Gman2002Z06

Yes, I agree with you...I only gained 18 rwhp going from headers from the stock manifolds...$1300 bucks for 18 rwhp is steep...

With a cam, I would still recommend doing headers...

And that is why I said that your first mod should be gears...That would be the best bang for the buck and still keep the criteria you stated that you are looking for...Stealthy and smooth idle...

Peace...Gman

whitecamaross

how much are gears?

santiago

iTrader: (28)

man......zo6 manifolds arent that great it sounds like your confused or something on how to mod that car.
step 1. vararam.
step 2. headers and mid pipe. stock catback is good.
step 3. cam
and there you go. easy as that
you got a corvette get used to boltons costing a bit more.
I had an ss so I know wuts goin on. I wish there were $350 longtubes for a vette but no there like 1k.

anyway good luck with with your z

Gman2002Z06

whitecamaross...Should be able to get a set of gears with install for about $900...And the guys that have had the gears done, say that the difference is between night and day...

Peace...Gman

Turo

iTrader: (23)

I agree with everybody else, big cam really benefit from headers. Remember, the psople you see with small gains from exhaust probably had the stock cam, with a large cam the gains to be had from headers double.

But, you seem pretty determined to stick with the stock exhaust (I can't say I blame you, I know parts for corvettes can sometimes be quite a bit more $$$ than f-bodys), so just be sure of what you want to do, then pick a cam that is up to the task.

whitecamaross

hmmm..i would hate to have a lopey cam on a z06. it just rides so smooth and making it shake like a boat just isnt an option. damn, any other cams available? most of these companies now days are only making loepy cams and with aggressive ramps. i have seen mti's stealth, thunder racing cheater...any other suggestions?

Patrick G

iTrader: (14)

Dude, I just gave you probably one of the most thought-out cams for a Z06 running stock exhaust there is: 220/228 .595/.598 (XE-R) 115LSA 114ICL. This cam will not have near as much lope as the TR 224/224, yet will outpower it with stock manifolds (because of better valve events designed specifically for running stock manifolds). Nobody seems to want to take the time to design you something custom. This cam will flat work. If -6 degrees of overlap is too much then I can redesign it, but expect to take a small hit in power.

whitecamaross

what numbers do you think will be possible with it? will this cam out perform the cheatr cam?

Patrick G

iTrader: (14)

This cam would slightly outperform the CheaTR only because it's a little beefier and it's more specifically designed for the Z06 exhaust (the CheaTR was designed around the stock C5 and stock F-Body exhaust manifolds). You will make peak power around 6300 rpm, carry power to 7,000 (with proper valve springs and pushrod length). Since the Z06 cam is already 20 rwhp better than the stock C5 cam, I wouldn't expect a 30-35 rwhp gain like the CheaTR has over the mild stock C5 and F-Body cams. You would probably see a nice increase in low end torque (10-20 lb ft) and probably 10-15 rwhp over the Z06 cam at its peak and probably 20-30 rwhp increase at 6500 rpm and above. Remember, the Z06 cam is pretty darn good to start off with.

Visceral

iTrader: (1)

Patrick came up with a good cam for your application there. I'd personally notch it down to 114 LSA.

Tony M asked a really important question that you never answered... was your original TR 224 cam on a 112 or 114? I'd agree (imho) that too much lope doesnt belong in a Z06. But going too far with the LSA (116+) is going to lose you alot of midrange with the larger durations.

If you dont want to do headers, fine. No big deal. Headers/Cam are the biggest team players here, especially with your 243 heads, so it would be a shame, but by all means you should do what makes sense for you.

Try Patrick G's cam by calling up Geoff at Thunder Racing and asking him to build a cam around 220/228 on a 114 (or 115) for you. He'll plot the IVC and do it right.

Chris

Patrick G

iTrader: (14)

Thanks for the props Chris. I thought about going narrower on the LSA, but I chose the 115LSA for a couple of reasons. The stock LS6 cam has -24 degrees of overlap. The TR 224/224 112LSA cam has 0 degrees of overlap and the TR 224/224 114LSA cam has -4 degrees of overlap. Worst case scenario, if he originally had the 114LSA cam and thought it was too much, then I'd want to back off a little from that, hence the 115LSA cam with -6 degrees of overlap. Considering the nice gains down low Jason99T/A had with the 117LSA CheaTR cam on a cam-only swap, I'd look for some really nice low rpm torque gains, even at the wider 115LSA. That's still better than the 117.5LSA of the stock LS6 cam.

Second reason (the biggest of all). I chose the valve events the Z06 needed and the LSA was what it was. I really wanted the intake to close at 44 degrees ABDC (for best overall power) and the exhaust to open at 50 degrees BBDC (to work best with Z06 manifolds). For this to happen with the 220/228 durations, I came up with exactly 115LSA. If I narrowed the LSA to 114 (and keep the same ICL), the exhaust opens 2 degrees later and that would not be good when running manifolds. You need a little earlier opening when running logs...even good logs like the Z06 has.