Hi everyone, I’m sure this topic has been done to death but I wanted to ask this question regardless mainly because most of the threads on this subject are 10+ years old and I wanted to get more up to date information. Also fair warning I am very new to forums and performance cars in general so please bear with me

I have a 02 Camaro SS it has long tube headers, a LS6 intake, SLP lid, 2800 stall and a “dyno tune” which made 350 to the wheels back in 2018. I bought the car in 2023. I have been wanting to get the car to the 400/450 RWHP mark for a while but I’m a student so I do not have an extremely high budget. I can spend around 2K all in. I have read about head/cam packages being the easiest way to go about this goal but I have some requirements. I need it to run and drive competently, ideally it should feel stock. I am not a mechanic but I am okay at installing parts but I do not want to mess up on a install and ruin/break parts so if I go with a cam and heads package I may have to have someone else put them on, I have never dug into a engine in that way before so I am considering that into my budget just Incase. I have seen a lot of people talk about 243 heads and the 228R cam combo and I’m very interested. But the other aspect is how do I tune these parts once they are in the car? I have heard about mail order tunes but I would appreciate it if it was explained to me like I’m five, I just want to make sure I don’t ruin the car and have to pay even more money to fix it. I’ve also heard that getting my factory 241 heads ported may also be a possible plan. All in all, I just want to bump up my horsepower as economically as I can while still using “quality” parts and keeping the car daily driver friendly/reliable.

I am also located in south Florida and am not sure if there are any reputable performance shops down here, if there’s anyone you guys think I should talk to I am more than happy to hear it. I’d appreciate any input on this, thanks a lot!! Let me know if you guys need any extra info too please

 

Summit 8715 ghost cam and send it. 222/234, .600, .575, 115+3. Will drive great.

 

You don't need to touch the head bolts to make 600 horsepower.
The only ENGINE work needed is valve springs and a spark plug change.
Here's a good starting budget:

CHinese MIG welder $250
Chinese Chop saw $125
Chinese 78/75 Turbo $400
Chinese Turbo Headers $300
AEM 340 or bigger fuel pump $150
LS6 Valve springs $100
NGK TR6 or BR7ef spark plugs $36
Chinese BOV and wastegate $150
AFR gauge, MAP sensor, Pipes, V-Bands, aircleaner, couplers, miscellaneous $1000
.
.
..........You'll spend more on the TRANSMISSION to hold 600 Horspower than you will on MAKING 600 horsepower.

 

where can I find more information on that cam? I’ve been looking at the forums and there’s only a handful of people thatre running it. Will it work well with my factory heads? And should I buy springs with it? What ballpark of HP could i gain?

 

Yeah that's a great recommendation....

 

search it here and ls1gto.com. a couple gro guys have had great success with it. They are also on here too.

it will work fine with factory heads but to be honest, you probably don't want to cam your daily driver. It would be better if you had a beater vehicle as a backup if needed. When you mess with things and add power, things tend to break more often. If you dont pull the heads and replace the lifters and trays, there is a risk of busting a lifter. I'll likely do a cam swap soon and not pull heads, but I have a crappy weather car.

Yeah you will need springs that accommodate. 600 lift like the cam has. Honestly its probably better to use springs that handle up to .625 lift to give a little margin and a little extra spring pressure can prevent valve float above 6k rpms.

The beauty of the ghost cam is that it maintains your current low end power but you gain up high. Maybe even 50hp. When @Mavn installed it with his with stock heads, he put down 410hp in an auto i believe. I think he had a fast 90 on there too.

I might go with a 218/227, .600, .600, 112+2 cam in my gto. It will have more torque down low than the ghost cam, and even more peak torque I bet, but the ghost will carry the power better up top. Your SS is a few hundred pounds lighter than my gto so the ghost makes sense

 

Since you are on a tight budget.... i personally would look into Richard Holdener camshaft.

200 bucks for a new cam is a awesome price for todays market.

Specs....Lift 585/585

Durations @.050 219/225

LSA 111Deg

The LSA on 111 will really help you get into the powerband quicker since you not running that much of a stall and about any aftermarket valvespring will be able to handle the 585 lift on the cam.

After the cam i would hunt/search in the marketplace for a set of a longtube headers for 200 dollars or so.

 

He's already got long tube headers, so he's already ahead there. Don't be afraid to stab a cam in without pulling the heads. I did a cam when my Formula had 135K miles on it, no ill effects. Small durations and tight LSA cams are definitely going to wake it up. I wouldn't bother with porting a set of 241s, or any porting at all until you're wanting more power eventually. Save your money and either find a pair of 243/799 castings, or 706/862 castings and send them out to be CNC ported. It's going to cost about $1200 for porting/valves/springs. You can likely get a discount if you're reusing the springs that will get installed when swapping cams. Bear in mind, having any of this done at a shop is going to be hugely expensive. Probably between $3-6K labor alone. If you're dead set on modding your car on a budget, you may want to focus on learning how to do mechanical work yourself.