Hotcam MPG results...
05-16-2007, 01:38 PM
#21
For $429, I don't see how there's much to compare. Most sponsors on this board sell the cam only for $380-420. For someone not looking for peak hp, it's still good for the money and sounds awesome. I didn't even have longtubes, LS6 intake, ported TB, or DR's. I ran a HPP3 as well.
05-16-2007, 04:16 PM
#22
I dunno... I thought the same thing too a while back, but when I started adding up all the other stuff it really isnt that great of a deal. If you were able to purchase each piece individually then the hotcam itself would cost $374...assuming you could get it for $429 as a kit. The springs are $55 new from SDPC. If you're trying to stay ALL GM, then sure, it will do the job. I stick by my "used only" standing with it. Why? because you can get 918 springs, hardened pushrods, and ANY cam (custom or shelf) from TSP for $599.
So the real value is in the TSP kit, because for $170 more you get comp pushrods, much better valve springs, and any duration any lift and LSA you want.
If you brake it down even further, lets just assume that you went ahead and upgraded the pushrods when you did the hotcam... $100 ontop of that $429. Now you are $70 away from 918 springs and .600 lift (if you want it) and 23x duration, and 113+3 LSA if your heart desires it.
I felt different though, because I was offered this thing for $120. I saved over $250 of the cost off the hotcam...and to me it wasnt worth $250 to step up to the TSP kit. Instead, i spent that on pushrods, oil pump, chain, and all the gaskets and tools that I needed, and still came out better. Had I have gotten the TSP kit then I still would have needed a spring compressor, oil pump, timing chain, $50 worth of gaskets. I could have saved a bit more if I had trusted my 100k mile 98 pushrods too. I wasnt so much interested in changing the cam as I was changing the springs, PRs, oil pump, and timing chain. Hell... if you were doing all that wouldnt you have spent the extra $120 on a used good sounding cam...especially if you could tune it with a tuner you bought years ago and have it ready to go before you even start the car for the first time?
The plan right now (God knows how often car plans change) is to cast the 98 LS1 aside and bolt in a late LQ9 with L92 heads/l76 intake and REAL cam. Hello 10s...10 ring gear bolts, 10 diff cover bolts, and 10 people diving away from the pipebomb that just destroyed the back end of my car and the strip.
Just my $0.02
So the real value is in the TSP kit, because for $170 more you get comp pushrods, much better valve springs, and any duration any lift and LSA you want.
If you brake it down even further, lets just assume that you went ahead and upgraded the pushrods when you did the hotcam... $100 ontop of that $429. Now you are $70 away from 918 springs and .600 lift (if you want it) and 23x duration, and 113+3 LSA if your heart desires it.
I felt different though, because I was offered this thing for $120. I saved over $250 of the cost off the hotcam...and to me it wasnt worth $250 to step up to the TSP kit. Instead, i spent that on pushrods, oil pump, chain, and all the gaskets and tools that I needed, and still came out better. Had I have gotten the TSP kit then I still would have needed a spring compressor, oil pump, timing chain, $50 worth of gaskets. I could have saved a bit more if I had trusted my 100k mile 98 pushrods too. I wasnt so much interested in changing the cam as I was changing the springs, PRs, oil pump, and timing chain. Hell... if you were doing all that wouldnt you have spent the extra $120 on a used good sounding cam...especially if you could tune it with a tuner you bought years ago and have it ready to go before you even start the car for the first time?
The plan right now (God knows how often car plans change) is to cast the 98 LS1 aside and bolt in a late LQ9 with L92 heads/l76 intake and REAL cam. Hello 10s...10 ring gear bolts, 10 diff cover bolts, and 10 people diving away from the pipebomb that just destroyed the back end of my car and the strip.
Just my $0.02
Last edited by KurtRardin; 05-16-2007 at 04:25 PM.
05-16-2007, 10:49 PM
#24
Originally Posted by KurtRardin
Maybe my LS1 that will be collecting dust in the corner of my garage can go into a solstice once they're as cheap as miatas... hmmm
PPPPPLLLLLEEEEEAAAAASSSSSEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
02-29-2008, 08:46 AM
#26
Just a little update:
I installed 4.10s myself a few months back and the gas mileage has declined significantly! If I drive 65mph for an entire tank then I could probably get a max of 27mpg. If you drive 75 or 80 mph then I get in the low 20mpg area, like 22mpg.
4.10s REALLY woke it up though! My tires have yet to hook up... so I have no idea what 1st gear feels like.
I installed 4.10s myself a few months back and the gas mileage has declined significantly! If I drive 65mph for an entire tank then I could probably get a max of 27mpg. If you drive 75 or 80 mph then I get in the low 20mpg area, like 22mpg.
4.10s REALLY woke it up though! My tires have yet to hook up... so I have no idea what 1st gear feels like.
02-29-2008, 05:44 PM
#29
WOW I remember this thread
I added harland sharp 1.8's since then and on the DYNO @ StraightLine I maxed out my injectors My new lift is .560 so I upgraded Springs and injectors. I go back to get them installed at StraightLine on the 17th of March along with an Ls7 clutch. i guess well be reviving this thread again
I have been really happy with my cam, how about you guyz?
I added harland sharp 1.8's since then and on the DYNO @ StraightLine I maxed out my injectors
My new lift is .560 so I upgraded Springs and injectors. I go back to get them installed at StraightLine on the 17th of March along with an Ls7 clutch. i guess well be reviving this thread againI have been really happy with my cam, how about you guyz?
02-29-2008, 10:46 PM
#30
mmm, not so much. It gave me the bug and all I can think about is how much more I would have gotten out of it had I had just gone bigger from the beginning. But, for me its made me want a freakin D1 procharger.
But, that aside, I do think that it has been a decent cam and I am interested to see what kind of numbers you lay down.
In my defense though as far as "choosing" to go with the hotcam, my main point in tearing into the engine that far was to freshen up the pushrods, springs, oilpump, and timing chain. The hotcam was just a cheap thrill to make me do tear it down faster.
But, that aside, I do think that it has been a decent cam and I am interested to see what kind of numbers you lay down.
In my defense though as far as "choosing" to go with the hotcam, my main point in tearing into the engine that far was to freshen up the pushrods, springs, oilpump, and timing chain. The hotcam was just a cheap thrill to make me do tear it down faster.
09-22-2009, 09:47 AM
#31
How many times can we bring back a thread from 2007 you ask? Ha! Here's another update:
Still rockin the ol' Hotcam, ditched the handheld and got hp tuners pro. Still haven't gotten a wideband
Have any of you guys noticed that the HotCam is always used when GM High Tech compares a bunch of cams on a build? The most recent was a medium sized cam test on an LS3 (built for street manners), and they sourced GMs hotcam... as usual. To my surprise it actually held its own. I think it made the most torque at the bottom end of their dyno numbers and did pretty well at the top, over 500 hp I believe... oh hell, let me go get the magazine...
Yeah, the hotcam made 421 lb/ft of torque at 3k rpm (more than all the other cams) and peaked at 488 (not too far from the others) and made 523hp - which was about dead in the middle for that group of cams.
HPTuners has played a good role in making it more driveable, but I know it could be even better. All I did was load up a similar cam profile off of HPTuners website and made some small adjustments to it. I'll be rockin a wideband one of these days and then I'll really tune it.
My plans include getting an LQ9 in the (hopefully) not too distant future. After seeing the numbers from all the builds I am a little hessitant to buy another cam right away. Maybe just a two piece timing cover to get me by utill I can find a real cam... or at least let me rock the ol hotcam until I decide what to do with it!
Still rockin the ol' Hotcam, ditched the handheld and got hp tuners pro. Still haven't gotten a wideband
Have any of you guys noticed that the HotCam is always used when GM High Tech compares a bunch of cams on a build? The most recent was a medium sized cam test on an LS3 (built for street manners), and they sourced GMs hotcam... as usual. To my surprise it actually held its own. I think it made the most torque at the bottom end of their dyno numbers and did pretty well at the top, over 500 hp I believe... oh hell, let me go get the magazine...
Yeah, the hotcam made 421 lb/ft of torque at 3k rpm (more than all the other cams) and peaked at 488 (not too far from the others) and made 523hp - which was about dead in the middle for that group of cams.
HPTuners has played a good role in making it more driveable, but I know it could be even better. All I did was load up a similar cam profile off of HPTuners website and made some small adjustments to it. I'll be rockin a wideband one of these days and then I'll really tune it.
My plans include getting an LQ9 in the (hopefully) not too distant future. After seeing the numbers from all the builds I am a little hessitant to buy another cam right away. Maybe just a two piece timing cover to get me by utill I can find a real cam... or at least let me rock the ol hotcam until I decide what to do with it!
