Strong Cam for Bolt On Motor
Strong Cam for Bolt On Motor My brother wants to put a cam in his 99 WS6 ..He has Lid,Below,LTs,ORY,Tune,Cat-Back...he wants to gain power, but most of all he wants to really hear some lope. How much thump can you get out of these late model motors? Any suggestions on a good cam that will be driveable but still have plenty of that cammed out sound?
Man there are too many options to list. 
I'm running a 233/239 .595/.603 with other mods (heads and full bolt ons) and you can see my numbers in my sig. People are now blowing that out of the water with H/C setups. Some have already passed 500rwhp.
Try the search, or check out the dyno section or LS Internal Engine section. Plenty of threads in there talking about results with different combos.
I'm running a 233/239 .595/.603 with other mods (heads and full bolt ons) and you can see my numbers in my sig. People are now blowing that out of the water with H/C setups. Some have already passed 500rwhp.
Try the search, or check out the dyno section or LS Internal Engine section. Plenty of threads in there talking about results with different combos.
I guess more importantly what I need to know...is can he swap the cam and leave the factory lifters and springs?...and if so...up to what size cam is safe with the factory springs if any? I know cam selection is a black hole. I am just trying to steer him in a safe direction that he will still be happy with. Thanks.
Depending on the mileage of the motor, chances are, you can use the stock lifters just fine. Springs on the other hand are a completely different story. Same goes for pushrods. It all relates to what cam you choose.
Personally, I wouldn't change the cam without changing both the PRs and the springs. While those stock springs may can handle the cam under most conditions, at high rpms you're gonna have problems (valve float, etc.). If you don't go too big on the cam < .600 lift, the Comp 918s would probably work well for you. Might as well do pushrods while you're at it. I think a good set can be had from Comp for $100 - $150. That's pretty cheap insurance when you start thinking about what all can be torn up when a stock one fails.
Plus, many of the sponsors now sell the whole deal as a kit...so you get all three together and they're matched up and ready to go.
I'm no expert by any means, so perhaps some of the more seasoned guys will chime in and provide their thoughts.
Personally, I wouldn't change the cam without changing both the PRs and the springs. While those stock springs may can handle the cam under most conditions, at high rpms you're gonna have problems (valve float, etc.). If you don't go too big on the cam < .600 lift, the Comp 918s would probably work well for you. Might as well do pushrods while you're at it. I think a good set can be had from Comp for $100 - $150. That's pretty cheap insurance when you start thinking about what all can be torn up when a stock one fails.
Plus, many of the sponsors now sell the whole deal as a kit...so you get all three together and they're matched up and ready to go.
I'm no expert by any means, so perhaps some of the more seasoned guys will chime in and provide their thoughts.
TECH Resident
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 991
Likes: 0
From: harrisburg, pa
he needs new springs.. tsp sells cam kits with springs retainers etc for about 700 and most places charge 450 for cam and spring install then another 400 for a dyno tune.. the lower the lsa the more lope.
Yea. I agree. I will tell him cam, springs, pushrods, maybe try to find a package deal. We will install it ourself. Will it start and run with the cam "ok" until we get it tuned for it? Or does the tune need to be in place before it will even fire?
Originally Posted by LS1Silverado05
Yea. I agree. I will tell him cam, springs, pushrods, maybe try to find a package deal. We will install it ourself. Will it start and run with the cam "ok" until we get it tuned for it? Or does the tune need to be in place before it will even fire?
When I did my H/C swap, the tuner came to my house and changed some things before I ever started it. Then he worked on it some more while it idled and finally we did the WOT tuning.
You also want to give those springs time to break in. Much of what I've read says to take it easy on the car for the first day (don't go over 3-4k), get the car good and hot and then let it cool overnight. From then on, if he goes real big on the cam, he'll need to let the car warm up a bit before beating on it so the stiffer springs don't break.
Check out LS1howto.com for a lot of good instructions and tips on swapping cams. They've got a lot of other good info on there as well.
Trending Topics
Springs are cheap (relatively) insurance from having nice eyebrows on your pistons and a bunch of bent valves...ask me how I know this...! I also don't go over 3000rpm until my car is good and hot so I don't break a valvespring.
LS1 Tech Stories
The Best V8 Stories One Small Block at Time
Gas Monkey Built a 6-Wheel Ferrari Testarossa With a Corvette LT4 Engine
Verdad Gallardo
7 Most Reliable High-Performance Engines GM Has Ever Built
Verdad Gallardo
Amazing '71 Camaro Restomod Is Modern Muscle Car Under the Skin
Verdad Gallardo
6 Common C5 Corvette Failures and What's Involved In Repairing Them
Pouria Savadkouei
Retro Modern Bandit Pontiac Trans AM Comes With Burt Reynolds' Autograph
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Greatest Cadillac V Series Performance Models Ever, Ranked
Pouria Savadkouei
Top 10 Most Powerful Chevy Trucks Ever Made!
Hennessey's New Supercharged Silverado ZR2 Has 700 HP
Verdad Gallardo
Coachbuilt N2A Anteros Is an LS2-Powered C6 Corvette In Italian Clothes
Verdad Gallardo
If all your after is a louder car that's not to much faster than stock. I believe you need LS6 springs so it's the same amount of work and only 100 bucks less (Push rods) get something like a 224R on a 112 or 114+4 if you're going to bother doing a cam swap at all. Still has negative overlap, still sounds good, is VERY driveable, and it's faster. All for an extra $100.
Just my $.02
AJ
Just my $.02
AJ
I'd like to see the same engine on the same dyno with a 224R, a Torquer (v2 and v3) and a Magic Stick (v3 and v4). I'd be very interested to see how they would work in the carb set up, but I suppose this is fodder for another thread.