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MS3 or MS4 Daily Driver

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Old 02-23-2008, 11:18 AM
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Originally Posted by Texas_WS6
He is right, I have about 30,000 miles on my cam now. But all of those miles have proven to me that the MS3 is NOT a DD cam. I have grown to hate mine.
I know i didnt want a ms3 after i drove my dads...auto 3.73, 4400 stall, ms3 car...it does not have lower end power and stumbles alot around idle...yeah it makes good high end power shifting at 6900 but how often do you see that on the street...In the end get what you want but i wouldnt recommend jumping on the MS3, MS4 bandwaggon...you will be plently happy with 400+ hp with a custom cam, or patrick g cam...I know i am...
Old 02-23-2008, 11:39 AM
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Originally Posted by Camaro396
I love the people who DONT have a MS cam saying "there is no way it will drive like a stock car" and all the people who DO have them are saying diffrent. Its like they know, but us who actually have the cam dont know. Like I said before, my MS4 drives like a STOCK car with a naughty sound and performance. I vote go for it.
I had the MS4 in my M6 and it didn't drive like a stock car down low, it buckes and surged in the lower rpm's or in traffic was the worst, when I would sit and idle you could feel the car shake from the idle and watch things around you vibrate also, when I had the MS4 the wife was scared to death to drive the car and she even had the MS3 in her T/A with a 3400 stall (she loved driving the MS3 but not the MS4) she couldn't keep it from dying down low. Since the weather is so cold here it takes like 5-10 minutes to let the car warm up just so it can hold an idle. Does this sound like a stock car to you?
http://s27.photobucket.com/albums/c1...idlevid001.flv
Old 02-23-2008, 12:21 PM
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I guess I just got lucky then. MS4 cam, stock stall converter, and stock gears, and it drives great. 20 degree day fire it up idles right away without having to touch the gas.

Last edited by Camaro396; 02-23-2008 at 12:31 PM.
Old 02-23-2008, 02:16 PM
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question, on your sig is says you have the gears and stall, but in your comment your saying you have a stock stall and stock gears?
Old 02-23-2008, 03:00 PM
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Something that drives me crazy on this site is that people post stuff they've read with little or no experiance on the particular piece. And many times there is bias because it's not the route they decided to go so they bash the living heck out of it.

So here is my experiance with the MS4: It rumbles and is a blast to drive. Makes plenty of power. Below 1500 rpm, mine tends to buck and surge but I think a lot of that is in the tune. I do not have the dyno sheet with me, but it does have a very nice torque curve. I will post the info from the dyno in a new thread because I am tired of people bashing the power band. They are full of crap.

Is it good for a daily driver? probably not. It drives fine at low rpms but milage suffers and the piston to valve clearance is tight, and limiting your choice of heads.

Am I saying it is better or worse than other options? No. What I am saying is don't believe everything you hear on this board. Keep an eye out in the next fiew days, I will post the dyno sheet.
Old 02-24-2008, 06:18 AM
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Originally Posted by reject
question, on your sig is says you have the gears and stall, but in your comment your saying you have a stock stall and stock gears?
Yep. I HAVE a stall and gears for it, but they are still sitting in my room. Im waiting for a friend to get a lift in his shop so we can yank the trans and put the stall in, and then toss the gears in.
Old 02-24-2008, 10:26 AM
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Originally Posted by 99TransAmLS16Spd
Something that drives me crazy on this site is that people post stuff they've read with little or no experiance on the particular piece. And many times there is bias because it's not the route they decided to go so they bash the living heck out of it.

So here is my experiance with the MS4: It rumbles and is a blast to drive. Makes plenty of power. Below 1500 rpm, mine tends to buck and surge but I think a lot of that is in the tune. I do not have the dyno sheet with me, but it does have a very nice torque curve. I will post the info from the dyno in a new thread because I am tired of people bashing the power band. They are full of crap.

Is it good for a daily driver? probably not. It drives fine at low rpms but milage suffers and the piston to valve clearance is tight, and limiting your choice of heads.

Am I saying it is better or worse than other options? No. What I am saying is don't believe everything you hear on this board. Keep an eye out in the next fiew days, I will post the dyno sheet.
MS4 Bashing Again? Its all in the tune! My car will crankup with it iced over first time. And when it gets warm enough it lowers the idle to 900 and it stays there. No surging or stumbling at the stoplights even when the ACs on.
I guess if you judged the MS4 by the posts of people who only know what they have read before you would be looking at a twin peaks dyno sheet. Not true? I have no trouble at all with the MS4 as a daily driver. It has plenty of torque to get you moving. And I'm still running stock injectors on a LS6 intake and a stock MAF.

MS3 or MS4 Daily Driver-paul2.jpg
Old 02-24-2008, 11:00 AM
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My ms4 starts up and idles...rough, but still it doesn't die out on me like so many of you said it has done to you. It does lack a little low end torque, but if you're not a gaping ***** about it its not that bad. you guys that want a tame, well mannered, good driving car...go get a civic with a fart can so you can act like you have something fast... but in the end you're just like all the other cars. quit getting butthurt about this cam, I have the ***** to run mine to 7300 and it pulls like a mother from 4K until then. So I am happy with my cam, and if your not an old man that wants to just look cool, I would recommend the ms3/ms4 route.
Old 02-24-2008, 12:55 PM
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Originally Posted by 99FBODY
i have the ms3 and its not bad to drive in traffic if i have to but if i had to daily drive my car i would go with a smaller cam
hmm, MS3 owner says he would want a smaller cam if he had to daily drive
Originally Posted by reject
those two cam choices are on top of the bad list for daily driving. i had the ms4 and swapped it like only 1500 miles into it to a smaller 226.
hmm, former MS4 owner swapped to a smaller cam
Originally Posted by Doc
Carefully consider the tune. 99% of the aforementioned drivability issues are related to a suck *** tune. Three pulls on the dyno and a pat on the head as you are escorted out the door are not going to cut it.

On the flip side of the coin, a properly tuned 224-228-230ish with ~.600" cam will give you plenty of the DD power you seek. Higher lift cams will increase the frequency of maintenance on the valve train.

Bigger is not always better, only you can answer what your ultimate goals are.
Ok, we've established some of it is in the tune, but even a tuner says smaller is better for a DD.
Originally Posted by Camaro396
He asked for an opinion and I gave him one. My MS4 is awesome in my car. I cant wait to get the stall and gear in. Even right now its not horrible in the low RPMs.
I bet you can't, and how do you define "not horrible"?
Originally Posted by rez0469
I drive my car with the MS4, I wouldnt say daily drive but that is becasue everytime I drive the damn hting the gas gauge goes from full to empty to fast so I ride my gsxr 1000 or drive my POS car I bought for $10.
Another good reason not to DD with this size cam.
Originally Posted by BlackSS2001
+1 My MS4 is a good daily driver cam it really just depends on your tune though. You have to find someone that knows what there doing. I'm able to drive around at 1,400 in 6th with no proplems.
Most people don't have any problem with bucking or surging in 6th, its at low speeds in lower gears, 20-30 in 2nd or 3rd...
Originally Posted by rocksws6
Originally Posted by Camaro396
I love the people who DONT have a MS cam saying "there is no way it will drive like a stock car" and all the people who DO have them are saying diffrent. Its like they know, but us who actually have the cam dont know. Like I said before, my MS4 drives like a STOCK car with a naughty sound and performance. I vote go for it.
That wasn't people that was me. And I thought I explained myself really well. Call Texas Speed and ask them if a Magic Stick is going to drive like a stock car. Its not going to be as bad for you because your a auto with a high stall and 4.10 gears, for a manual its not going to be ideal for a DD.
But I mean what am I thinking my 230's cam doesn't drive like stock, maybe I should go to a magic stick so my driveability will be better.
Yes, one wouldn't logically conclude a bigger cam would drive any better.
Originally Posted by reject
i had an MS4, and traded it for a 226..... you could definatly tell you picked up lower end power where a street car spends all it's time. so i know what i was talking about.

Key point here, power where you can use it - every time you leave a stop, or need to accelerate without downshifting or scaring the crap out of everyone.
Originally Posted by Texas_WS6
I have a MS3 with a 3800 converter and 3.73 gears.
My wife will not drive the car due to its bucking at idol.
I will not run that cam again or even try the ms4 cam.
It makes ok power, but it will not idol at all.
I have had it tuned and re-tuned. I am sure the issue is in the tune, but I have given up on getting it tuned.

He is right, I have about 30,000 miles on my cam now. But all of those miles have proven to me that the MS3 is NOT a DD cam. I have grown to hate mine.
Condensed this one some, but you get the idea this in not the best case for a daily driven car.
Originally Posted by chrs1313
I know i didnt want a ms3 after i drove my dads...auto 3.73, 4400 stall, ms3 car...it does not have lower end power and stumbles alot around idle...yeah it makes good high end power shifting at 6900 but how often do you see that on the street...In the end get what you want but i wouldnt recommend jumping on the MS3, MS4 bandwaggon...you will be plently happy with 400+ hp with a custom cam, or patrick g cam...I know i am...
Didn't own it, but rode in it enough to know that it was too much cam.
Originally Posted by chewy99ws6
Originally Posted by Camaro396
I love the people who DONT have a MS cam saying "there is no way it will drive like a stock car" and all the people who DO have them are saying diffrent. Its like they know, but us who actually have the cam dont know. Like I said before, my MS4 drives like a STOCK car with a naughty sound and performance. I vote go for it.
I had the MS4 in my M6 and it didn't drive like a stock car down low, it buckes and surged in the lower rpm's or in traffic was the worst, when I would sit and idle you could feel the car shake from the idle and watch things around you vibrate also, when I had the MS4 the wife was scared to death to drive the car and she even had the MS3 in her T/A with a 3400 stall (she loved driving the MS3 but not the MS4) she couldn't keep it from dying down low. Since the weather is so cold here it takes like 5-10 minutes to let the car warm up just so it can hold an idle.
I'm sure this one could be improved with a tune, but you get the point...
Originally Posted by 99TransAmLS16Spd
Something that drives me crazy on this site is that people post stuff they've read with little or no experiance on the particular piece. And many times there is bias because it's not the route they decided to go so they bash the living heck out of it.

So here is my experiance with the MS4: It rumbles and is a blast to drive. Makes plenty of power. Below 1500 rpm, mine tends to buck and surge but I think a lot of that is in the tune. I do not have the dyno sheet with me, but it does have a very nice torque curve. I will post the info from the dyno in a new thread because I am tired of people bashing the power band. They are full of crap.

Is it good for a daily driver? probably not. It drives fine at low rpms but milage suffers and the piston to valve clearance is tight, and limiting your choice of heads.
Another MS4 owner lays it out there, not the best choice for a daily driver because the tune is tougher to nail and the fuel economy goes to
Originally Posted by NC98Z
Guessing you have an A4, but your dyno curve that starts at 3600rpm doesn't tell us much about the low end.
Originally Posted by 99mongooSS
My ms4 starts up and idles...rough, but still it doesn't die out on me like so many of you said it has done to you. It does lack a little low end torque, but if you're not a gaping ***** about it its not that bad. you guys that want a tame, well mannered, good driving car...go get a civic with a fart can so you can act like you have something fast... but in the end you're just like all the other cars. quit getting butthurt about this cam, I have the ***** to run mine to 7300 and it pulls like a mother from 4K until then. So I am happy with my cam, and if your not an old man that wants to just look cool, I would recommend the ms3/ms4 route.
So it is not "well mannered" or "good driving", and lacks some low end, til about 4000 rpms?

Fastback302,

I hope you found the answers you were looking for. You asked about daily driving either of those cams, and got a lot of responses. Looks like we've established that the MS3/MS4 certainly can be daliy driven, but there are better choices out there. Good luck with your project!

And to those whom I quoted, I'm sorry if it seems like I'm picking on you. There are a lot of strong opinions in threads like this one, and the truth sometimes hurts. After we read between the lines, the picture becomes a little clearer.

When coupled with the right converter and gears, this cam flat out works in an A4 car. But if daily driven, the fuel economy is going to suck. In an M6 car, the difference comes down to the tune, and drivability is going to suffer if your tune isn't spot on.

Cam selection is all about compromise - without VVT, you just can't have your cake and eat it too.
Old 02-24-2008, 01:08 PM
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MS4 Bashing Again? Its all in the tune! My car will crankup with it iced over first time. And when it gets warm enough it lowers the idle to 900 and it stays there. No surging or stumbling at the stoplights even when the ACs on.
I guess if you judged the MS4 by the posts of people who only know what they have read before you would be looking at a twin peaks dyno sheet. Not true? I have no trouble at all with the MS4 as a daily driver. It has plenty of torque to get you moving. And I'm still running stock injectors on a LS6 intake and a stock MAF.
Appearently you missed the part were I HAVE an MS4 in my car! There is a lot to be had in the tune, which is why I have EFIlive V2 on the way. A tune done by a tuner on a dyno is simply not enough to get the best out of a daily driving vehicle. By the way, mine starts right up as well, and idles around 750rpm when warm.

Though I plan on posting this in another thread if I can get the scanner to work, the cam made over 300ft/lbs of tq from 2,700rpm to 6,500rpm. That is on a conservative Mustang dyno by the way.
Old 02-24-2008, 01:32 PM
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Well, I need a memory card for the scanner-which I do not have. Anyways, here are the numbers typed in.

RPM.......TQ.........HP

2700......300........160
2900......305........169
3100......315........190
3300......325........210
3500......335........230
3750......340........245
4200......345........275
4600......350........315
5000......360........345
5500......350........360
5850......335........375
6280......325........390
6500......315........400

Give or take 5 on these numbers. I was using the graph for these. Will get the dyno posted when I get the scanner to work. This is a cam only bolt on M6 car. I posted more lower rpm figures to give a better idea of what it looks like. The dyno starts at 2700rpm.

Like I said, the cam has a very nice torque curve. Mine does drive a little sloppy at <1,500rpm, but much of that is in the tune and M6. Not to mention street driving, even when I had the stock cam, was very rarely below 1,500rpm anyways.
Old 02-24-2008, 01:55 PM
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I agree these cams are not for everyone but I just hate to stand idly by and watch all these fake horror stories about these grinds. I have never dealt with my car dying at a stop, nor have I had any problems with it not having enough power at low end. It still has good power down low just not as much as smaller ones, but why does it matter if your going to race then put it in a low gear, get the rpm's up, and stick your leg off in it. Ive done that so many times up against "smaller" grinds and handed them their ***. That is why it is going back in my forged engine.
Old 02-24-2008, 02:02 PM
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Originally Posted by NC98Z
MS4 Bashing Again? Its all in the tune! My car will crankup with it iced over first time. And when it gets warm enough it lowers the idle to 900 and it stays there. No surging or stumbling at the stoplights even when the ACs on.
I guess if you judged the MS4 by the posts of people who only know what they have read before you would be looking at a twin peaks dyno sheet. Not true? I have no trouble at all with the MS4 as a daily driver. It has plenty of torque to get you moving. And I'm still running stock injectors on a LS6 intake and a stock MAF.

Attachment 121303
Ryan know's his ****, if the car has a dead on tune, it's not that bad on a ms4. so if you got a tuner in your area that's good with our cars, I'd say go for it.
Old 02-25-2008, 02:09 PM
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Wow this information is great! I am leaning both ways here! I would like to see cam only on stock heads graphs between the MS4 and the TR224 and the Pat g cam! That way I could easily identify how much the torque is sacrificed for top end power!
Old 02-25-2008, 02:13 PM
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Originally Posted by Fastback302
Wow this information is great! I am leaning both ways here! I would like to see cam only on stock heads graphs between the MS4 and the TR224 and the Pat g cam! That way I could easily identify how much the torque is sacrificed for top end power!
#'s and dyno's vary so much it would be hard choose based on the #'s unless it was same car, same dyno. You would be better off looking at the curve more than anything else, the #'s don't mean much.
Old 02-25-2008, 02:20 PM
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This is how my MS4 idles. Stock tune, 25 degree day, fired up, and pulled it into the parkinglot next to my house. Like I said maybe I just got lucky with mine, but it doesnt buck or surge or anything. And has plenty of down low power.

Old 02-25-2008, 02:24 PM
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Originally Posted by rocksws6
#'s and dyno's vary so much it would be hard choose based on the #'s unless it was same car, same dyno. You would be better off looking at the curve more than anything else, the #'s don't mean much.
The curve between the pat g and the MS4 seem to be pretty close from 3.5K
up to about 5500 where the MS4 starts to really shine putting down around 20hp more till redline! I really didn't get to see what these cars do below 3,000 but that is where you just drop a gear and let that clutch hold on for dear life! Again seems like torque and horsepower are pretty close until about 5.5K! I guess the reason one would choose the pat g over the MS4 is the everyday driving around 2k to 3k, I would assume would be much smoother! Am I getting close to understanding this?!?! The everyday driving range is more importnat to me than 20hp in the last 1000 to 1500 RPM's!
Old 02-25-2008, 03:20 PM
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I have an MS3 in my car , you can daily drive this or the MS4. My car does take about 5 mins. to warm up. Once the O2 sensors are heated up and switching the car runs fine. It will load up sometimes, you just have to clear the motor. Like the post stated about down shifting and standing on it, these cams will pull hard from 4000 to 7000+ RPMS. I get good hiway milage with mine. They also work well on the bottle. I had a 224 and their is no comparison with the MS3. It all depends on what you want to do with the car.
Old 02-25-2008, 03:44 PM
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Originally Posted by Fastback302
Wow this information is great! I am leaning both ways here! I would like to see cam only on stock heads graphs between the MS4 and the TR224 and the Pat g cam! That way I could easily identify how much the torque is sacrificed for top end power!
Heres a Cam only graph from my BRE custom cam. Its overlays my bolt on graph so you can see where you pick up over a bolt on setup. Cam is 230* on the intake but differs from the others mentioned.

Old 02-25-2008, 04:37 PM
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Im running the MS4 in a daily driver.. Ive rode in cars with them and there a little pesky at times, But Im not sure of its my friends tune..


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