch lift, 200 degrees of duration, and a 113-degree LSA. This Direct-Fit cam offered substantial torque gains, besting all of the factory offerings for peak torque production—impressive given the mild specs (smaller than most of the factory offerings). The Direct-Fit line is perfect for LS owners looking to swap cams without the need to change springs. Cam number two sported 0.551 lift, a 210/218 duration split and 116-degree LSA (think LS6 with slightly more intake duration). This cam offered 411 hp and 406 lb-ft of torque, bettering the LM7 from 2,800 rpm through 6,500 rpm while besting the LS2, LS3 and LS6 grinds. The final cam was the high-horsepower and torque champ of the test, with 0.590 lift, a 224/232 duration split and 115-degree LSA. This cam shared the exhaust specs with the LS7 and LS9 and lift specs with the LS7 (with 1.8 rockers). The 224 cam from Crane increased the power output of the 5.3L to an impressive 442 hp and 412 lb-ft of torque while offering less of a trade off in low-speed torque than the LS6, LS7, or LS9 grinds. In fact, the 224 cam was consistently up by 25 lb-ft over the LS7 and LS9 cams and equaled or bettered the LM7 cam from 2,900 rpm to 6,500 rpm.
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Not to put a damper on the mood here, but remember engine dyno vs chassis dyno. Engine dyno usually means long tube headers also, and a good 15%-25% higher number.
Lots of these articles are done on an engine dyno, and then we can't duplicate the results in our cars. They also try to remove all the restrictions on power they can do the cam is the only thing holding it back. Which is good scientific method, but not necessarily identical to your vehicle.
Also, cam only is a relative term. Some people say cam only, but they also mean long tube headers, ported throttle, aftermarket intake, etc. other people read cam only and think they actually mean cam only and all else bone stock.
So you put one of these in your truck, but leave the stock manifolds, you don't get 50, because of reversion and back pressure, and because you're looking for 50 at the tires. You need to gain 60-65 at the motor to get 50 at the tires.
Not saying they aren't good cams for what they do or better than factory options. They are. But don't put one in your suburban and think you're gonna put 400 down on a dyno jet. You'll put down 330-350.
Hope that helps.
Lots of these articles are done on an engine dyno, and then we can't duplicate the results in our cars. They also try to remove all the restrictions on power they can do the cam is the only thing holding it back. Which is good scientific method, but not necessarily identical to your vehicle.
Also, cam only is a relative term. Some people say cam only, but they also mean long tube headers, ported throttle, aftermarket intake, etc. other people read cam only and think they actually mean cam only and all else bone stock.
So you put one of these in your truck, but leave the stock manifolds, you don't get 50, because of reversion and back pressure, and because you're looking for 50 at the tires. You need to gain 60-65 at the motor to get 50 at the tires.
Not saying they aren't good cams for what they do or better than factory options. They are. But don't put one in your suburban and think you're gonna put 400 down on a dyno jet. You'll put down 330-350.
Hope that helps.
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Designed to work with stock springs, but for $40-60 a set of ls6 springs is well worth the cost as the stock springs will have a lot of miles on them.
Keep in mind with any cam, even a different stock GM cam, the pcm will need a tune. Especially if it's using an aftermarket cam in conjunction with the older operating system in the PCM which will pick up a **** ton of false knock due to harmonics from the more aggressive cam.
Designed to work with stock springs, but for $40-60 a set of ls6 springs is well worth the cost as the stock springs will have a lot of miles on them.
Keep in mind with any cam, even a different stock GM cam, the pcm will need a tune. Especially if it's using an aftermarket cam in conjunction with the older operating system in the PCM which will pick up a **** ton of false knock due to harmonics from the more aggressive cam.