LS6 Cam vs. Hot cam Misconceptions
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From: Charlotte, North Carolina
LS6 Cam vs. Hot cam Misconceptions It has come to my understanding through research that these are two different cams. In the past my ignornance led me to believe that these were essentially the same. My question is which of the two are people most happy with. I can't remember but I believe most LS6 cammers said they gained 25-30 horses on the dyno. Also am I correct in stating that neither cam needs tuning or valvetrain upgrades?
I currently have a Hotcam. It can be driven with without tuning, but tuning would REALLY help things out. The Hotcam sounds bigger than it really is, which can be both good and bad. It's a good nitrous cam from what I hear. When you swap cams, be sure to get new pushrods and at a minimum, use some LS6 springs. That's really the only thing you'll NEED to upgrade, as this cam has been in this car for over a year without any problems
It's not a bad cam, but sounding so tough, it's making me want a bigger cam to get that extra power. The Hotcam is a 219/228 @.050 112 LSA, and I'm wanting to jump to either a 23x/23x cam or a T-Rex. You'll probably end up the same way
It's not a bad cam, but sounding so tough, it's making me want a bigger cam to get that extra power. The Hotcam is a 219/228 @.050 112 LSA, and I'm wanting to jump to either a 23x/23x cam or a T-Rex. You'll probably end up the same way
Teching In
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Originally Posted by WhitePheonix
It has come to my understanding through research that these are two different cams. In the past my ignornance led me to believe that these were essentially the same. My question is which of the two are people most happy with. I can't remember but I believe most LS6 cammers said they gained 25-30 horses on the dyno. Also am I correct in stating that neither cam needs tuning or valvetrain upgrades?
hot cam = 219/228 .525 .525 112 lsa
LS6 cam = 204/218 .551/.555 117.5 lsa
LS1 cam = 196/207 .479/.467 116 lsa
the LS6 cam has a larger lift, but less duration @.050
the Hotcam has more .050 duration, but less lift.
these cams are VERY different... the Hotcam idles more rough, the LS6 will idle just like stock.
on M6 cars it is not essential to have the car tuned... right now my car just runs rich with the Hotcam, but does fine. it is suggested to get a tune with the hotcam.
with both cams it is essential to upgrade the springs.
the Hotcam has more .050 duration, but less lift.
these cams are VERY different... the Hotcam idles more rough, the LS6 will idle just like stock.
on M6 cars it is not essential to have the car tuned... right now my car just runs rich with the Hotcam, but does fine. it is suggested to get a tune with the hotcam.
with both cams it is essential to upgrade the springs.
The hotcam will give you better gains all around than the ls6 cam. The ls6 cam doesn't really add power over stock until 4k rpms. The hotcam will give you a lot more midrange power.
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Originally Posted by jrp
neither are really worth installing...
That's a little condescending, and harsh. Not everyone is interested in max effort, or even strong running cams. Some people like the dependability and the reliability that a hotcam and a ls6 cam bring to the table. No it's not the most powerful and best performing cam on the market, but that's not what it's all about all the time...
IMO anyways
Tim
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Originally Posted by tim99ws6
That's a little condescending, and harsh. Not everyone is interested in max effort, or even strong running cams. Some people like the dependability and the reliability that a hotcam and a ls6 cam bring to the table. No it's not the most powerful and best performing cam on the market, but that's not what it's all about all the time...
IMO anyways
Tim
IMO anyways
Tim
Anyways, the LS6 cam is nice for a jump and idles nicely. Power gains will be top-end. The hotcam produces a nice flat torque curve at the cost of a lumpier idle. The key regarding the lift is that the hotcam was designed to work with stock LS1 heads. Beyond .525 lift the increase in flow is negligible on stock LS1 heads and probably not worth the additional wear and tear for a tiny bit more power.
Beyond .525 lift the increase in flow is negligible on stock LS1 heads and probably not worth the additional wear and tear for a tiny bit more power.
Staging Lane
Joined: Dec 2003
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From: Nortern Idaho
What's to explain, seeems pretty accurate to me. Besides having one it has lots of mid-range and like Another User said it was originally designed to compliment stock ls-1 heads which it does and was patterened after the Lt-1 engine which gave a considerable increase over stock. Cams are just a numbers game any ways so like
JRP says theres better cams out there, but the HOTCam is a niche player and works damn good except you need a good idle tune.
JRP says theres better cams out there, but the HOTCam is a niche player and works damn good except you need a good idle tune.
Originally Posted by tim99ws6
That's a little condescending, and harsh. Not everyone is interested in max effort, or even strong running cams. Some people like the dependability and the reliability that a hotcam and a ls6 cam bring to the table. No it's not the most powerful and best performing cam on the market, but that's not what it's all about all the time...
IMO anyways
Tim
IMO anyways
Tim
Originally Posted by screamin00ss
over .525 lift is pointless on stock heads?...you learn something new every day
going by the "over .525 lift is pointless" speil isnt also "pointless" to install an 02+ ls6 cam...
Originally Posted by tim99ws6
Not everyone is interested in max effort, or even strong running cams. Some people like the dependability and the reliability that a hotcam and a ls6 cam bring to the table.
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From: Houston
some people could easliy just want the lopier sound that the cam offers, and not looking to put out huge hp numbers, i personally see nothing wrong with upgrading to either cam, but if i was to choose b/t the two, i would most likely go with the hot cam b/c of its all around performance
Launching!
Joined: Nov 2001
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From: Sacramento, CA
Originally Posted by jrp
wheres all the fast et's and trap speeds from the HC.
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For the record I took a hot cam on a set of TEA heads to 11.57@117 in a 1200" DA ...