Greetings! I bought an 02 Camaro SS and its a blast but I don't know much about the work on it. I know it has a cam but I don't know which one and I don't have the cam card for it. How much do I need to know about the cam before I choose what heads/and other valvetrain things I'm going to replace? My goal for the build is a fun 500ish whp street car that might even meet NY emissions laws but we'll see.

I'm a long time lurker of the forums here but just joined, excited to hear back from you all =)

 

You should know the basic specs- duration, LSA, and lift in decreasing order of importance

 

I guess the better question is: Do I need to pull my cam to figure out what I have? Or would it maybe be better to shop for a cam kit that I want and plan my build with that in mind

 

I do not want to burst your bubble but imma have to.

500 rwhp AND emissions legal. That means you need a small cam. That in turn gives you two options. Boost or a really big motor.

A simple rear mounted turbo could get you 500 rwhp without too much effort. You could also swap in a stock ls7 and with some bolt ons you could be knocking on the door of 500 rwhp.

A 5.7 will need a ton of aftermarket parts and will never pass emissions. It will smell like Unburnt fuel when you are sitting there getting tested. Cats will help a little, but not enough to make it legal.

 

Thanks for the reply, thats a good point thanks for being real with me lol I'd rather have the fun than be legal anyways =)

 

@khaymanw Welcome to the forum. Is your car an automatic or six speed?

 

What are the emissions/testing requirements in NY? Welcome to the party man!

 

Not certain on specific emissions, but currently it just generally smells like gas while idling and and the current tint won't pass inspection either

 

6-speed, its a T56 build by 6speed INC awhile back