Lifter choices
The cam I was running and that was a BTR
stage 3 231/242 617/.592. It made 400 wheel with headers and an ls6 intake on 706 heads.
I now have 243’s with 3 way valve job bowls cut and figure 400 wheel is what it should make with the smaller cam. But I might just run that old stage 3 cam now that we talking.
BTR has the top notch customer service. I’ve got quite a lot of little things from them. I’m heavily leaning toward the GM performance lifters from them. I’d rather buy from them than Summit when the price is the same just cuz they feel more like the local little guy compared to big brand summit.
The cam I was running and that was a BTR
stage 3 231/242 617/.592. It made 400 wheel with headers and an ls6 intake on 706 heads.
I now have 243’s with 3 way valve job bowls cut and figure 400 wheel is what it should make with the smaller cam. But I might just run that old stage 3 cam now that we talking.
BTR has the top notch customer service. I’ve got quite a lot of little things from them. I’m heavily leaning toward the GM performance lifters from them. I’d rather buy from them than Summit when the price is the same just cuz they feel more like the local little guy compared to big brand summit.
I hear your point about summit vs btr. I will say that the summit cam guys monitor their account on here and they are awesome. Super helpful and answer any questions we have
Also, personal experience is more valuable than reading the internet. Not everything on the internet is factual and info from people with something to sell I always take with a grain of salt.
On the subject of ptv duration has a lot more to do with that than lift and if you've actually done these types of builds you would know that. Reminds me of the guy on here making youtube videos and sharing tuning advice when he had never actually tuned the type of combinations he was educating others how to do. He based everything on theory and what he learned on the internet, but there was some incorrect information because in the real world of tuning some of those theories didn't work the way he thought they did.
Last edited by BCNUL8R; May 16, 2025 at 07:20 AM.
Great advice from the community. @BCNUL8R nailed it about PTV being more related to cam timing/duration than it is to lift. Obviously, lift plays a factor, but it's more so the cam timing that causes PTV issues.
Sounds like a cool build you're working on here. For lifters, we'd either go with our SUM-HTLSKIT2 that comes with the same lifters you'd get from GM or the SUM-HTLSKIT3 that comes with the Morel 7717 drop-ins. Now, if this was something that was a dedicated track car and would truly see 6500+ all day then yes we'd go with some link bar lifters like @Che70velle mentioned.
As for the cam, the SS2 cams have their place, but we think there's room to do better. If you're looking for a recommendation, we’d want to know more about your setup and goals.
Things like:
- What BMW chassis? (E36, E46, etc.)
- What 6.0 is it? Does it have dish or flat-top pistons?
- Rear gear ratio?
- Transmission?
- Do you prioritize drivability, performance, or sound?
- Percentage of street use vs. track time?
Great advice from the community. @BCNUL8R nailed it about PTV being more related to cam timing/duration than it is to lift. Obviously, lift plays a factor, but it's more so the cam timing that causes PTV issues.
Sounds like a cool build you're working on here. For lifters, we'd either go with our SUM-HTLSKIT2 that comes with the same lifters you'd get from GM or the SUM-HTLSKIT3 that comes with the Morel 7717 drop-ins. Now, if this was something that was a dedicated track car and would truly see 6500+ all day then yes we'd go with some link bar lifters like @Che70velle mentioned.
As for the cam, the SS2 cams have their place, but we think there's room to do better. If you're looking for a recommendation, we’d want to know more about your setup and goals.
Things like:
- What BMW chassis? (E36, E46, etc.)
- What 6.0 is it? Does it have dish or flat-top pistons?
- Rear gear ratio?
- Transmission?
- Do you prioritize drivability, performance, or sound?
- Percentage of street use vs. track time?
Curious what the summit PN is for these lifters SUM-HTLSKIT2
id listen to your advise on cam choice.
dished pistons lq4
car is e36 with cf009
3.91 gears but probably gonna step down to 3.15 due to the cd009 ratios I’ve already had one motor in this car and know how the 3.91s feel , too much for the ce009
I live near several road tracks within 50 miles and many more in an 200 mile radius. Anyway, I will drive to and from the track and drove pretty hard at the track. I will rev it on the highway. I am NOT a drifter but I will get sideways. That said I’m not gonna be competitive either.
I’ve owned several e36 cars over the years including m3’s and have gotten use to being shift at 7k I do run around at 5k did some auto x no road racing yet but that’s next. The car will be a weekend cruiser too. I had 400 wheel on the last build. I’d like to land there maybe 450 lol
I was googling ls7 gm performance lifters and they seemed to be about the same price as caddy lifters (or maybe a little cheaper) so I couldn't tell if they were the same thing or if gm performance ls7 lifters just means genuine gm ls7 lifters as opposed to another generic manufacturer.
The Best V8 Stories One Small Block at Time
these are $160:
https://www.ictbillet.com/products/ls7-roller-lifters-set-of-16-ls1-ls2-ls3-ls7-genuine-gm?variant=45314119893222&country=US¤cy=USD& utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_cont ent=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&srsltid=A fmBOopR7pfY-OYlsOh3ituOd6n-c34gWEuoN7Xw8LRibenRTcRGzA8PNRU&com_cvv=8fb3d522dc 163aeadb66e08cd7450cbbdddc64c6cf2e8891f6d48747c6d5 6d2c
Last edited by Abs; May 17, 2025 at 12:57 AM.
these are $160:
https://www.ictbillet.com/products/l...d48747c6d56d2c
To be honest I think if I were to change the cam in my truck I would put solid lifters in it......and it's not a hotrod. Just a 2500hd 6.0 with some bolt ons.
Alot of diesels are solid lifters.....dmax are. It's really nothing to be scared of. Hell there were many flat tapped solids lifters engines from the factory back in the day.
Curious what the summit PN is for these lifters SUM-HTLSKIT2
id listen to your advise on cam choice.
dished pistons lq4
car is e36 with cf009
3.91 gears but probably gonna step down to 3.15 due to the cd009 ratios I’ve already had one motor in this car and know how the 3.91s feel , too much for the ce009
I live near several road tracks within 50 miles and many more in an 200 mile radius. Anyway, I will drive to and from the track and drove pretty hard at the track. I will rev it on the highway. I am NOT a drifter but I will get sideways. That said I’m not gonna be competitive either.
I’ve owned several e36 cars over the years including m3’s and have gotten use to being shift at 7k I do run around at 5k did some auto x no road racing yet but that’s next. The car will be a weekend cruiser too. I had 400 wheel on the last build. I’d like to land there maybe 450 lol
Regarding the lifters in the SUM-HTLSKIT2. That includes the SUM-HT215-16 true Delphi LS7 lifters.
For the cam. We like the SUM-8710R1 that @Abs mentioned previously, which would be similar to the BTR stage 3 that you already have. Since you already have that cam, it's what we'd run. Sounds like that's a V1 BTR stage 3 cam with specs of .617/.592, 231/242, 112+2 with 12.5* of overlap. We like where the valve events end up for a combo like this for spirited driving and track use. You'll want long tubes and a free-flowing exhaust system with 12.5* of overlap. We like your idea of switching the rear gears to 3.15's for the street/track balance with your CD009 transmission. It'll be plenty sporty for rowing through the gears on the track. Then, if you want to get out and just cruise it'll help ya save some fuel if that's a concern. In 6th at 70mph with say a 25" tire, it would be around 600 RPM difference between the two. Where you might run into some unpleasant characteristics would be low-speed driving like in parking lots or a congested city street. With 12.5* of overlap and the 3.15's it wouldn't be happy trying to "lug" the engine. You might just have to drop a gear to get the RPM up.
Your worked over 243's will play nice with the combo. We'd look into some Cometic .040" head gaskets for the added compression bump and reduced quench distance. If the 243's are still 65cc that would put you around 10.3:1 compression with the 6.7cc dished pistons of the LQ4. That would be plenty friendly on 87, or if you wanted to squeeze a bit more out of it and get more aggressive on the timing tables, run better octane.
With the RPM you're looking to run and track use, we'd recommend dual springs like the BTR .660" lift duals. Pushrods are just as important for valvetrain stability and our 11/32 HDR pushrods with the .120" wall is what we'd recommend. Measure for pushrod length before purchasing pushrods.
This should turn out to be an awesome combo that will be a joy to drive on the street as well as those trips to the track to get your need for speed. Let us know if you have any further questions. We'll be happy to help!
in positive news I got my box from Summit today lol with my lifters in it, lol and my head gaskets.
I thought I was just gonna shove this Elgin cam in and save the BTR cam for my aluminum build that needs some undersizing on the bearings. But my longtime friend( the Ford guy lol ) convince me that my car bearings were bad and needed to be replaced. He’s built many motors. I’ve leaned a lot form him over the years. I kept repeating t what most the LS guys say. Run it! This damn motor ran I drove the totaled truck it was In all winter So when I pulled the block apart, everything looks great, but I damaged one of my mains sadly.
Just an extra week and some plastic gauge I guess. I’d rather have the machine shop set it up tho and should just do rings too since I’m this far in and they crusty AF. Long story short if you’ve got a running motor, don’t ******* pull it apart. Shove the camera in and ******* run it. If you drove it and you know, it ran just ******* run it. Now I’m looking at a full rebuild of a running motor. I could’ve went to the damn wrecking yard months ago and done this.
Thank you for your business. Much appreciated. Seeing a Summit box arrive is like Christmas morning












