Streetable cam
On The Tree
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 100
Likes: 17
Streetable is very subjective. You might find too rowdy someone else might be perfectly comfortable with. Also details on the engine is needed. A cam that's too rowdy in a 4.8 might could be right at home in a 6.2.
TECH Fanatic
Joined: Jan 2022
Posts: 1,369
Likes: 256
If you have the stock torque converter you’ll probably want to address that first. I was thinking about “streetable cams” and “streetable horsepower” in general the other day. When I’m cruising around there is seldom ever enough room or road to do 6k rpm. 6k rpm is doable on the highway at times but I’m too old to want to be that deep into the triple digit speeds anymore really. That being said if I was trying to build a 400’ish rear horse street car I wouldn’t want to have to spin it to 6,700 rpm in order to achieve that 400. That’s not what I’d call “streetable.”
I’m too new to the LS world to know but there might not be a cam that you don’t have to rev the sht out of to make the 400 mark with stock heads. I realize that you didn’t give a target goal, I just threw that number out there. What’s the price gap between a 400’ish rear wheel horsepower n/a setup vs an entry level forced induction setup? Forced induction might have a little more low end umph so you wouldn’t have to be way up in the rpm’s before it starts pulling hard. If you go the n/a route you’ll be looking at new tq converter if you don’t already have one and you wouldn’t really need one with forced induction. The dang stall converter really diminishes the bang for buck when it comes to cam swaps for the auto guys. Then you have to worry about the stall blowing your transmission.
I’m too new to the LS world to know but there might not be a cam that you don’t have to rev the sht out of to make the 400 mark with stock heads. I realize that you didn’t give a target goal, I just threw that number out there. What’s the price gap between a 400’ish rear wheel horsepower n/a setup vs an entry level forced induction setup? Forced induction might have a little more low end umph so you wouldn’t have to be way up in the rpm’s before it starts pulling hard. If you go the n/a route you’ll be looking at new tq converter if you don’t already have one and you wouldn’t really need one with forced induction. The dang stall converter really diminishes the bang for buck when it comes to cam swaps for the auto guys. Then you have to worry about the stall blowing your transmission.
Last edited by Y2K_Frenzy; Apr 15, 2024 at 08:06 PM.
TECH Enthusiast
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 503
Likes: 54
From: TX
All depends on what your honest goals for the car are. There are plenty of cams out there that can be run on stock converters. If you look at TSP or BTRs truck cams, most of them will give you good bump in power while remaining very civil and run on the stock converter. Just forget that it says truck cam on the listing. The internet thinks anything under 230 degrees duration on the intake is a "truck cam".
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LS1Tech Sponsor
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 2,241
Likes: 1,536
From: Ohio, Georgia, Nevada, Texas
More info on the combo and goals would help the community make a recommendation.
We'll throw one out there knowing it's worked very well with stock-ish LS1's in a 4th Gen. Take a look at our SUM-8715R1. @Mavn helped us coin it the "Ghost cam" because of its potential for a stock-like idle. Specs on it are .600/.575, 222/234, 115+3 with -2* of overlap. It'll have a smooth stock-like idle to a noticeable lope depending on idle speed. The Ghost cam will be smooth and stealthy with excellent manners all while making power right up there with most "stage 2" cams. Pair it with .600" lift beehives and it'll be happy out to 6,800+. A 2,500+ converter is a plus but it's not required. The Ghost cam is available in various combos to help with installation.
Here's an example idle video of the Ghost cam in a LS1
With more info on the combo and goals we can fine-tune the recommendation.
We'll throw one out there knowing it's worked very well with stock-ish LS1's in a 4th Gen. Take a look at our SUM-8715R1. @Mavn helped us coin it the "Ghost cam" because of its potential for a stock-like idle. Specs on it are .600/.575, 222/234, 115+3 with -2* of overlap. It'll have a smooth stock-like idle to a noticeable lope depending on idle speed. The Ghost cam will be smooth and stealthy with excellent manners all while making power right up there with most "stage 2" cams. Pair it with .600" lift beehives and it'll be happy out to 6,800+. A 2,500+ converter is a plus but it's not required. The Ghost cam is available in various combos to help with installation.
Here's an example idle video of the Ghost cam in a LS1
With more info on the combo and goals we can fine-tune the recommendation.
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Verdad Gallardo Goals are to refresh the engine as its 135k miles. Re do gaskets, oil pump etc. Converter potentially. Car isn't raced but more power isn't a bad thing. Car is driven maybe 14 times a year or so.
TECH Senior Member
Joined: Jun 2016
Posts: 22,308
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From: Central Cal.
135k is nothing for these engines. Just possibly do the timing chain and maybe a fresh set of springs if it sees high revs very frequently. Most of the gaskets are multi-use, so you're OK there too.
How about LS1Tech Sponsor
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 2,241
Likes: 1,536
From: Ohio, Georgia, Nevada, Texas
TECH Senior Member
Joined: Jun 2016
Posts: 22,308
Likes: 3,625
From: Central Cal.
You're either not very observant or think we're holding out "secret" cam grinders from just you.... SMH....
To be honest. I've been out of cars for a bit. My car sat for awhile as well. Was just seeing if there was anything out there that's a good go to. But the tech hasn't changed that much with what i'm looking to do.
On The Tree
Joined: Feb 2022
Posts: 196
Likes: 72
From: Grand Rapids, MI
I really like my Trick Flow 30602001 cam. Its a 216/220 duration with .560 lift on a 114LSA.
The very mild exhaust note can be hidden or exaggerated with tuning. Gentle on valvetrain. No bucking or other nonsense.
All the off the shelf cams have inflated lift and duration numbers to help with sales. Yes, they will make slightly more power, but at the cost of torque down low(where the engine spends 99% of its life), reduced fuel economy, the need for a big stall converter, etc.
Right after you get a much "bigger" cam than this, you start gaining very little up top(with stock head castings) and losing much more down low, and start to lose drivability as well.
This cam pulls good up top while losing seemingly no power down low. No stall converter will be needed, but always helps. Again drivability. I am still able to knock down well over 20mpg when I keep my foot out of it.
The very mild exhaust note can be hidden or exaggerated with tuning. Gentle on valvetrain. No bucking or other nonsense.
All the off the shelf cams have inflated lift and duration numbers to help with sales. Yes, they will make slightly more power, but at the cost of torque down low(where the engine spends 99% of its life), reduced fuel economy, the need for a big stall converter, etc.
Right after you get a much "bigger" cam than this, you start gaining very little up top(with stock head castings) and losing much more down low, and start to lose drivability as well.
This cam pulls good up top while losing seemingly no power down low. No stall converter will be needed, but always helps. Again drivability. I am still able to knock down well over 20mpg when I keep my foot out of it.
TECH Fanatic
Joined: Jan 2022
Posts: 1,369
Likes: 256
I really like my Trick Flow 30602001 cam. Its a 216/220 duration with .560 lift on a 114LSA.
The very mild exhaust note can be hidden or exaggerated with tuning. Gentle on valvetrain. No bucking or other nonsense.
All the off the shelf cams have inflated lift and duration numbers to help with sales. Yes, they will make slightly more power, but at the cost of torque down low(where the engine spends 99% of its life), reduced fuel economy, the need for a big stall converter, etc.
Right after you get a much "bigger" cam than this, you start gaining very little up top(with stock head castings) and losing much more down low, and start to lose drivability as well.
This cam pulls good up top while losing seemingly no power down low. No stall converter will be needed, but always helps. Again drivability. I am still able to knock down well over 20mpg when I keep my foot out of it.
The very mild exhaust note can be hidden or exaggerated with tuning. Gentle on valvetrain. No bucking or other nonsense.
All the off the shelf cams have inflated lift and duration numbers to help with sales. Yes, they will make slightly more power, but at the cost of torque down low(where the engine spends 99% of its life), reduced fuel economy, the need for a big stall converter, etc.
Right after you get a much "bigger" cam than this, you start gaining very little up top(with stock head castings) and losing much more down low, and start to lose drivability as well.
This cam pulls good up top while losing seemingly no power down low. No stall converter will be needed, but always helps. Again drivability. I am still able to knock down well over 20mpg when I keep my foot out of it.