jc1285

I have a 98 Trans Am 6 speed car with LS6 intake and 1-7/8" LT's. I recently found metal while changing oil so I'm looking at either rebuilding or buying something already built. I daily drive this car about 180 miles a day so I'd like to have something that will still do good on fuel on the highway. I would also like to increase my throttle respone for street driving. I'll never take this car to a track so peak numbers are necessarily that important, but I'd like to be in the 4-450whp range. I have found what I think is a pretty decently built motor, my only concern is the cam. I'm pretty new to the gas world and cam things. Here is a list of how this motor I've found is built.
2004 5.3 Built Block Bored Out To LS1 5.7 Spec
Wiseco Forged 5.7 Pistons
Eagle Specialty Forged Crankshaft/Rods
Built 706 Heads Ported/Polished/Milled/Cleaned/ Valve Job
BTR Truck Noris Cam Kit
BTR Dual Springs
BTR 7.400 Pushrods
Ls7 Lifters
Full Timing Chain Kit
High Volume/Pressure Oil Pump

I can have the current camp swapped out to whatever I like, so my question is, would this be a good cam for my needs, or would there be better options? I also plan on installing an UD pulley.

Jimbo1367

I’d pass on the high volum and pressure oil pump. You will run out of oil with a stock pan. I’d be careful running a extra qt of oil as that may not be enough

G Atsma

Jimbo- The HV pump will NOT suck the pan dry. Urban myth.
It doesn't have that much difference in volume.
Plus, DOD/VVT engines all have the factory version of it and do not have the problem.

99 Black Bird T/A

iTrader: (4)

Sounds like a fun build for a fun daily driver!

2004 5.3 Built Block Bored Out To LS1 5.7 Spec - OK

Wiseco Forged 5.7 Pistons - I'd suggest 4032 alloy. They are daily driver durability friendly.

Eagle Specialty Forged Crankshaft/Rods - OK

Built 706 Heads Ported/Polished/Milled/Cleaned/ Valve Job - OK

BTR Truck Noris Cam Kit - Yuck 🤮 that's a dinky cam for a 5.7 liter. I doubt you'll get near 450whp with that cam, an LS6 intake & ported 706's.

In my 99 T/A, I ran a 224/224 cam, TEA ported 706's, LS6 intake for 15 years and got 27mpg highway with 4.10 gears in M6 from 2002 to 2017 for 130,000+ miles. Before the mods the car got 32.5 mpg highway. The gears were most of the lost gas mileage. The car made 418 whp back in 2002.

Please at least consider the Summit Ghost Cam it's a 222/233 on 115 and has hit 450 whp with ported 706 heads and a Fast 102 intake. Mavn had excellent results with the cam.

I really like ~226 to 228 intake/~230 to 234 exhaust duration in my driver LS1's

BTR Dual Springs - Good!
BTR 7.400 Pushrods - I'd measure before buying push rod, sometimes it varies if the heads have been deck and depending on which head gaskets etc.
Ls7 Lifters - Ok
Full Timing Chain Kit - OK 👍 get a good quality one, single roller as double rollers are just over kill
High Volume/Pressure Oil Pump - OK
LS6 intake - this is the weakest link in you parts list. You really want 90/92mm intake manifold and 92mm TB.

I'd sell the LS6 and get a Fast 92 or I'd send the LS6 to Lingenfelter or TPIS for the 90mm snout mod for $350. The Fast 92 can also be ported for more power etc. For what it's worth I have a LPE/TPIS 90mm LS6 intakes on two of my cars and they work very well.

jc1285

Thank you sir, that cam info is exactly what I need and confirmed my thoughts on the cam it currently has.

grinder11

iTrader: (1)

I agree with Atsma. I've run a Melling HV pump for almost 17 years, never pumped my C5 pan dry, and I've had piston oil squirters in my built, wet sump LS7 for the last 8 years........

jc1285

Does anybody have any experience with the TSP Torquer V4 or the TSP Cleetus McFarland Bald Eagle LS1 NA cam? I've had those two recommended. The bald eagle is 227/234 .600"/.600" 111 LSA, and the Torquer V4 is 231/234 .629"/.615" 111 LSA. I'm also considering the TSP 228/232 with a 112 LSA.

Tuskyz28

I KNOW for fact the TSP Torquar 2 cam will cam will make 450 RWHP with a set of ported factory heads...

99 Black Bird T/A

iTrader: (4)

No direct experience with those three cams. I have experience with LS cams with negative overlap, 0 overlap and ~13 degrees of overlap.

Cams with negative to 0 degrees of overlap with good tuning will drive close to stock in an LS1 and can pass an emissions sniffer/tail pipe test normally. These are good daily driver cams.

224/224 on 114 LSA
222/233 on 115 LSA aka Summit Ghost Cam

Cams with ~1 to 5 degrees overlap, with good tuning will drive close to stock in an M6 LS1 & cable TB without much hassle. They won't pass an emissions sniffer/tail pipe test normally in most cases. These are typically pretty good daily driver cams.

EPS 226/234 on 113 LSA, 4 degrees overlap

Cams with ~6 to 10 degrees overlap some folks don't like these as daily driver cams as they can but a little more finicky they can also be a little more difficult for some tuners to dial in with good driveablity. It's all a matter of what one is willing to tolerate. The cams you've listed are in this category.

TSP 228/232 .600/.600 112LSA
~6 degrees of overlap

TSP Cleetus McFarland Bald Eagle LS1
227/234 .600"/.600" 111 LSA
~8.5 degrees of overlap

TSP Torquer V4
231/234 .629"/.615" 111 LSA
~10.5 degrees of overlap

Cams with 10 to 15 degrees overlap more folks don't like these as daily driver cams as they are more finicky they can also be a little more difficult for some tuners to dial in with good driveablity. It's all a matter of what one is willing to tolerate. I think of these a weekend car cams.

237/245 114 LSA 13 degrees of overlap

I have that one in a 416 it drives pretty nice over all but gets ~20 mpg highway, it will surge or buck at low rpm and cold starts can be a little fussy.

jc1285

Awesome info that is much appreciated. Based off that, and what TSP recommended, I think I'm going to give the Bald Eagle a shot. My tuner is the guy that does the tuning for TSP so I think he should have a pretty good handle on getting it set up correctly.

Bspeck82

Go with a smaller cam if you aren't racing it. The downsides of the bigger cams are not worth the extra 10-15hp. Especially with low budget heads.

gagliano7

The bigger the cam the more you lose below 3500 rpm's. Not as fun to drive unless you are going WOT.

jc1285

Now I'm going to throw another cam in the ring to get you guys opinion on. I know a few of you guys have recommended going smaller on the cam, but after more research, the Tick Performans SNS torqueMax Stage 2 has caught my attention. Based off of their description, it sounds like exactly what I'm looking for. I've done a bit of searching on the forum and the reviews on this cam seem pretty damn good.

Jimbo1367

99Black Bird T/A
great write up

Summitracing

OP,

You've received some great advice from the community. Something we haven't seen mentioned is the compression ratio of the engine or what the rear gear ratio is. Those are two big factors when it comes to cam selection.

As some preliminary cam recommendations, there are two options we could see being used here.

Option 1: Our Pro LS stage 1 Automotive cam known as the Ghost cam SUM-8715R1. 99 Black Bird mentioned this previously. Specs on it are .600/.575, 222/234, 115+3 with -2* of overlap. This will have a smooth idle to noticeable lope depending on idle speed. It will be easy to tune and have excellent manners. It packs a punch and will carry out well to 6,800+ with your dual springs. Stock gearing is ok with the Ghost cam.

Option 2: Our Pro LS Automotive stage 2 SUM-8707R1. Specs on it are .600/.600, 226/238, 113+3 with 6* of overlap. It will have a steady lope but tunes well and is easy to live with. It has a wide powerband and will be happy out to 7,000+ with your dual springs. This is getting near the limit of stock gearing. You can get away with stock gearing but you'll get more out of the cam and have better manners with some 3.73+ gears.

We agree with @99 Black Bird T/A on his general overlap and driveability findings. With a combo like this wanting to be daily friendly we'd stick in that range of 6ish* or less of overlap. The Ghost cam would make an excellent daily cam in this combo with good efficiency and make respectable power while doing so. Knowing the compression and gearing along with what kind of driveability you're looking for would help narrow down the cam recommendation. Like 99 Black Bird said, it's all a matter of what someone is willing to tolerate.

Let us know if we can be of any further assistance. We'll be happy to help!

jc1285

Thanks for the info. As far as gearing, my car still has the stock 3.42's. On the compression ratio, like I said, I'm still extremely new to all of this, but the 706 heads were milled down .010 to flat, so I'm going to guess I'm somewhere around 11:1 compression ratio. I'm not really looking to rev this thing to the moon, so I would like my powerband to be somewhere in the 2,000-6,800 RPM range. My other vehicle is a 2020 F450 that has been tuned and makes around 560/1250 to the wheels, so I'm accustomed to the immediate throttle respone from a turbocharged diesel. Obviously I know I won't be able to achieve that with this car, but I would certainly like a lower, more useable daily driving powerband. All of the info you guys are providing is awesome and I really appreciate it.

grubinski

Given that this gets driven quite a bit, I’d go with the Ghost cam if I was in your shoes. I’d bet you’d be happier with that in a car that wasn’t just a weekend toy.

Summitracing

OP,

Thanks for providing more info on your combo and goals. Using the Wiseco WIS-K398X3905 3.2cc flat top as an example you would be around 10.8:1 with the 706 heads milled .010" and using a .051" head gasket. The raised compression will help with power and torque across the range.

Given your further explanation of what you're looking for out of this combo and goals, we would strongly consider the Ghost cam. Not just because it's our own cam but it's truly a great fit here. It's going to be very daily friendly with excellent manners and sized just right for a 5.7. @Mavn a fellow member on the forum helped us coin the 8715R1 the "Ghost" cam in his thread with his LS1 4th gen.

With the powerband you're after, going with something even smaller could be an option. Although, we think the Ghost cam checks all the boxes you're after for this combo. That smaller option we're thinking of is our stage 2 high-lift truck cam SUM-8720R1. Specs on it are .600/.600, 218/227, 112+2 with -1* of overlap. With the 8720R1 you can expect a similar idle and manners as the Ghost cam just with a lower powerband. It will be content with your stock gearing.

This gives you yet another cam option to think about. We're here to help so let us know if we can be of any further assistance!

jc1285

Thanks for the reply. I definitely don't want to go any smaller so its sounding more and more like your ghost cam will be a perfect fit. Do you guys still offer the 25% UD pulley for this car? If you do, and you don't mind, shoot me a PM with some pricing so I can go ahead and get a cam ordered.

Summitracing

Sent you a PM. Looking forward to working with you on a cam and balancer.