what is some of the down falls of a BIG cam?
05-21-2006, 03:21 AM
#21
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Originally Posted by RM99Z
Like he said, this can be tuned out so don't let that be your main concern by anymeans.
Your car is an auto, your higher stall speed torque convertor is going to cause the mileage to suffer more than a stock would because you're spinning up the motor a little higher in the RPMs just to get moving around town from stoplight to stoplight. This will affect your gas mileage a bit more than your cam selection will.
If I were you I'd buy my cam! (it's up for sale and available June 9th!) No seriously, it (futral f11 - 228/230 .576/.595) or something like it would be perfect for your goals. I've decided to go a tad larger to go with a set of heads in the works.
The previous owner of my car had a 3500 convertor in it and this cam I'm talking about, longtubes, 3.73s, ls6 intake, and NO tune...just a basic driveability tune and it went 12.3x's @ 110 mph on nitto DRs.
When I bought the car last June I drove it daily until october when I bought a cheap beater. I still get it out as much as I can when it's nice out. Now it has a 4400 TCI convertor because he swapped the 3500 to the 4400 to help hit his goal of 11s. Now its a legit 11 second daily driver (if I chose to), just eats up more gas around town that I'd like, but you get what you pay for.
These cars are supposed to be fun, and thats just another price you pay.
With going that fast n/a comes some sacrifice, what are you willing to give up or live with? I tend to be a little more lenient because my car isnt my main source of transportation.
Your car is an auto, your higher stall speed torque convertor is going to cause the mileage to suffer more than a stock would because you're spinning up the motor a little higher in the RPMs just to get moving around town from stoplight to stoplight. This will affect your gas mileage a bit more than your cam selection will.
If I were you I'd buy my cam! (it's up for sale and available June 9th!) No seriously, it (futral f11 - 228/230 .576/.595) or something like it would be perfect for your goals. I've decided to go a tad larger to go with a set of heads in the works.
The previous owner of my car had a 3500 convertor in it and this cam I'm talking about, longtubes, 3.73s, ls6 intake, and NO tune...just a basic driveability tune and it went 12.3x's @ 110 mph on nitto DRs.
When I bought the car last June I drove it daily until october when I bought a cheap beater. I still get it out as much as I can when it's nice out. Now it has a 4400 TCI convertor because he swapped the 3500 to the 4400 to help hit his goal of 11s. Now its a legit 11 second daily driver (if I chose to), just eats up more gas around town that I'd like, but you get what you pay for.
These cars are supposed to be fun, and thats just another price you pay.
With going that fast n/a comes some sacrifice, what are you willing to give up or live with? I tend to be a little more lenient because my car isnt my main source of transportation.
...well, I hope to have the cam in and tunned before june 9th... But I really apprecatie the information man.
05-21-2006, 06:32 AM
#22
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My goals are exacltly like yours. I'm dong a H/C on my 2001 6 sp Vette next month and I've done quite a bit of research on the "down side" of camshaft installs. The biggest drawback that I have come up with is the reduction in valve spring life. Even with a moderate cam ( I choose a 224/228/.581/.588/115) valve spring life is compromised. The way I run my car is idle to warm up, <2000 rpm until oil temp is > 160 degrees. Even with this kind of babying, I'm told 25000 miles would be about all I can expect out of the upgraded Comp 921 springs. For me, 25000 miles = 3 years so that's an acceptable drawback. Other then that with a good tune and the right guy doing the work, I haven't come up with any good reasons to think I might regret this decision. One other thing you may notice is an increase in the level of valvetrane noise under the hood. This noise is dependant on the time and effort you or your tuner spend getting the valvetrane geometry correct but even with the correct pushrod length, wipe etc, I am told that an audiable "sewing maching" kind of noise is still present if you know what to listen for. Good luck with your project. Most guys are quick to jump on the forum and post the good news results of the HP increase and fun factor jump from a cam install. I haven't read even one post from a guy that went from stock to aftermarket and said "gee, I wish I hadn't done that" ( hope you and me aren't the first LOL). Bottom line is do your research and ask lots of questions. There is alot of knowledge from this board and I've learned a ton just lurking around and "listening in". Oh, one other thing, there is a controversial issue regarding the need to change Lifters when you change your cam. Go to to the advanced tech forum and look at a recent post I started. I think it's called Running surface/ Lifter Life or something along those lines. https://ls1tech.com/forums/advanced-engineering-tech/497730-running-surface-lifter-cam.html I won't get into the whole long issue here but I will tell you that I have decided to go with new Morel Lifters when I change my cam. Guess thats it.
05-21-2006, 11:18 AM
#23
I have a 232/234 cam, and I daily drive almost a hundred miles, many of which are in bumper to bumper traffic. With enough tuning the drivability is mostly there, but there it a little bit of bucking at low load/low rpm. You have to learn to drive around it. Im very happy with the setup, but I dont think id want to go any bigger in a car that sees a lot of traffic.
05-21-2006, 01:00 PM
#24
Cams... I have a 228/228 lingenfelter cam, hds, LTs, & a 3200 Vig TC, along with 3:73's. I'm in the 11's. 114 lsa, and so, not a lot of pull up top. Plenty down low though. 
05-21-2006, 05:19 PM
#26
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400hp is doable with a medium cam. something in the 230 duration range, thats not big, at least not near untuneable for a DD. an F13 114+4 might be up ur alley, or a TR230(futral or thunder) that should get u low 12s with a good tune. and that stall will be good for that kind of cam, maybe let u hit very hi 11s. i have a F13 in my car now and i love it. i will spin up to around 6600 at the track probably, but thats not bad really. i know a guy with a VERY big cam in his vette and he drives the thing everywhere. its all in the tune with a big cam
05-21-2006, 06:55 PM
#27
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My car could be driven as a daily driver with a 256/264 64x/64x on a 113. It's all in the tune and drives smooth and has a lot of grunt from idle to full throttle. Big cams and a good tuner is a must!
05-21-2006, 07:05 PM
#28
Originally Posted by Cliff
My car could be driven as a daily driver with a 256/264 64x/64x on a 113. It's all in the tune and drives smooth and has a lot of grunt from idle to full throttle. Big cams and a good tuner is a must!
05-21-2006, 08:13 PM
#29
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The cam you want is a 224 cam, not to big, not to small. Idles great, great powerband, easy to tune.
http://www.texas-speed.com/shop/item...d=174&catid=49
http://www.texas-speed.com/shop/item...d=174&catid=49
05-21-2006, 10:43 PM
#31
Autodad, you should be able to get mid 12s with the way the car sits now. I managed to get a 12.2 @ 111 without headers or the cam. Practice your setup at the track first before you go with the cam. I also have the V3 cam like another member in this thread. He'll be getting a pm very soon......
05-22-2006, 12:22 AM
#32
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Originally Posted by autodad
I want to get a cam that will bring me up near 400whp and high 11's low 12's (if this is to high of a goal, please let me know) .
My point is that with a full weight car on 17 inch DR's it's a consistent flat 12 car. With a set of heads and a 100 shot (summer plans) I feel low 11's are in the works. Don't let anyone discourage you that smaller cams don't pull hard. The setup makes a big difference.
Car is very streetable and I never have any problems.
05-22-2006, 12:34 AM
#33
I agree with some of the other guys in here, excellent tuning is the biggest part to a large cam. If you have a great tune then you can go pretty big and not have much in the way of unstreetable. I currently have a TR224 and am wanting to go much larger but the 224 is a nice streetable little cam. It has tons of torque and pulls decent through the top end, not like a huge cam would up top but still decent. I'm wanting to go around T-Rex, T-Rex Killer, Cup Cam range but a lot of people don't suggest these for the street, that's why I want one 
.
.
05-22-2006, 05:06 AM
#34
I made 403 rww with a 224/228 cam with mid 580's for lift... thru a 12 bolt and steel driveshaft too, M6 car With a stalled A4, don't get too wrapped up in a dyno #, as it's not a real good indacator of what the car is capable of.
If you want something that you won't have to spin the motor to the moon with, leep the duration down, just go bigger on the lift to get power. Patrick on here did a cam that was a 224/228 with 630+ lift on a 110, the power was very good, very similar to a large duration cam he was running but made it at lower rpm's.
That may be something you want to consider.
If you want something that you won't have to spin the motor to the moon with, leep the duration down, just go bigger on the lift to get power. Patrick on here did a cam that was a 224/228 with 630+ lift on a 110, the power was very good, very similar to a large duration cam he was running but made it at lower rpm's.
That may be something you want to consider.
05-22-2006, 06:39 AM
#36
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I just put a G5X3, 4400 stall, and 3.73 gears in my car. The biggest pain driving around town is definitely the stall, not the cam. My suggestion is before making any big decisions find people around your area that have similar mods done. Have them take you for a ride or see if they will let you drive their car.
05-22-2006, 12:46 PM
#37
Originally Posted by orangeapeel
244/248 is the way to go in the 346. 
You will want gears.
You will want gears.
Looking at what he wants as far as max rpm's this cam is out of the question. you should expect 390 rwhp from a cam only tr224 112 lsa. It will give you the most torque and hp within a certain rpm range out of all the cams listed in this thread. It IS the quintessential "street" cam. Tuning is more important than people tend to mention on here. Without a proper tune a cam isnt worth half of what it could be. You could try a 224/228 or a 226/230 but your moving your power band up the rpm ladder with each increase(generally speaking for OTS cams). Save your money and get a set of heads to see your real power. A $1000 set of heads will put you in the 430-450 hp range. My numbers are in my sig. tr224 112lsa. My car isnt a freak either, its just done right and tuned properly. (tuning not by me)
