BTR Red Hot Cam Camshaft - Who has one?
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Joined: May 2016
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From: St. Louis
[QUOTE=The Snack Artist;20611214]I'm running a BTR Red Hot cam. I was very satisfied until the end of last season when the car started making a resounding tick. I pulled the VC and found nothing wrong as far as lash, etc. It just makes noise. I wonder if I have faulty lifters? This is just another thing to remember when modifying your LS. Parts can be bad right out of the box or from the manufacturer. I have the sneaking suspicion I will be putting in different lifters. Car was tuned on a Mustang Dyno which I know from experience to post lower #s than a Dynojet. The car runs well and pulls nicely. It's just noisy. Embarrassingly so. If I were to be able to go back in time, I would have gone w/ a different cam provider.
how long are your pushrods? Put longer ones in there dude it will quiet down if it's not a bad lifter. 5w40 is better than 5w30 for a performance build as well IMO
7.450" length pushrods should be the minimum with stock unmilled heads and any aftermarket cam you use IMO you can't hurt anything with more lifter preload but you certainly will if you don't have enough to keep things quiet.
There's nothing wrong with btr stuff, Comp, or anyone else's really, it all comes down to the quality of the lifter preload and the oil you use.
how long are your pushrods? Put longer ones in there dude it will quiet down if it's not a bad lifter. 5w40 is better than 5w30 for a performance build as well IMO
7.450" length pushrods should be the minimum with stock unmilled heads and any aftermarket cam you use IMO you can't hurt anything with more lifter preload but you certainly will if you don't have enough to keep things quiet.
There's nothing wrong with btr stuff, Comp, or anyone else's really, it all comes down to the quality of the lifter preload and the oil you use.
Teching In
Joined: Nov 2024
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So, you're saying to try a bit heavier oil? I had the cam installed by a good friend who also owns a shop. Like I said, the motor sounded fine until late last season and it wasn't like all of a sudden it went bad. I called him about the noise and he said not to worry. Also, a friend who has an 8 second LS told me the same. When I drive it now it's sometimes not audible. I have to try to hear it. I think it's fine. I will try the heavier oil though. You are the second person to recommend.
I got to worrying about the trunnions in the rockers and whether or not I had a bunch of needle bearings running around my motor. When I pulled the VCs everything was looking and feeling fine. No outrageous lash going on. I'm ok with the cam and will run the car until it breaks, or doesn't. I don't think it will, I just am not used to this kind of thing being schooled in Gen 1 small blocks not LS stuff.
I got to worrying about the trunnions in the rockers and whether or not I had a bunch of needle bearings running around my motor. When I pulled the VCs everything was looking and feeling fine. No outrageous lash going on. I'm ok with the cam and will run the car until it breaks, or doesn't. I don't think it will, I just am not used to this kind of thing being schooled in Gen 1 small blocks not LS stuff.
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Joined: May 2016
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From: St. Louis
Yes, as the oil breaks down It doesn't do its job as well and it could cause More noise in the valve train than with a heavier weight There's a lot of good info about oil viscosity out there I really like 5W40 for the ls series those little Porsche engines like it too to they run WOT all day long at the nurburgring
If you have 7.400 pushrods I guarantee 7.450" will make it better
If you have 7.400 pushrods I guarantee 7.450" will make it better
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Joined: May 2016
Posts: 1,292
Likes: 436
From: St. Louis
I autocross and daily driver both of my cars and I change the oil in both cars at the Start of the autocross season and then again when needed I've used mobile 1 in the past and it's good for a little bit of hard use but it doesn't seem to maintain the same pressure under intensive heat and repeated track sessions as some other brands I tried.
I use 5w30 royal purple synthetic in my all original 2001 LS1 and I use 5w40 Castrol synthetic in my homemade iron 6.2L build these oils hold up better for me running the engine hard repeatedly and don't need changed as often. I will say that the royal purple is seeps into the metal like nothing else and it will often cause the minor seepage at the oil pan gasket on older engines just snug up the pan bolts if it does that to you but it's totally worth it the engines love it
I use 5w30 royal purple synthetic in my all original 2001 LS1 and I use 5w40 Castrol synthetic in my homemade iron 6.2L build these oils hold up better for me running the engine hard repeatedly and don't need changed as often. I will say that the royal purple is seeps into the metal like nothing else and it will often cause the minor seepage at the oil pan gasket on older engines just snug up the pan bolts if it does that to you but it's totally worth it the engines love it
TECH Fanatic
Joined: May 2016
Posts: 1,292
Likes: 436
From: St. Louis
I autocross and daily driver both of my cars and I change the oil in both cars at the Start of the autocross season and then again when needed I've used mobile 1 in the past and it's good for a little bit of hard use but it doesn't seem to maintain the same pressure under intensive heat and repeated track sessions as some other brands I tried.
I use 5w30 royal purple synthetic in my all original 2001 LS1 and I use 5w40 Castrol synthetic in my homemade iron 6.2L build these oils hold up better for me running the engine hard repeatedly and don't need changed as often. I will say that the royal purple is seeps into the metal like nothing else and it will often cause the minor seepage at the oil pan gasket on older engines just snug up the pan bolts if it does that to you but it's totally worth it the engines love it
I use 5w30 royal purple synthetic in my all original 2001 LS1 and I use 5w40 Castrol synthetic in my homemade iron 6.2L build these oils hold up better for me running the engine hard repeatedly and don't need changed as often. I will say that the royal purple is seeps into the metal like nothing else and it will often cause the minor seepage at the oil pan gasket on older engines just snug up the pan bolts if it does that to you but it's totally worth it the engines love it
I replaced the oil with 5W50 Mobil 1 standard grey box synthetic and It was the smartest choice I've made all summer, Even in this horrible heat, the pressure Is back a little higher than it was before actually and my melling 295 pegs the 80 PSI gauge when you rip it out, It's already above 60 PSI past 4K now. And it's running cooler I don't even hear the fans as often driving around in this heat. I'm really, really impressed. My build tolerances aren't super loose and so the 5w is still important for Flow when the engine warms up and the 50w It's just feels so much better there's power in the oil for sure logs don't lie
Last edited by stockA4; Jul 28, 2025 at 01:39 PM.
Teching In
Joined: Nov 2024
Posts: 49
Likes: 187
I changed my oil to Royal Purple 5W40. It didn't make a difference in the clatter. What did make a difference was finding the broken trunion on a rocker. Whoops! Replaced the rocker with a new one with an upgraded trunion from BTR. It sounds like the sewing machine I used to know. All good!
I changed my oil to Royal Purple 5W40. It didn't make a difference in the clatter. What did make a difference was finding the broken trunion on a rocker. Whoops! Replaced the rocker with a new one with an upgraded trunion from BTR. It sounds like the sewing machine I used to know. All good!
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