Whats up guys. Question on what kind of head and cam package to get for my 1998 trans am. i am looking to get more power out of my baby. i don't want nitrous looking to keep it naturally aspirated. i drive the car more on the street than i do at the track so i would like a good balance for street and track. afr heads seem to be the best i have found. just need some imput on the lift and duration numbers. what kind of rockers and springs to use also what else should i do to complement the head and cam package so nothing starts to "**** the bed". what about the ignition system do any changes need to be made to that. thinking about doing the fuel system as well pump, injectors, ect. any imput on this too? thank you for your time guys

 

it looks like we have very simaliar cars. I am going with a set up like this: I got a set of stock 98 heads ported/polished with new valves, LS6 intake also ported to match the heads. I went with those because honestly I don't eat nickels and **** quarters. 98 heads are perimeter bolted and I could reuse my stock valve covers and coilpack rails. I am going with a Lunati VOODOO 222/228 cam. With of course new springs, pushrods, lifters, timing chain, and LS6 oil pump. I haven't installed all this yet but I am looking to the end of April to have all this in.
I hope this helps you some. I have spent a toatl of 2,000 for all of this. Those afr heads cost more than that by themselves! Just something to think about.

Curtis

 

Get one from LG motorsports just get a G2 or G5 cam. Your car will screem on the street. Go with 918 springs and some comp push rods. You'll have a big smile on your face after as well.

 

Not to crazy about using stock heads 98 make the least power of ls1 heads. granted they will be ported and polished though that is something to think about. afr heads arent cheap your right. now the g2 or g5 cam would be great for the street you say what about the maintanice of this cam will other things start to **** the bed on me? what kind of numbers could i see at the track compaired to what i am running now. have 3:23 gears which suck for track awesome for the highway. going w/ 3:73 by richmond. so big change in numbers yes no ort maybe? and thanks for your help guys

 

do you have a specific budget? You can go crazy buying tons of the best of the beast and it will be an expensive project, or go a budget route, get decent results for alot less $.

All that aside, things that you will want to do while you are doing the heads cam setup:

Good timing chain, a ls1 will work fine, and noe require a ton if added work trying to make clearance for a double roller.
A ported oil pump is a good idea as well.
If fuel system upgrades are something you want to do, a walboro intake and a set of 30 lb svo will take care of the needs just fine.
You alrready have alot of the supporting mods, so that stuff is out of the way, that makes things easier.
Something else you may want to do is put a set of arp rod bolts in, your car being a 98 it's just a good idea to do I think... for a piece of mind of nothing else

Now, as for the head and cam choice, you have so many routes to take, it's more up to your budget then anything else. If the car is a mostly street car, I'd suggest keeping the cam in the 225 to 230 range for duration, and the lsa on a 113 to 114, and the lift in the 580ish range.it will still remain drivable, and not be a vlavetrain hammer, and make good power.I'd probably think about replacing your stock rockers if they are showing signs of wear, or send them out to be rebuilt, I think there's a couple sponsors that will put a roller style bearing in them. There's no need ot really go with aftermarket ones, the shop I deal with has been into the 8's in the quarter many times with stock rockers, they are fine, but if you are worried about them, have them rebuilt. I'd also go with the best valvespring you can.. if you keep the cam in the range I stated above, you will be able to go a good 25 + K on them without worrying about them breaking and whatnot. If you go with a bigger cam, something with 600+ lift and more then 230 duration, valvesprings probably should be changed every 10 to 15K, a broken springs can cause some heavy damage and changing them out on a regualr basis is the only real maintnenace to decrease the risk.

I'd try to get the compression to aorund 11 to 1, it will help make decent power and still be o.k. on pump gas even in the heat of summer.

I'm not going to get into specific heads to go with, or any specific cam as everyone has their own opinion as to what the best is of each.. but I will say that if you are on a more constricted budget, look into some ls6 or 5.3 heads, they will most likly be adequate for the goals you have in mind, if $ isn't an issue, there's plenty of options in the more expensive range as well.... AFR, ET's, Edlebrock, Dart and Allpro as well. Alot if what is going to be the best route to go is your long term goal, if nitrous, of FI is in your future, I'd think about going with one of the better aftermarket castings because the thicker deck will seal better.. but if you're going for a na street car, they are probably not nessassary for your goals.

 

I'm aiming for the same thing, probably with a little more track time. patriot and prc both make ported 243 cast heads now, starting at $865. I plan on going with those + the torquer v2 (w/push rods and 918 springs) comes in a package from tsp $600, ls6 intake, stock lifters and rockers (depending on condition), 30 lb injectors, ported oil pump. and an LS2 timing set. ls2 chain is stronger and not as wide as the double rollers. I think that stuff should be a good deal. I've been told that the stock lifters and rockers can handle it, but I am not stupid enough to believe everything I read on the internet. I'm still looking into it myself.

 

^^^hmmmm

 

Your 98 fuel pump will be fine they're alot higher out put than 99's and up they put out like 63 gph at max voltage. To put into context a 255L walbro puts out 67gph. So get a racetronix hot wire kit and never worry again.
You should be into the 11's easy with your auto with an lg head and cam package.

 

Wow guys thanks for the great info. i have some numbers i can work with now which realy helps me considering my lack of knowledge in lift and duration. money is an issue as it is for most i have a budget of about 3-4 thousand for the head and cam project including the parts that need to complement the job. JL WS-6 THANK YOU, very specific info it will help a great deal. this is not an easy choice to make. i am not going to crazy with the cam like you said more for the street than track. would love to be an 11 second car though when i do go to the track. 12s are ok but nothing to get crazy about. how much does a 3500 stall impact the choice of my head and cam?

 

The 3500 stall is not a bad place to be, if you had gone small in the 2800 to 3200 range, then I'd say that a smaller cam that makes better bottom end power would be a better way to go, or if you had gone on the big side, say 4000, then a package that doesn't make good low end, but is a big top end power maker would be a better route, as the motor's gonna be there all the time when racing anyway.

Whatever you decide to go with, talk to the shop that you decide to buy from and tell them what supporting mods you already have, adn that will also help them tell you what will work best for your application.

For what it's worth, a full weight stalled h/c car should have no issues clocking off 11.50 or better all day long. A friend of mine has a 2000 z28, with a fuddle 3400 converter, a set of 3.73's, mac midlenth headers, gutted cats and a LM, and a set of lca's and a phb, and on radials ran 12.4.. I'd think the added 100 hp that a h/c setup will make over that should easily push teh car another second or so quicker with a ltittle better suspension setup.


Don't forget to do that stuff too, you'll want to be able to put that new found power down! All the power in the world does no good in a car that doesn't hook up and go strait.... " you can't fire a cannon from a canoe'

 

Once again good advice JL thanks again going to start making calls to afr and tell what i already have and what i am looking to accomplish with the head and cam package. suspension is something i have to look into as well as biulding up the 4l60e tranny. many to think this all started by changing the air filter to a K&N than snow balled from there lol. thanks guys for great info.