Is a cam worth it without headers?I am not ever going to put longtubes or mids on since I live in California.I dont care about Hp just power under the curve.How would a 220/220,Zo6 cam,cheater,224,or which one would you recommend.Any suggestions .Please help.

 

Im doing the same thing because I live in CA. I just ordered some Patriot heads with no logo from ByunSpeed (killer deal) and Im going with TR's CheatR cam since it is designed specifically for stock manifolds. People have been making good power with it. My car is a 99 so im going to get the slp ls6 with EGR. My car is running 11.8 on a 100 shot right now with stock heads and cam, so it will be interesting to see what it runs with the heads,cam and 150 shot.

But yeah, CA sucks for cars. 91 octane gas, tough smog laws, and now they are training cops to spot mods because of all the street racing. If it wasnt for being here, Id have ordered a huge cam with headers.

 

Power gains are tough to quantify, and you're going to get several mixed opinions.

Of course headers are going to help. Keeping the engine parts matched is
going to yield the best results.

Before you do anything with the cam installation, make sure you have a clear
plan of what you want in the end. From there, you can slowly add on parts
and tune to complete the system.

I'd say go for it. Headers are important, but from what I read the stock LSx manifolds
hold up and respond well to mods.

You will also see good gains with a tuned secondary exhaust (muffler, cat.,
properly placed cut-out) which will also improve breathing efficiency.

Sorry, can't offer any suggestions with the cams. I'm not familiar with any of
them. You might want to post the cam cards for each one.

 

FWIW I had a TR 224/224 114 cam with stock exhaust manifolds and put down 350 rwhp. I had a borla cat back and lid at that point too. It sounded mean as hell and the exhaust note was awesome! The combo worked just fine, it was just being constricted by the stock manifolds. I now have paceseter lt's and catted y and can def. feel a power/sound difference. It sounds crazy and pulls hard as hell.

Basically, I'd say yes it is worth it. Your exhaust will have a deeper tone and u'll have a nice bit of power too. I'd recommend a TR 224/224 114 though...I'm partial though cause I love mine. It's very streetable but u'll need a tune.

 

Choose a cam that works in the stock cam's rpm range and it will work with the stock exhaust. My 206 cam shifts the stock power range down to enhance the lowend. That it does. It feels real torquey right off idle.

I retarded the cam 2 degrees to try and not lose too much power on top. Based on 1/8 & 1/4 trapspeeds, I'd gain 3 mph in the 1/8 but only carry over a 1 mph gain in the 1/4. So, I figure I lost some power up top. So to regain top end, I installed 1.85 rockers. The rockers added 2 mph in the 1/4 trap. So I netted a 3 mph gain all around. That is roughly a 30 horse gain.

What is nice about my setup is I can feel the power from right off idle and all the way thru the mid & upper range. It definately helps my 60 ft. This non-headered setup is good enough to get me an 11 sec timeslip!

I have nothing against headers except the expense and the need for a tune. When I selected my cam, my goal was to use mods that didn't require a tune (me & computers don't mix well). I also set my goal to be low 12s. I was going to try & do it without torque converter too. So I looked for a cam that would enhance the low end. That cam with stock converter got me 1.8 60 fts and 12.5s.

 

if you want to keep the stock sounding idle but have massive gains get the cheater cam

if you want to have some sound and good gains, get something like the 224 114.

http://www.hinsonsupercars.com/ has ported exhaust manifolds said to give same gains as shorty headers. id do it for $175

 

Glad I don't live in CA.

 

Get cheater cam, it was designed for stock manifolds

 

Check out my sig., Hooker shorties with all your air hooks ups and EGR would work great. My cam has a nice Idle with plenty of room to pass emissions, I just decided to take the cats off, as long as my milage stays under 5,000/year I'm good to go. This would be a good setup for you.

 

i would get a cam with more dur. on the exh.,like thunders Cheater cam, to compensate for the stock exhaust.

 

yeah you need more on the exhaust.gt2-3 is pretty good but the cheater would do a little better.