2002Monaro

I have a 2002 Holden Monaro with the LS1(same as Pontiac GTO).
I'll be rebuilding my motor in about 6 months but want to start buying what I need now and would love some help on cam selection.
My car will be mainly a cruiser with the occasional run down the 1/4 mile.
Specs of other upgrades are:
1 3/4 extractors, high flow cats, twin 3" exhaust.
243 heads, will probably leave these stock.
4l660e with ~ 3500 rpm hi stall.
3.73 diff gears.

I've had an LS1 previously with similar upgrades and ran the Texas Speed 220 220 cam. I was very happy with that at the time and I'm considering going to the 224r this time as a slight improvement over the 220r.
After reading a fair bit on these forums I wonder if the newer cams from other vendors may give me better results, keeping in mind I don't want my fuel economy to blow out by going anything bigger than the 224r. The 220r didn't increase my fuel use much over stock.
Other cams I'm considering, although availability in Australia may be a problem, is the Titan 2 from Cam Motion, or the Streetsweeper TQ from FTI.
I'd love to know which of these 3 cams would perform the best with my setup and also how much different they would be compared to the 220r that I've used before.

Thanks in advance for your help!

G Atsma

You might consider the Summit Ghost Cam. 222/234, 115+3, .600/.575. It has gotten very good results with some guys on this forum.
The wider 115 LSA will allow smoother operation in the lower range, but still give a good whop up top.

2002Monaro

thanks,
I'll check it out, although I would prefer a lopey idle hence the ones I'm looking at have a narrower lsa.

G Atsma

It will still lope enough not to sound remotely stock, AND will have good low end power.
Your old 222 cam is a very old design. This one is newer and benefits from the latest developments in cam design.

2002Monaro

Thanks again, I've been reading up on this cam now and will definitely be considering it.
Any idea of fuel economy compared to the 220r or 224r? Fuel prices here are getting out of control so I don't want it to be too thirsty.

G Atsma

I doubt it would be worse, being more efficient further down the powerband, though I have heard no fuel mileage reports on this cam,

99 Black Bird T/A

iTrader: (4)

220/220 vs 224/224 vs 222/234

2 mpg difference in a 224/224 in LS1 346 vs 229/229 in an LS1 383 in my experience. I'd guess a similar ~2mpg or less spread in the three cams listed above.

~220 to 230 duration cams with (low or negative overlap) usually don't harm highway mpg too much in my experience with an LS or Small block chevy. Probably zero to 10 percent. It's a heavy gas pedal foot, sitting in traffic, bad tuning, loose stall and gears that cause the majority of mpg loss, not the age of the cam.

Cam'd my 72 vette in 1983, with an Isky 270 Mega Cam (221/221) in a 350, it had zero impact of highway gas mile. Car got 15 mpg before cam and after cam but the carb was tuned pretty well. Car gets ~18+ mpg highway with a bigger engine, 400 cubes, 230/236 cam, 3600 stall etc. Compression is ~2.5 pts higher, better tuned and weight reduction.

In 2002 with a 224/224 XER .581/.581 lift cam, ported cylinder heads, T56 & 4.10 gears, 27 mpg highway in my 99 Trans Am. As bolt on car got 32.5 mpg highway. The 416 w/ 237/245 13 degrees of overlap lap gets ~20 mpg highway same car.

My 91RS has a 229/229 cam'd 383 LS1 w/4.10 gears, T56 car gets 24 to 25 mpg highway. The cam was designed and released in ~2000, 22+ years ago.

jc1285

If you search my username in this forum, I have a thread with cam discussion. I ended up going with the Summit Ghost Cam. I should have it all installed in the car in the next week or so and I'll be updating with results.

2002Monaro

Thanks for the replies. There's a good chance I'll be going with the ghost cam. I've emailed Summit asking a couple of questions and waiting to hear back.
I'd still like to know how it would compare to the 220r and 224r just so I would know what to expect with regards to idle, driveability and economy. Economy is probably my biggest worry as I like to drive it regularly.

Pulse Red

220/220 .600 / .600 112 TSP cam was the go to cam back in the day in Australia. Very popular and I sampled this cam back then but ended up with a custom Comp shop cam.

2 years ago, I went the TSP 216/220 .600/.600 112+2 in my Monaro, but it's a 6 speed manual. It's nothing like the old TSP cam, very different lobes and much more smooth and quiet. It suits my combination and requirements well but you have a stalled auto, so a bigger cam would work well.

My personal experience, the TSP replaced a Cam Motion, similar style to the Ghost cam but a bit smaller. I hated that cam. After importing it and having it fitted and tuned, it made terrible power and didn't perform at all. Waste of money for me unfortunately. No one wanted to buy it after I pulled it out either.

If I were buying another cam, I would purchase a TSP cam again. Probably, a 214/222 custom cam.

2002Monaro

Cheers Pulse Red.
That's the sort of thing I'm worried about. The ghost cam and Cam Motion cams are quite different to what's normally used in Australia.
Have you seen this thread showing the impressive results from the ghost cam?
https://ls1tech.com/forums/generatio...re-puller.html
This is what's almost got me convinced to go with it. I'm actually a bit worried it may be a bit big for my liking and may even look at this cam
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-8720r1
but will have to do some more research as to whether it will suit or not.

Pulse Red

It's not easy, it didn't work out for me but may for you. It certainly wasn't tuning, as I've used only the most established shops in Sydney with experience and results. My current tuner travels to the US to tune cars on Street Outlaws, so not a dud.

I've read that thread, good performance and I like the track results, too. A different platform obviously. You won't see the same power either, I expect, as our Dyno read lower than US Dyno. I'm personally more interested in how the car runs on the street anyway.

I'm also often confused by seeing US GTOs with these huge cams, making 440-500 rwhp, yet at the track, they run 13s and 14s. Even on race tyres and reduced weight.

Over a decade ago, I ran a tiny cam, ported 241 heads, small exhaust with cats etc, I ran mid 12s. That was in 100% street trim, road tyres, Coilovers, full weight inc a full tank of petrol. Launched in the 2000 rpm range. On a hot day, no less. My 2nd time ever drag racing too... So, these cars can do ok times while still pretty stock.

I would honestly talk to a shop here before making your final decision. See what they've done. We have had these LS engines for nearly 25 years, a lot of know how here too.

99 Black Bird T/A

iTrader: (4)

Cars with an honest 440-500 rwhp running 13s and 14s, needed "the driver mod" to go faster.

stockA4

Op

Headers, 3" exhaust, 3.73 gears, and 3600 stall, That's a nice aggressive setup. The only thing holding you back at this point with your cam choice is those "high flow" cats. These hurt the ability of your headers to scavenge and they don't like overlap.

That being said, a single pattern 224 would work all right.

If it were me and I was stuck with the cats a good old tried and true 224/224 114 LSA +2 advance would work just fine.

If you can lose the cats I'd say at least 228 intake duration and as big as you dare on the exhaust.

2002Monaro

I managed an 11.23 in a manual VT Clubsport previously. It was running a texas speed 220 220 cam, 234 heads, big exhaust, otr, 3.91 diff. Drag radials and launching at about 5000rpm was the key. I was very inconsistent though as it was a fine line between wheel spin and bogging down.

I've got plenty of time to chose and I'll head down to my tuner and get his thoughts for sure.

2002Monaro

Cats are mandatory here as the fines are pretty big without them, Quality hi flows supposedly don't affect flow so they shouldn't be a problem.
After having the old style 220 220 the biggest I'd like to go is probably the 224/224 but would probably go with the 112 lsa.
I'm basically after other options somewhere a bit bigger than the 220r up to the 224r as I roughly know what to expect with those cams.

99 Black Bird T/A

iTrader: (4)

Just out of curiosity, what the the most popular spec cams typically picked for an LS1 Monaro?


FWIW - the 224/224 XER, I had in my 99 T/A was a sweet cam (other than beating up the valvetrain).

2002Monaro

Most shops near me seem to sell VCM cams here which I think are actually ground in China. I'm not too keen on them myself.
I'm not sure what grinds are the most popular but most people seem to go with the loudest/lumpiest cam they can get away with.

99 Black Bird T/A

iTrader: (4)

Thanks! That's a cool chart.

What about Harrup? The spec's on the Harrup H2 look very close to some of the popular 224/232 or 226/234 that were used here in the states.

Harrup H2

2002Monaro

I'm not wanting to go that big. I know how much fuel those bigger cams use and want to try and keep economy somewhat reasonable. Most of my driving is in stop start city traffic.That's why I'm looking around the 224r and smaller. I know I could go a bigger cam for more power but as long as I can get into the 11's down the 1/4 I'll be happy.