I've been going crazy lately (and driving the GF crazy listening to the idle sounds of different cam shafts) trying to figure out what cam to go with.
Car is an 87 T/A with an LS1 and an upgraded T56 with LS7 clutch, and I have a 2001 4th gen rear with a girdle going in this spring.
LS6 intake, Speed Engineering long tubes, full 2.5 mandrel bent dual exhaust with an H-pipe and super 10s.
Will be sending my injectors to FIC to have them rebuilt to 42# since it's the same price as doing 36 and it leaves me room to do heads later.
Will be doing a dyno tune by a guy that has LS experience.

This car is driven once or twice a week, to car shows, or for an ice cream run. Just a fun summer car. I don't require live with it every day driving manners, however, I still would like to be able to cruise along at 75 in 6th gear.
I am not one to "scream" an engine, I shift it now at 6500 when I'm on it, and really wouldn't want to push it much higher than say 6800 if the valvetrain could handle it. That said, when I'm out in the car I am DRIVING the car and don't really baby it.

I do intend to autocross the car a bit, and hit the 1/4 once or twice a year for fun. More interested in pull all the way through the RPM range over needing to be at 5500+ to be in the meat of the power.

I'm looking at cams like:
Hawk's sinister 230/236 .591/.601 112 LSA
TSP 233/238 or the 228/232
Torquer V2 with 112 LSA
BTR Stage 3 is about the most radical I would go.

Just sort of looking for some guidance.

 

Well first things first. Get rid of that pos heavy *** ls7 clutch.

what's your acceleration goal?

 

I would be happy with high 11s. The LS7 clutch will be staying a while as it is fresh (less than 10,000km on it) and a new clutch isn't in the budget this spring since I'm doing the cam work and need new wheels and rubber to make the 4th gen rear work.

 

Regarding cam imo everything you posted is big for your needs.

I would be thinking 226/230 in your case, used fast 90, light clutch, and ewp.

 

I'll think you'll be happy with a basic 224 cam. Its proven itself over and over countless times.

 

What is EWP?

 

Electric water pump

 

This. Take a look at a Titan 2, very pleased with mine.

 

full agree

 

Save the $ from the cam. Put a light clutch in it with some 3.73 gears and it will run high 11s. 3.90 gears probably be a little better even.

Just caUse you shove a cam in it don't mean it's gonna be fast. There's more to acceleration than the camshaft.

 

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-8707-1

Cam and spring package for under $500 will have a nice thump and make great power while leaving you some cash for other stuff

 

Torquer V2 here. For a weekend car, I wouldn't want to go any smaller. It surges at the bottom of first gear, but it's still manageable in parking lots. Stop and go traffic would suck so I wouldn't recommend this for anyone who deals with that on a daily basis, but IMO it's fine for a weekend car. It's perfectly smooth at freeway speeds, or even putting around the neighborhood in 3rd gear.

I think one of the key things in cam selection is whether you must have something that feels great if you stomp on the throttle at cruising RPM, or whether you're willing to downshift a gear or two. Personally, I'm a big fan of the downshift. If you're not, then I'd agree with the guys above who recommend smaller cams. They will pull harder if you just want to mash the gas pedal to get around someone on the freeway. I'd rather downshift first (so that RPM, cam selection, and gearing all combine to pull even harder) but not everybody feels that way.

 

I literally just received my summit 8707 cam. 226/238 600/600 on a 113 LSA. Going with 799 heads and a truck intake. I will also be running an LS7 clutch with my T56. My motor is a 6.2 so it has some more cubic inches than your LS1, but I think that cam will be a good choice.

 

What is it wuth you guys and running that junk ls7 clutch and looking for more performance? One defeats the other....it makes no sense.

 

I wholeheartedly agree that running an LS7 with a factory steel LS7 flywheel doesn’t make a lot of sense for a performance minded individual but there’s a market for the LS7 clutch. I run mine with an aluminum flywheel to get the weight a couple of pounds less than stock rather than +10 with the LS7 flywheel because I can’t live with a weight penalty like that. Still by all means heavy compared to other options but some of us want and like that. I’ve personally had a horrible experience with a well known aftermarket clutch and just wanted something that would be exactly like stock but hold more power. I’m ok giving up some power versus a true lightweight assembly to get what I want since I’m not after every last hp with my Z. Not everybody likes the feel of a lightweight assembly to boot. I know the approach you take with modding a car and I find it very interesting, I wish I could pick your brain over some beers one day as I’d like to undertake a similar approach with my LT1 car. Your accomplishments are impressive it just comes down to different strokes for different folks.

I like some of the cams suggested previously in this thread. I do the occasional track day with a Cam Motion 228/232 111+3 and it works well given its wide useable power band. It holds onto the power past peak pretty well which is something I’d want in a car that’s autocrossed. I think something with similar valve events would be a good choice for your uses. I’d suggest giving Cam Motion a call because they’ve got some nice shelf options that I think would work plus they can suggest something tailored to your setup if you want to go down that route.

 

Thanks......but one thing for sure if one wants stock drivability they should stay away from a cam. Other than that stock driveability because of the weight of a clutch goes out the window when they go get in a honda 4cyl with a 30lb small diameter stock clutch in it. If that thing is drivable then something with double the cylinders and 3x the idling tq sure as hell has to be drivable.

 

All you need are ls6 heads, & cam

 

A properly chosen cam with a good tune will drive better than a 10lb clutch and gain more power over the entire curve.

 

I just went through the same thing. My requirements were VERY similar. I ended up having PatG spec me a custom cam. However, for an off the shelf grind, you won't get much closer than a FTI Streetsweeper 236/240.631/.61011116 overlap. That's a little on the big side with stock heads though. I'll be running ported 243s with 11.1:17 compression.

 

For a car driven on the street, I'd look at a BTR stage 2 4.5 degrees overlap, Cam Motion Titan 4 3.5 degrees overlap, TSP 228/232 0 degrees overlap or Summit stage 2. I think the the Summit stage 2 has the most overlap and most likely would buck some down low.

Unless you are spinning to 7K you don't need to go over 230 degrees duration. on a 5.7.