I've done a ton of searching and still very confused.. I have an 02 WS6 with pacesetter lts, catted ypipe, LM exhaust, slp lid.. and the rest stock.. I am wondering what head/cam package to get.. here's what I'm looking to do: I would like a good cam that make good low end and mid range power and is pretty streetable.. I dont mind somewhat rougher idle than stock but I don't want something very choppy.. sees more street than track.. I've heard a 224 or 228 cam would be good with a 114 LSA..Opinions? Then what heads should I get? At some point in the future I would like to add a supercharger so it would be nice if I didn't have to repurchase these items all over again... Which head do the 02 WS6's have? Should I just have them ported and how much does that cost? Your advice is much appreciated...

 

If you are going to S/C it in the future then you should plan on that with your cam. You will use a different cam for a boosted setup then you would want for an N/a setup. First you are going to see a larger offset between intake and exhaust duration something like a 224/230 duration with a 113 or 114 LSA you also will have higher exhaust lift but less overall lift something like 570/580

These are just some estimates for a blower cam so don;t run out and get them just b/c of my examples. as for an N/a cam you would want a lower LSA with more lift and more duration for max power output. However you don;t have to get a blower specific cam for a blower to reap some huge rewards a blower will still make great power on an off the self 228r

For your H/C package it is really hard to beat the bang for the buck of the TSP packages with the PRC 5.3 heads. the heads are a 1000 dollars cheaper then some of the higher brand names such as AFR and ET and only a slight performance decrease

It really come down to the famous 2 questions

How much do you want to spend?
and
What are you looking to do with it?

if you don't want a choppy idle you are right about getting the 114 it will have less chop then a 112 or 111

The 224 and 228 from TSp are both good choices lots of people making good number with them and the PRC heads

 

So will the 228 with a 114 LSA make more power than the 224 and have a relatively non-choppy idle? Will that cam make a good HP gain without the heads until I have the money to get them? I'd like to get into the 400 hp range n/a and then 500-600 once I eventually add a Procharger unit. I am budget minded and want to get best bang for the buck. Are the 5.3 ltr heads from TSP acceptable for a supercharger? Like I said, I want to avoid repurchasing the heads and cam later on unless absolutely necessary.. if im pushing the aforementioned hp numbers I really dont care if I'm not getting "Max Potential" if it means I save 2-3 grand.. I guess my biggest question for right now is.. what is the biggest cam I can get without sacrificing idle quality? Specs? Thanks alot guys for all your help.. I am such a newb lol..

 

Well there are several guys on this board that are running hugh cams 240 durations with well over .600 lift and they say as long as you get a good tuner they can make it street friendly. If you have a 6-speed it is actually cheaper to get a big cam because you don;t have to buy a new stall like you do for an auto. the 228 is a good midsized cam like you are looking for. if you want to really get a good idea about how the idle sounds then go to ls1sounds.com and you will see several 228's on there with good sound clips.

The 228 should make more the the 224...both are good mid sized cams but the 228 will net you a few more ponies not night and day difference but a good 5 or maybe 10 hp in the higher RPMs

As for supercharging you should probably look at a different head. You can still S/C a 5.3 head but the 5.3's actually bump up the compression so you can;t run as much boost unless you intercool and are using really good gas. you may want to look at the 6.o heads these come with either a 70 or 72 cc chamber and would lower your compression ratio some which would help when you blow it later. I believe TSP still sells a set of ported 6.0 there website is

www.texas-speed.com

Most H/C combos will net about 400 HP to the wheels.....I have never seen a decent sized cam 220+ duration with any type of head better then stock not get at least 390 to the wheels. If you go really expensive you could see numbers as high as 450-460HP with cam and heads...but like i said EXPENSIVE. In fact one guy on here Patrick G i believe has gotten just over 500 to the wheels with his H/C setup but not all of us have the resources (AKA Cash) to do that. But over 400 is very do-able without destroying your credit

In short...i think a stage 2-3 6.0 head with a 228 would be a good choice

 

we'll i have a 99 ls1 firebird and it made 402 rwhp and if thats what your looking for now to make,my combo is just stock heads port and polished a Z06 hot cam and ls6 intake with headers and cats and it drives like stock.

 

How's this sound...

228/232 .585/.585 112 LSA w/ PRC stage 2.5 5.3 heads and your choice of gasket..

Great street package IMO...for a budget

 

I would recommend this package as well. I'm looking at the same duration (228/232) on a 112 LSA, but with more lift (~.600"/~.600"). This would be an excellent set-up for a street/strip combination. I believe anything more than this and it isn't "streetable" in my opinion. I know how streetable the cam is has to do with tuning, but running anything greater pushes the powerband up so far (starting at around ~2500rpm with a 236/242 instead of ~2000 with a 228/232 or smaller duration) that you would need larger gear ratios (and probably a new rear end if you want to run 4.10's) and sticky tires for the track (another enemy of stock 10-bolts).

 

Will this 5.3 ltr package raise the compression causing me to need to repurchase the heads once I add a supercharger as Formula stated above? I run 93 octane all the time. With the 228/232 cam should I have any timing advance ground in? And the 112 LSA is not a choppy idle? Will running a 6.0 ltr head with lower compression cause a decrease in power before I get a supercharger installed?

 

also, what is your guys' opinions on the Patriot LS6 style 5.7 ltr heads? They are on sale at ws6store for $1295.. btw, what is the diff. between "stage 2" or "stage 3" What effect does chamber size have?

http://www.ws6project.com/user_stor/...adb92d5b5177e2

 

I would look into a ls6 cam. They excellent s/c cams. I have no idea what heads to go with, but you usually find a ls6 cam for $100.

 

Don't get me wrong u can still use 5.3s and a blower and still make power but blower really don't like high compression so u may have to run only 5pounds of boost instead of 7 or 8