Guys Cammed with 4L60E's Come In...
 

Alright, i'm looking into putting a decent sized cam into my Trans Am A4. My question is, what cam do you guys have, and how bad has it effected your transmission? Has it shortened the life at all? Any help is appreciated.

Adam

first off i would not put a cam in unless you put in a stall converter. i have 3500 stall and custom 230/220 .581 112 cam and PP 5.3 heads. all that is needed is a big cooler like the one i have a 26,000 GVW and a tune. should be fine i have stock trans with 39,000 miles.

Let's run through the standard "are you ready for a cam" yet questions.

Do you have a converter? What about longtubes?

The tranny will last for a shorter period of time the more power you throw at it. How you drive it has a large effect as well.

a cam wont kill youre trans, youre driving habits will.

I don't have a converter, and I hardly ever drive the car hard at all. I rarely race it.

only get a converter if you're gonna get a big cam, and if you hardly race, you might not wanna invest in one.

Then he really cant get any cam at all.... :( :judge:

If i were you, Get a converter, youll love it. AND yes you will race it. :drive: Depending on how high you want to go will tell you how big the cam. I have a vig 4000, BlkZ has a TCI 4000 and he is running a MS3 which is a pretty damn good size cam, But like he said, If your not ready for a cam IE, LongTubes, ORY(true Duals), catback, Gears, and even suspension becaue with this big of a converter and cam....hell just with a converter, your tires are gonna be usless. :)

F13, no effect on trans, too new to say about life span.

I agree for the most part with everything everyone else has been saying except the part of the 4L60e holding up. I have had nothing but bad luck with mine and the one I currently have is built heavily and I have now lost third gear AGAIN. You maybe fine as long as when you have it tuned don't let them over do it on the line pressure. Sure it is great to fill the car hit so hard when it shifts but not good on the life of the tranny. As far as cam goes since you aren't looking to be an all out drag car I would stick with a somewhat smaller cam and being automatic I wouldn't go below a 114 Lobe Seperation. My TSP 220/220 .564/.564 on a 114 LSA lopes like nobody's business and is VERY streetable. With the cam and headers only it put down 371RWHP which I felt was pretty respectable.

You should have said only get a cam if you're gonna get a bigger converter. Stock A4 4l60E's benifit quite a bit from a converter. So to say not to get one unless you have a cam is not very good advice. From what I hear from blkz28spt and the others, a converter will be NIGHT and DAY!

I have over 38,000 miles on my car/tranny and lots of 1/4 drap strip passes. With the mods in my signature, I've never had a bit of trouble with my tranny (knock on wood). :D

I think some of it is luck (or the lack thereof), but the important thing is a good tune for both your motor and tranny. There's no need to limit yourself to a 114 LSA. I have a 223/227 112 LSA cam in my car and it too is VERY streetable. In fact, except at idle where it does have a decent lope, there's little difference in its driveability from stock except for gobs of extra power. :nod:

I did my mods in this order:
1.Catback and lid
2.Converter. Started with a 3000 and went to a 3600
3.Headers/y-pipe/cats with LSI-Edit tune
4.Cam with springs/pushrods/retainers and retune.

Biggest "bang" was the converter.

The headers and cam added lots of power, especially the cam, but the converter made the car more fun to drive.

Don't consider a cam until you do a converter and headers.

I got headers, I've been doing some searching for some info on converters, and I'm pretty much sure I wanna go with a 3200 stall. I was thinking of a cam of about 228/228 588/588 114. Would that match the stall? Also, would the stall require tuning?

I have a 226/234 112 and drove it a while on the stock converter and it SUCKED! Do not even consider getting a big cam until a high stall verter is in there...

I still have some drivability issues that I need tuned out, so you will need a tune as well..

THe cam itself will not kill the tranny, your right foot will..

The biggest killer of 4L60Es is not the power, but the rpm. Anything over 6000rpm will dramatically shorten tranny life...that's a fact. That said, a good converter with at least 3500 stall that keeps your power above 4500 (in shift extension) is a wise choice. This will keep you from having to rev it to 6500+ every time. Selecting a cam that make peak power closer to 6000 is a smart move for long trans life and best power in an A4.

A 228/228 114LSA cam is not the best choice for making peak power at 6000 unless it's ground at +8. A better choice would be 228/228 110LSA +4. This would make peak power at 6000 and would make HUGE torque everywhere. The key to making peak power at 6000 rpm is to have an intake valve closing point of 40 degrees ABDC @ .050". A TR 224/224 112 +4 will also give you the same intake closing point.

Your cam will definitely require tuning and the shift points may need some adjusting do to the stall but your going to need tuning regardles so I'd wait and have it all done at once. Be sure to get rid of Torque Management!!

My 228R 228/228/.588/.588 LSA 114 cam gained 45 rwhp/38 ft lbs and the h.p.curve is flat as a pancake right up to 6500 rpms. That's exactly what TSP said it would do.

Yeah, that sucks :bang: , Thats why I think im going with an M6

I'll be switching to a 200R4 w/4400 stall in about 2wks :rock:

I guess I should go ahead and post my goals too. I'm wanting to be able to beat a Z06 from a dig and from a roll. stock Z06. see if that helps any on my cam selections?