Cam for unknown heads
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Teching In
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 34
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From: Germany
Cam for unknown heads Hi,
I have a C5 that I bought from a tuner in Germany. Supposedly the heads are ported with bigger valves. Supposedly it's got a custom cam. They don't work on corvettes any more, and no one remembers what had been done to my car.
Ultimately, I'd like to get new heads and a forged bottom end, which I can't really afford right now. Until then, I would like to just get a new, more agressive cam. And I would like to put it in without having to take off the heads and check for clearance.
When I bought the car, it actually ran with the stock pcm without any tuning. There are no problems with knock, so my guess is the heads weren't shaved a lot, if at all. My guess is that they put in the LS6 cam - it idles better than the TR224 and substantially better than the hotcam. Horsepower is a bit over 400 crank, on a conservative dyno. That's why I suspect there is only minor work on the heads and an LS6 cam - but I just don't know.
What I am looking for is some advice on cams that can be used safely with shaved heads with bigger valves. Or do you think it would be stupid to put in a cam without exactly knowing what the heads look like?
I would be interested in the most radical cam that could be safely used with such unknown heads. If I was certain I had stock clearance, I might be tempted to try something like the TSP magic stick. Maybe something in the 230-235 degree range would fit?
And I fully understand that this is not the ideal way to go about this. It would just be something to keep me happy till I can do it properly.
Thanks, Till
I have a C5 that I bought from a tuner in Germany. Supposedly the heads are ported with bigger valves. Supposedly it's got a custom cam. They don't work on corvettes any more, and no one remembers what had been done to my car.
Ultimately, I'd like to get new heads and a forged bottom end, which I can't really afford right now. Until then, I would like to just get a new, more agressive cam. And I would like to put it in without having to take off the heads and check for clearance.
When I bought the car, it actually ran with the stock pcm without any tuning. There are no problems with knock, so my guess is the heads weren't shaved a lot, if at all. My guess is that they put in the LS6 cam - it idles better than the TR224 and substantially better than the hotcam. Horsepower is a bit over 400 crank, on a conservative dyno. That's why I suspect there is only minor work on the heads and an LS6 cam - but I just don't know.
What I am looking for is some advice on cams that can be used safely with shaved heads with bigger valves. Or do you think it would be stupid to put in a cam without exactly knowing what the heads look like?
I would be interested in the most radical cam that could be safely used with such unknown heads. If I was certain I had stock clearance, I might be tempted to try something like the TSP magic stick. Maybe something in the 230-235 degree range would fit?
And I fully understand that this is not the ideal way to go about this. It would just be something to keep me happy till I can do it properly.
Thanks, Till
well i wouldn't go too radical unless you know what has been done to your heads...if you go and get a large cam and then have pv clearance issues...you will have to spend a lot more money...so just go with something reasonable...prolly not much over if any 230 duration and .6" lift...you may not even want to go that big...i'd rather find out what kind of heads they are so i don't have to buy a new engine if i "miscalculated
