Recommendations
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Recommendations Hello everyone, new here. I got an 04 Sierra, regular cab, wit a 4l60e. I plan on adding a Truck Norris cam, springs, lifters, push rods, etc. Also plan on adding long tube headers, 1 3/4” more than likely and a tbss intake. I was watching some Richard Holdener vids and he recommended upgrading the torque converter with this cam as well as some gears, what would y'all recommend, looking to get that most out of the little 4.8 without boosting it…yet. I don’t daily it but I take it out every once in a while when the weather is nice.
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the 4.8 likes to rev and is low on TQ, so use its strong points.... let it rev at least a 3600 converter (id go 4000) and get a quality one like yank,circled, and depending on tire size some gears and a true trac. if stock size tires id go 4.11 if 33 in tires id go 4.56 if 35 in tires id go 4.88 or 5.13 .
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Hello everyone, new here. I got an 04 Sierra, regular cab, wit a 4l60e. I plan on adding a Truck Norris cam, springs, lifters, push rods, etc. Also plan on adding long tube headers, 1 3/4” more than likely and a tbss intake. I was watching some Richard Holdener vids and he recommended upgrading the torque converter with this cam as well as some gears, what would y'all recommend, looking to get that most out of the little 4.8 without boosting it…yet. I don’t daily it but I take it out every once in a while when the weather is nice.
"Our SUM-8718R1 205/217 112+ 2 .500/.500 drop-in tow cam is a customer favorite. We wanted to pump up torque even more in engines as small as a 4.8L, so we added TWO new truck cams called the Torkinators!
SUM-8727R1 Truck Torkinator, 200 int. / 205 exh. 113 LSA+ 4 adv. .550 int. / .550 exh., -9 I/O, 29 I/C, 40 E/O, -14 E/C, -23 overlap. Note this intake closing point is 29 abdc a full four degrees eariler than SUM-8718R1. This wll shift the powerband down even further BUT with .050 extra lift, that's going to help through the range and keep it still fairly strong all the way to 6k rpm. It's designed for use with our SUM-174002 LS6 springs.
SUM-8728R1Big Truck Torkinator, 212 int. / 218 exh. 110 LSA +3 adv. .600 int. / .585 exh., -1 I/O, 33 I/C, 42 E/O, -4 E/C, -5 overlap. This thing is all attitude. It's for the guy looking for a True tow cam with 33 abdc intake closing, but also wants a bit of an idle to it AND we've pushed this to .600 lift. This cam has more torque and power production than anything else we've seen on the market. The truck lobes are designed for long spring and valvetrain life and our new SUM-174004 .600 lift beehive springs are the perfect match! This would make an excellent turbo cam with 4.8 for instance. Also good for a turbo car where the owner is looking for good streetability and wants to retain the stock stall converter."
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The Summit 8728R1 Abs listed will have more idle vacuum and better driveability than the TN, and still make the same peak power. In a 4.8L, it should pull to 6500rpm. Couple that with some 4.11 gears (stock tire height),a 3200-3600 stall, and a big trans cooler as Kiduvall mentioned.
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@Abs, Thank you for tagging us in the thread.
OP,
You've received some great advice from the community. It sounds like this is a weekend fun truck. The SUM-8728R1 "Big Torkinator" would be a great fit for that. Specs are .600/.585, 212/218, 212/218, and 110+3 with -5* of overlap. It's a "tow cam" with attitude. It'll have a steady lope but will be easy to tune and live with. The 8728R1 will be strong from 2,000 on up and pull well to 6,500+ with our .600" lift beehives. You could run it with the stock gears and a converter. However, going with gears and a converter like the other members suggested would help get everything out of the cam swap. It would help off-the-line performance and between shifts to keep it in the powerband! Definitely get an auxiliary trans cooler when going with a stall converter.
Regarding pushrods. A 7.400" or 7.425" pushrod should work. Things can vary so we always recommend measuring for pushrod length before purchasing pushrods. If you don't already have a pushrod length checker we offer the Trickflow TFS-9501. We recommend a minimum of 5/16" Chromoly pushrods with a .080" wall. You can typically find a set of 16 for around $100. From there you can get into a thicker wall or larger diameter pushrod. For excellent stability and strength check out our 11/32" HDR pushrods with a .120" wall. These have 25% less stress and 28% less deflection than a typical 5/16" x .080" wall Chromoly pushrod.
We can help you with the lifters as well. The Morel 7717 drop-ins would be a good candidate here. We offer those with new lifter trays as part number SUM-HTLSKIT3.
Example idle video of the Big Torkinator in a 5.3. The video is wavy and it appears a filter was added accidentally. The awesome idle note overcomes that
OP,
You've received some great advice from the community. It sounds like this is a weekend fun truck. The SUM-8728R1 "Big Torkinator" would be a great fit for that. Specs are .600/.585, 212/218, 212/218, and 110+3 with -5* of overlap. It's a "tow cam" with attitude. It'll have a steady lope but will be easy to tune and live with. The 8728R1 will be strong from 2,000 on up and pull well to 6,500+ with our .600" lift beehives. You could run it with the stock gears and a converter. However, going with gears and a converter like the other members suggested would help get everything out of the cam swap. It would help off-the-line performance and between shifts to keep it in the powerband! Definitely get an auxiliary trans cooler when going with a stall converter.
Regarding pushrods. A 7.400" or 7.425" pushrod should work. Things can vary so we always recommend measuring for pushrod length before purchasing pushrods. If you don't already have a pushrod length checker we offer the Trickflow TFS-9501. We recommend a minimum of 5/16" Chromoly pushrods with a .080" wall. You can typically find a set of 16 for around $100. From there you can get into a thicker wall or larger diameter pushrod. For excellent stability and strength check out our 11/32" HDR pushrods with a .120" wall. These have 25% less stress and 28% less deflection than a typical 5/16" x .080" wall Chromoly pushrod.
We can help you with the lifters as well. The Morel 7717 drop-ins would be a good candidate here. We offer those with new lifter trays as part number SUM-HTLSKIT3.
Example idle video of the Big Torkinator in a 5.3. The video is wavy and it appears a filter was added accidentally. The awesome idle note overcomes that
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The 8719R1 209/217 112+1 is pretty close to being the .550 lift version. They could use the same lobe profiles and tighten that to a 209/217 110 + 1.5* and get the same IVC. Wouldn't be far off having more torque with slight loss in peak power. Call it the new 8719R2 and rename it the Torkinator Stage 1 as a replacement for the R1.
If starting from scratch a 260/268 211/219 110+2.5 .550/.550. The IVC and OL work out to be the same as the Big Torkinator. Most heads benefit from higher lift, so to offset the lower lift adding more exhaust duration along with additional overlap will carry the peak power with the earlier IVC. For stock heads, slightly reduced duration and lift on the intake should have little to no penalty on the small displacement setups, and only single digit numbers in torque across the powerband for larger displacement (of course this should be backed up with dyno testing. Driveability and idle quality should be same as 8728R1.
If starting from scratch a 260/268 211/219 110+2.5 .550/.550. The IVC and OL work out to be the same as the Big Torkinator. Most heads benefit from higher lift, so to offset the lower lift adding more exhaust duration along with additional overlap will carry the peak power with the earlier IVC. For stock heads, slightly reduced duration and lift on the intake should have little to no penalty on the small displacement setups, and only single digit numbers in torque across the powerband for larger displacement (of course this should be backed up with dyno testing. Driveability and idle quality should be same as 8728R1.
Last edited by 68Formula; Apr 29, 2024 at 08:07 AM.
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The 8719R1 209/217 112+1 is pretty close to being the .550 lift version. They could use the same lobe profiles and tighten that to a 209/217 110 + 1.5* and get the same IVC. Wouldn't be far off having more torque with slight loss in peak power. Call it the new 8719R2 and rename it the Torkinator Stage 1 as a replacement for the R1.
If starting from scratch a 260/268 211/219 110+2.5 .550/.550. The IVC and OL work out to be the same as the Big Torkinator. Most heads benefit from higher lift, so to offset the lower lift adding more exhaust duration along with additional overlap will carry the peak power with the earlier IVC. For stock heads, slightly reduced duration and lift on the intake should have little to no penalty on the small displacement setups, and only single digit numbers in torque across the powerband for larger displacement (of course this should be backed up with dyno testing. Driveability and idle quality should be same as 8728R1.
If starting from scratch a 260/268 211/219 110+2.5 .550/.550. The IVC and OL work out to be the same as the Big Torkinator. Most heads benefit from higher lift, so to offset the lower lift adding more exhaust duration along with additional overlap will carry the peak power with the earlier IVC. For stock heads, slightly reduced duration and lift on the intake should have little to no penalty on the small displacement setups, and only single digit numbers in torque across the powerband for larger displacement (of course this should be backed up with dyno testing. Driveability and idle quality should be same as 8728R1.
SUM-8728R1 is a no-holds barred type of cam and that added lift is a reason why it beats Chopocabra and TN despite having 10 degrees less overlap. Holdener's test is great and the numbers...while very very close, show Torkinator beating the others at the bottom and matching up top. .050 added lift is part of it.
One other thing about these .500 lift NSR vs. .550 lift vs. .600 tests is that peak power is up with better springs...that part is obvious. But HOW FAR that power peak is extended is something people aren't talking about. On a dyno pull, it's easy to pull the lever at 500 past peak power. In the real world, if the springs hold on longer...that's power that wins a race. When we spec a cam with higher lift, we are also putting them into a better spring. We never have a cam that sub-performs due to a customer using worn out springs.
We seriously consider our customers lining up against others and let it never be said one of them loses a race because the cam nosed over and he had to shift early.
Last edited by Summitracing; Apr 29, 2024 at 11:18 AM.
I wouldn't go with the truck norris on a 4.8. That cam will fall flat too soon. Want to rev a 4.8 to 7500+ IMO to make up for the lack of TQ down low. Big cam, big converter, and lots of gear to try and make up for the heavy truck chassis.
Honestly small cubes and heavy vehicles don't pair well IMO. Unless you add boost. You could leave the truck alone for the most part (stock cam, intake, exh manifolds) and just run a small turbo kit at 6-10lbs. You'd gain MUCH more power/tq for similar costs as a Cam/Header/exhaust/intake setup.
Honestly small cubes and heavy vehicles don't pair well IMO. Unless you add boost. You could leave the truck alone for the most part (stock cam, intake, exh manifolds) and just run a small turbo kit at 6-10lbs. You'd gain MUCH more power/tq for similar costs as a Cam/Header/exhaust/intake setup.
