So I am not at the point of doing the swap just yet but would like to get the ball rolling on getting a choice, what rpm are these motors comfortable spinning I do not want to spin a bearing or walk the crank I am just starting on learning about these cars after switching over from my 07 mustang GT and am glad I made the change, would never look back

The cam that has cought my attention the most has been the MS4 cam does anyone on here run this camshaft and if so how does it work as a DD in the summer, whatever cam I pick I would like to have the option to DD the car overall goal I am shooting for at the moment is to get the car into the 10.50 area

Currently I ordered 1 7/8 long tube headers into 3" and a 3" true dual x-pipe set up so those will be my only mods so far

 

Is this an auto or stick?

 

Sorry forgot to include that, it is an auto

 

To run the MS4 cam you'll need a good stall and better rear gear to maximize it's ability. If you are willing to do that it can be a potent setup

 

Right on, any idea on the stall size I would need?

 

Well I have a manual, but from what I've seen a 4000 stall and 3.73 gear combo is a good fit for a street car with a cam like this

 

Driveability wont be very good...it will buck and surge in overdrive as well as cruising around a parking lot. More stall and more slip will generate more heat. Wont make power until 4500 rpm...will need to spin high to make said power...are you sure you want a DD with this cam? Stock rod bolts are usually only ran up to 6400 - max 6600 rpm. MS4 will need more than that for sure. If your planning aftermarket heads and bottom end rebuild, 3.73 and a 3600ish stall, a 228-232 will make for a good aggressive street cam, thats as big as I would go for a DD. Stock heads and bottom end, id aim for a 222 or a 224 cam that carries power to 6400. Will make lots of torque on a budget. Or a 224ish cam with AFR 220s or Trickflow 220 as casts or PRC 2.5 heads will make lots of mid range power and suprise people. Shouldnt buck or surge.

 

The reason you focus on the ms4 is sound and peak hp is my normal idea.
For a nice street cam anything in the 220s intake and 220-low 230s exhaust is just fine. Cut narrow it may surge a little but a 3k stall would fix that, and prob some better gears anyway. Cut wider will be easier to drive just may sacrifice peak hp overall which isnt usually missed on the street.

 

I have an MS4 cam in my 2002 CETA with T56, it's just a weekend fun car. Would I daily drive the MS4? Hell no. It's quite a challenge to tune it to have bearable manners. It's absolutely unuseable below 1500rpm and only starts pulling hard from 4000rpm up to my current rev limit of 6800. It needs the revs, something hard to achieve with an auto. I would not put that cam in an auto car, in my opinion it needs a manual and at least 3.73 gears. Peak power is not everything.

 

Per TSP website: MS4 Magic Stick - *Cam Specs: 239/242, .649"/.600", 111.5 LSA, 110 ICL

The Magic Stick line of camshafts is the most popular line of camshafts Texas Speed offers. The Magic Stick camshafts are designed to be a all out max effort camshafts for people looking to get maximum power from stock displacement engines. The Magic Stick camshafts require a high quality double spring kit such as the TSP .660" double spring kits. The Magic Stick 4 features several upgrades over the Magic Stick 3 that helps to create a larger power band with improved horsepower & torque at virtually every RPM! The result is the most powerful LS1 camshaft we offer! With the MS4 camshaft the customer must have atleast a 3500 rpm stall converter & 3800+ is recommended for automatic cars. Tuning will also be required in both automatic & manual applications. Texas Speed offers complete mail order tuning services to get your vehicles pcm custom tuned for your modifications.

My veiw of this cam isas follows: with the MS4 cam having an Overlap of 17.50 Degrees, I would NEVER use this cam in any 346 LS1 automatic car that would or could be used as a daily driver.
The two people i know that had the MS4 cam grew to HATE the the MS4 - even in their weekend warriors. Both got stuck daily driving in heavy slow traffic bumper to bumper.

I think something like an aggressive ramp and high lift 231/236 cam on 112 or 114 Lhp.with about 9 degrees of over lap or about 5 degress of overlap would drive better and give excellent hp.
Whule not a hero peak numbers cam or a donkey dick cam the LPE GT12 227/235 on a 115 LSA with about 1 degree of overlap will drive pretty well - i have one i plan to use.
The Martin Smallwood Tick SNS2 227/235 111 lsa is more aggressive with about 9 degrees of overlap and is also an excellent cam.

Your new cam will excel with a good intake and ported tb if you dont already have one. Ie At least an LS6 or Fast 92.
Underdrive pulley 25% and alternator over drive will also help make the car fun and make more power.
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OP just to give you an idea, I run a cam with specs very close to the MS4, except I have a 6.0 with heads and a 6-speed with 4.10 gears. To be honest even with my setup I would not want a cam much bigger than this. So while it may sound great and make great peak power, you may not like it so much with your setup. A buddy of mine runs the MS4 with PRC 5.3 heads, 4k stall, and 3.73 gear. It does well at the track, but I'm not sure how it drives. I never asked him

 

That cam is gonna be rough in a daily driver. Sounds awesome, but will be dog in the low rpm range. I drove a friend's car with this cam and a 4000 stall. I felt like I had to race from stop light to stop light to get it going. Lol. When it comes down to it, its your choice. I happen to agree with HCI and his advice. Nothing wrong with a a bigger cam. Just don't go to big. Choose a solid all around performer and make sure you have a stable valvetrain.

 

Itll sprain your neck cruising the mall parking lot lookin for chicks in a 6spd.

 

The MS4 should be used in an engine with proper supporting mods such as CNC'd heads, intake, longtubes, dual springs, large conveter around 4200-4600 and a really good tuner. Like said above it is a max effort cam and is not the most ideal for a daily.

The Torquer V2 would be a better option. Now in my opinion, there is really no need to go over .600 lift on stock heads, and the V2 has a max lift of .600/.600 and would be great with BTR .660 Platinum Springs. You can use a 3400-3600 stall with this cam which would make it very streetable.

The 228R is another great choice for a daily.

What year LS1 do you have?

If it was me, I would use the following;
- Torquer V2 or Spec'd Cam
- BTR .660 Duals
- LS6 Intake
- 1-7/8" x 3" Longtubes
- PRC Stage 2.5 243 heads milled to achieve around 11:1 Compression
- Head gasket to achieve around a 0.035" Quench and aid getting 11:1 Compression
- 3400-3600 Stall Converter
- Bronze Trunnions for stock Rockers
- Proper Length Pushrods
- LS2 Timing Chain/New Sprockets and Damper
- Melling 10295 Oil Pump
- Balance Rotating Assembly
- ARP main and rods bolts

This setup would be good to 6,800-7,000 RPM and should make great power and be very streetable. Now this is just my opinion on how I would do it in a Daily Driver LS1

You can also have a cam spec'd for your motor from one of our great sponsors depending on vehicle and supporting mods you plan on using.
Definitely talk to WS6Store, Texas Speed, Brian Tooley, as well as many other sponsors on here.

 

My cam is TSP 233/239..I also run a 4000 stall. My setup is about as aggressive as i would go. My car is just a fun daily driver also, never sees the track.

 

The set up in my signature is a perfect happy medium in my opinion.. It's all in the tune though.. My 230/236 cam runs perfectly with no bucking or surging and i've had a 228 cam buck and surge due to a horrible tune.

As TXZ28LS1 mentioned.. i wouldn't exceed the 230/236 - 233/239 range if you want it to drive well. I also think you limit your head gasket options with a large cam unless you are willing to fly cut.. You can always run .040 gaskets on a smaller cam and get some gains from that. I almost went with a larger cam like the MS4 but glad i didn't, car drives better and performs just as well.

 

The MS4 could work well if you do not mind spinning the engine 7200rpm. Also big cams work better in Autos if you put the right stall in. I would do a 4400 stall and a 3.73 gear. It's going to fell like a turd down low and not want to move until the engine rpm is up around 2500rpm. Basically will drive like a 4cyl down low and with loud exhaust will be annoying as ****.

Imho go with a cam that has 5 degrees of overlap or less and put a good set of heads on it. This is the setup guys go with and keep their cars. The setup above guys go with and sell their cars because it's annoying as **** to drive and really only any fun at the drag strip, but the internet said it was cool so they followed that advice and ruined the car for it's intended purpose.

 

MS4 in a big stalled auto can be daily driven. I basically did that for 2 years. In fact, that's the only way it could be done. That cam with a 6-speed... no. It would need 4.30s or 4.56s to be good enough for that. 4.10s aren't enough I don't think.

So, you need deep gears, a 4000+ stall, ported heads/FAST/MSD intake, big headers, and true duals or a 4" exhaust. It needs to breath and rev.

The 4000 stall/3.73s with a 4L60 keeps the RPMs up so you're not trying to cruise at 1200rpm. It just won't happen with the overlap. But you need a lot of timing down low to combat the the dirty intake charge. And it needs to idle super lean and coast super rich at very low cylinder airmass levels (like coast down at 50mph will buck like a son of a bitch if you don't kill timing and enrichen the **** out of the mixture).

In other words, you have to have a really good tuner.

With all that said, I wouldn't do it though.

I'd aim for something in the 227/234 113 range. It'll behave better and make almost as much power. Anything above that and I think you start to trade off really minimal HP gains for a signficant drop off in drivability.

I have a 227/244 115 now... it makes within 10HP of my old 234/242 111. But drives much better.

 

Most of the ms4 dynos ive seen plus doing a quick search show it die off at about 6500 or flatline...so 6800 or 7200 may be a bit optimistic. Maybe shifting there...but that woukd depend on gears and trans and tire height

 

Honestly with 8 degrees overlap I'm shocked how good my car runs.. it literally does not buck or surge at all, but I know my tune is spot on. If mine were a daily driver the only thing I'd do is tone it down with a different catback and possibly high flow cats. The car definitely rumbles and sounds insane at WOT