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Two cam vendors, two (big?) different ideas for my 5.3
I am installing a 5.3 L33 with a T-56 6-speed manual in my '82 S-10 truck. I spoke with two different cam vendors who made what seem to me like very different recommendations.
Engine is a 5.3 L33, stock 799 heads, I have a TBSS intake / injectors and TBSS 87mm TB. Rear gear will likely be 3.73 or 4.11 (swapping in an Explorer 8.8 rear) with a 25.5" tall rear tire (275/40-17 or similar).
I estimate the vehicle weight will end up at 3200-3300 lbs. It was 2900 lbs. on a quarry scale with the iron 2.8V6/4-speed manual.
This is a fair-weather driver, weekend cruiser / local car show, and occasional 1/4 mile for fun, nearly no "truck" duty other than an occasional run to the home center. I probably average about 3-4k miles/year on it.
One vendor suggested a 228 degree cam, .600 lift.
Another vendor suggested a 218/222 degree cam, .586/.578 lift.
One seems like the tsp 228r im guessing. Id do more of a split pattern cam but a tad less intake and a little more exhaust.
Id use a 225/231 with about .600 lift on a 114+2. be prettt easy to putt around and lots of fun.
We can get that done for ya. itll still have a noticeable idle.
Let us know! The cam kits start at 515 and go up.
A lumpy idle is fine, and with a stick and lower rear end gears, I shouldn't mind it being a bit soft off-idle.
With 3.73 gears, a T-56, and my tire size, 60MPH in 5th is about 2400 RPM. That's about where it was before with the original V6/4-speed/stock rear in 4th so I can easily live with that. Would any of the three cams suggested cruise at 2400 RPM in this L33?
Howard's 222/225 made 426 HP with a very flat 400 ft lbs torque curve on that exact same setup on engine dyno. Not a top-end only cam. Idles nice at 700 rpm. Cam and springs are $480 shipped from Summit.
One seems like the tsp 228r im guessing. Id do more of a split pattern cam but a tad less intake and a little more exhaust.
Id use a 225/231 with about .600 lift on a 114+2. be prettt easy to putt around and lots of fun.
Seriously.
I am running a 228/234 .627"/.613" 112+3 in our LS1 and the thing putts around town fine, and cruises at 60mph @ 2000rpm like a dream. So a little smaller in a 5.3L is going to be perfect.
Just make sure it is ground on the right type of lobe - smooth and stable.
A manual trans and a low gear (numerical) will want to load and unload the clutch as it bucks and surges. You can bandaid it in the tune, but then your tune is compromised because of the cam.
Cutting it on a wider lsa wont effect much and will make it easier to drive. Going with a bigger gear like 3.73+ would make it easier to drive and prob not noticeable.
I am installing a 5.3 L33 with a T-56 6-speed manual in my '82 S-10 truck. I spoke with two different cam vendors who made what seem to me like very different recommendations.
Engine is a 5.3 L33, stock 799 heads, I have a TBSS intake / injectors and TBSS 87mm TB. Rear gear will likely be 3.73 or 4.11 (swapping in an Explorer 8.8 rear) with a 25.5" tall rear tire (275/40-17 or similar).
I estimate the vehicle weight will end up at 3200-3300 lbs. It was 2900 lbs. on a quarry scale with the iron 2.8V6/4-speed manual.
This is a fair-weather driver, weekend cruiser / local car show, and occasional 1/4 mile for fun, nearly no "truck" duty other than an occasional run to the home center. I probably average about 3-4k miles/year on it.
One vendor suggested a 228 degree cam, .600 lift.
Another vendor suggested a 218/222 degree cam, .586/.578 lift.
Thoughts?
Originally Posted by jwvess00
Hello,
A lumpy idle is fine, and with a stick and lower rear end gears, I shouldn't mind it being a bit soft off-idle.
With 3.73 gears, a T-56, and my tire size, 60MPH in 5th is about 2400 RPM. That's about where it was before with the original V6/4-speed/stock rear in 4th so I can easily live with that. Would any of the three cams suggested cruise at 2400 RPM in this L33?
Hello jwvess00,
It looks like one of our people suggested our Titan I LS1 camshaft to you. It is the smallest camshaft that we offer in the Titan LS1 series. Here is the full lineup of Titan LS1 cams:
For your setup, I think you would be happiest choosing from the Titan 1 through Titan 3. As the durations get larger, the cams get slightly more aggressive and extend the RPM range higher. They are all going to drive nice and fry the tires. The Titan 1 will have the best drivability while the Titan 3 will have the best power at high RPM. The smaller cams will have slightly better performance below 5000 RPM and the larger cams will have slightly more power above 5000 RPM.
There is not a bad choice in any of those 3. It just depends on where you want the power focused.
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I am running a 228/234 .627"/.613" 112+3 in our LS1 and the thing putts around town fine, and cruises at 60mph @ 2000rpm like a dream. So a little smaller in a 5.3L is going to be perfect.
Just make sure it is ground on the right type of lobe - smooth and stable.
The 5.3 and 5.7 have the same piston speed and not a pile of CI difference so they should react to the same cams pretty similar
The cr diff and bore size plus cyl head flow would make a diff though. Not 40hp (unless using an ls6 mani vs a truck one), but a difference nonetheless.
4.10's are more fun and allow driving with more rpm in daily driving which works well with a cam upgrade and in my experience increases the fun of driving. Something like a 224/230 Duration, .581/.592-Inch Lift, 114 LSA is what I would consider. There are more modern lobes than the XE-R to pick from now. I've ran XE-R lobe 224/224 cam for over 130,000 miles so they can work well as daily driver cams with warm up and occasional valve train refresh.
The 8.8 rear is an excellent choice - been very happy with mine, no issues. Here are a few tests that might be of interest. I would expect the TBSS intake to do better than an LS6 in about any application at all rpm. The TBSS can probably come close to the LSXR give up less down low with a 22x/230 cam. Best wishes with your project.
The 5.3 and 5.7 have the same piston speed and not a pile of CI difference so they should react to the same cams pretty similar
I read Martin's "theory" on this and it's totally BS. According to his theory the same cam should be spec'd for an ls1 or 5.3 & that engine size doesn't matter. Try actually running that. The cam that behaves one way in an Ls1 behaves completely different in a 5.3. The idle gets much rougher and the power band shifts up quite a bit. Enough that a stall change is required where in the Ls1 a stock stall was fine.
OP, for your set up I would also go with the 228r especially if you plan on running the 4.11 gears! That would be a blast to drive. In the end when talking to a vendor or trying to get cam specs it always depends how the conversation goes and what the guy on the other side of the phone feels like you are shooting for. When you say you don't know gear ratio, weight, etc that will lead to different specs all the time. Find a combo and stick with the same thing when calling in.
^ not to start any war, but i agree quite a bit with what was said here.
You can spout all the stuff you can find on google, but the real world will show you what is up.
The 6.0l has the same piston speed as well...so does the ls3....etc...etc....
^ not to start any war, but i agree quite a bit with what was said here.
You can spout all the stuff you can find on google, but the real world will show you what is up.
The 6.0l has the same piston speed as well...so does the ls3....etc...etc....
If anyone cared to read my why LSA doesn't matter sticky, they will find that almost 3+ years ago I said that the 5.3 needs a smaller cam than a LS1.
But I just give information based on what I found on Google...
I have a 2004 5.3 with prc 5.3 heads 58cc and a 222/226 115+3 .600 lift in a 1992 chevy c1500 5 speed with 3:42 gears. I can putt around at 1300 rpms in 5th gear with no bucking. It also has a nice lope at idle. I did have a lunati 212/218 113+3 .530 lift before this cam and i still feel like the 212/218 cam felt faster but i have no numbers to back that up. My truck weighs 3800lbs.
I would run the Titan 1 cam, I couldnt think of a better cam to fit your needs. That cam will make power from 2500-6000 rpm, mostly torque which will really get you moving in such a relatively light car. 228 is way too big, that's a cam for aggresaive street 5.7 4th gens. 799 heads flow well up to .600, so anywhere between .550-.600 lift is perfect no more no less. This 218 cam wont need a lot of stall to get moving, a 3000-3200 would be perfect and not generate boat loads of heat. Also this cam stall and gear combo will drive like stock. Don't worry about how much peak hp it makes, too many variables to compare, one dyno can read 380 and another may read 420...instead look at the gains YOUR application has made. I wouldnt even bother though, I already know it will be a quick enjoyable street car. Wont shake houses and run only 11s either. You will suprise people. 228 will more than likely buck and surge in low rpms, no you cant tune it out completely...it will be the nature of the beast. I bet you would like the driveablitly of the 218 cam so much your 4-5k miles a year will turn into 9-10k miles...Don't let people tell you "oh bro that cam is too small you wont even notice it" they are ignorant and dont understand how to make a good combo work. Now that being said, run a 4000 stall, shorter gear and aftermarket heads that flow .650 plus, a 228-232 cam with .6xx lift and spin around 7k maybe more, in a 5.3, that cam would be within your interest. See what I am saying?
I have a similar setup but a 5.7
With a 222/228 cam, ls6 intake, 799s with a valve job LTs and a 3200 converter. Shifts at 6400, Power levels out after 6100 then carries well to about 6600, but because bottom end is stock we didnt want to run it that high. Operating conditions were 95F, 9% humity. Dont remember altitude but its Tempe AZ.
05-17-2017, 09:07 PM
Two cam vendors, two (big?) different ideas for my 5.3 
