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I recently completed an LS swap on my Nissan 350z using a bone stock LQ4, just refreshed with gaskets, and all new drive accessories, and an LS6 intake. I have a Tune date of May 4th
I want to swap a cam in but want an opinion. I am looking at the Texas Speed Torquer V4 (231/234 .629"/.615"). Ill be putting in the dual valve springs, and pushrods etc.... My local tuner recommended it but he also recommended the BTR LS3 Stage 1 cam (221/228 .609"/.571").
The car is an lq4 with 317 heads. no milling so 9.5:1 Compression. Im building a turbo motor on a stand so dont wanna get to crazy with this cost wise since that motor will be going in later.
Lq4 317 heads
Ls6 intake
Longtube 1.75" headers
T56 F body trans
3.357 LSD final drive
Car is used as an aggressive street driving, weekend car, and roadcourse car. My worry is the Torquer cam will lose a lot of low end due to lower compression
First I'd suggest a BTR cam because the lift is slightly lower and have less chance of a wear issue with stock rockers. Next I'd suggest going with the BTR stage 2 cam. It's slightly smaller and produces good torque. It will peak about 6300 rpm.
Next, I'd consider getting a set of 799/243 heads which will bump compression a bit compared to the 317 heads. You could even drop down to a 224 duration cam. It all depends on how high you want to rev and what gears you have in the rear end.
I'd suggest the LS1 Stage 2 cam since it has a bit more intake duration compared to the LS3 version. But feel free to call BTR and ask for their opinion. Tell them how you plan to use the car.
First that's a really cool swap! Looks like a fantastic Z car
Second 9.5 to 1 compression is sort of on low side for a big cam unless your boosting that engine in my opinion.
I'd call Cam Motion for a custom cam with the cam events spec'd for best results with that 9.5 compression and your set up. Cam Motion can adjust the valve events to bolster the dynamic compression so the cam works well with 9.5 to 1 compression. That way you can avoid a head swap.
I would lean toward the smaller one, or as mentioned, discuss goals with someone who can do a custom grind to maximize the DCR.
FWIW, I have an LQ4 swapped into my 72 GMC. I run a 223/231 cam with .637/.617 lift. Stock compression but CNC ported 317 heads, long tubes, TBSS intake, and run speed density with a holley term x ECU. (Admittedly, it's put together with a weird mix of leftover parts).. I always hear people talking about weak/lazy LQ4s due to low compression. Mine runs great. I do run a yank 3200 converter and 4.56 gears (33" tires)...
Mill the heads .030 and go with a mild cam in the 224-228 range.i was very happy with my lq4 with the tsp 228r with milled heads n/a. Wasnt lazy by any means,made just a hair over 400whp/tq.Same as you,ls6 intake and longtubes at the time with a t56 and crap 3.23 gear. I added boost to that exact combo and at 15psi I kept popping ringlands and bending rods hitting 660whp on pumpgas 2 yrs later.
You dont need to go big cam to yield great results,just make it efficient to make power effortlessly. If you do go boost,dont go too crazy on the gen 3 rods around the 650+ range on pumpgas didnt fairwell for me 3 times before I moved on