Speedmonster185

iTrader: (1)

I'm going to be putting a cam in this summer I hope.... The car is not a DD car during the school year (away for school, back on weekends), but during the summer it's pretty close. I do take it to the track from time to time too... It's an A4 also btw, with a SS3600 in it, so there's a little room to work with there. I'll be having a very good street tune done too, so drivablility will be about as good as it can get for a certain cam.

I've been looking at cams now for a while... but I can't really decide what I want to do. I would like to keep it pretty streetable still, but want as much power as I can possibly have . haha. I don't want to buy it just to want more later (even though I know I will no matter what i get ).

I've been looking at the TR224, but even though the power numbers seem good for most people, it just seems kinda small to me o_O. I've looked at TSP's 228R, but I have the same feelings about that. i just don't know what to do. I don't mind having a choppy idle.... Actually it sounds mean... . But I would like it to still be drivable. What cam would you suggest that would make the most power possible, while keeping it as drivable as possible (keeping in mind I will have a very good street tune on it)?

Thanks

99z28monster

iTrader: (3)

well since you said you will have a very good street tune, get whatever cam you want. I would not get the 228 or the 224 like you said you will be wanting more latter. Get something in the mid 230 range with a 110-112lsa and you will have plenty of power and that nice chopping idle you mentioned. I am currently running the 233/239 from TSP and really like it.

Speedmonster185

iTrader: (1)

So any cam will drive pretty well around town if I have a good street tune on it? If that's true I could get pretty big with this thing

Ok so..... lets put it this way then. What cam would it take (if even possible) to run around an 11.5 with Nitto 555Rs and an SS3600? A guy in my car club had an SS4000 and an MS3 cam, and only ran an 11.9, so I'm wondering how much faster you can even get :/.

How about the MS4? Haha. It's.... kinda big.... 239/242, .649"/.609".... Seems to have a huge intake lift. Would that cause problems?

99z28monster

iTrader: (3)

How well it drives on the street depends on how well your car is tuned. If you go radical sized like MS4, Trex, or bigger I really hope you have a badass tuner and some gears. As for the 11.5 I doubt it with cam only and the mods listed in you sig. you will need some suspension to complement the cam and tires. But if you can hook and can drive you might be able to squeak off a time close to 11.5. Gonna need some badass cam only power numbers though.

TXZ28LS1

iTrader: (5)

go with a TR230 cam? or MTI X1. i make 395rwhp stock heads without a pulley with a vig 3200 stall..

General Jack

iTrader: (4)

I have the MTI X1 cam, see specs below. I used that as a DD for nearly 4 years and it did great... except for breaking one valve spring (Manley).

I'm getting ready to go bigger now, but the camaro is no longer my DD so less compromises. Like has been said, driveability really depends on getting a good tune. IMO, don't go bigger than mid 230s if you're going to drive it a lot on the street, you'll get tired of waiting for the power band.

Speedmonster185

iTrader: (1)

Well, it would be green light motorsports doing the tuning, so you can judge how good you think it would be. haha. As for gears, right now it would be 3.23s, and then maybe next year 3.73s, but I'm not 100% sure about that. I will also be getting an UD pulley at the same time, so that will help a little bit. Basically I just want to go 11.8 or better if possible. 11.5 is just to put everyone else a bit further behind. The fastest guy that's in our club currently is like 11.8 I think (edit: I should say, 'fastest LS1'), so that's all the faster I really need to be for my own needs. haha.

So if I take a step down from that to say, TSP's 233/239 .595"/.603" 112 LSA cam would it be a little more realistic? That one actually caught my eye when i went through their list, but I said MS4 because it was the biggest. lol. It uses the XER lobes, and has a pretty big lift, so I would assume it makes pretty good power. Have many people used that one with good results?

99z28monster

iTrader: (3)

thats the same cam I am running now. I have yet to have it dynoed though, but my old numbers were 420hp and 415tq and I noticed a huge difference in power after 3000rpm. And it sounds badass. With that cam you can net some awesome power numbers with quality heads and boltons. And as a DD driver it is also a good choice and the cam loves the juice.

Soul TKR

iTrader: (4)

With the larger size cams your springs won't last too long...

99z28monster

iTrader: (3)

man I must have overlooked the spring thing. I thought you were running the dual golds. Yea def gonna need springs with pretty much any cam other than stock.

Speedmonster185

iTrader: (1)

Ok, thanks guys. I was also thinking about one other one. What do you guys think of LG cams? I was thinking about the G5X3. I know the durations aren't published, but I've seen videos of the idle and it doesn't seem too bad. Plus I saw a video of a TA putting down 434/404 with it cam only, and another full weight (did have slicks/skinnies though) cam only TA run an 11.5@117 with it .

What would you guys suggest?

Edit: Plus, Louis was the president of my car club at Purdue when i joined . haha

HotWS6

I have a comp 224/228 .563 .563 sounds nice and driveable! Plus its not too much strain on the valvetrain.

hammertime

iTrader: (1)

Too much RPM will eventually hurt your A4 trans. 500hp shifted at 6,000 rpm's will last a long time, while 350hp shifted at 6,800 will take its toll without the proper upgrades. Patrick G posted that a long time ago, and I trust his opinion.

With that in mind, anything larger than 228 will need to be ground on a tighter LSA and or advanced to keep the power peak to a reasonable RPM. 228/228 114+4 will peak over 6300, while a 228/228 110+3 will peak about 6100. Much more than that would work against your stock transmission, or would peak after the shift point & be a waste.

Speedmonster185

iTrader: (1)

I would hopefully be upgrading to an FLT Level 4 tranny this summer too if I can sell my '93 camaro. So i would definitely have a better tranny too. I was planning on getting a 112 LSA on whatever cam i get, but I'm not dead set on that or anything. I'm not really sure about those things. Also, nobody has really answered about the G5X3. Does anybody have any opinions about that cam?

TXZ28LS1

iTrader: (5)

the G5X3 is waaay bigger than the TSP 233/239 you suggested. if you go with a cam that big like the G5X3, then your gonna need alot of supporting mods to maximize it to its full potential. your talking bout a way bigger stall than 3600, and atleast 3.73, which would maybe make your car a headache for a daily driver. if you go with the G5X3 then you better have a beefed up tranny ready cuz thats a cam that makes power in the higher rpm's and high rpms will kill these trannies. look for something low 230 or under 230 cam size.

hammertime

iTrader: (1)

The specs on the G5X3 have been posted here many, many times. It's actually 234/242 112+4, so the difference is actually minimal. The advance in that cam helps it make more power down low, for its size.


Still the best advice, as even these cams have the potential to pull well past 6500, depending on the VE's.

Speedmonster185

iTrader: (1)

Well, it doesn't bother me that they pull that far because like I said, I will be getting an FLT Level 4 here soon. Unless there is something else that's bad about being that high. Are there other reasons other than the tranny (and valvetrain obviously)?

hammertime

iTrader: (1)

My point was that you can pull well past 6500 with low 230's duration. You can imagine where an MS4 with its 239 degrees of duration will make its power. Keep in mind that camshafts are all about compromise, and that you have to give up something on the bottom to gain on the top. Also, keep in mind how much time you really spend over 6,000 in your daily driven street car. Lastly, the more cam you run, the more converter you also need, so the worse you can expect your mileage to be.

Plenty of people will tell you that driveability is all in the tune, and to an extent, they are right. However, somewhere in the 230+ range, you really begin testing the skills of your tuner, pitting them against the duration and overlap of the cam.

Going too big only makes it tougher on your tuner, and your nerves in a car you spend much time in. I'll let the quote in my signature sum up the rest.

WS6_00

iTrader: (10)

i'm still reseaching for my cam but from what I've read so far I can say that it's all about the right combination working together. you don't need a monster cam to go fast. at times I'm tempted to throw in a huge cam but then I have to get back to reality and realize exactly what I want my car to do. just my .02

Speedmonster185

iTrader: (1)

So going back to the original cam, say a 228R from TSP. What kind of power would that be capable of making at the wheel with converter unlocked (unlocked for comparison because my dyno was unlocked 313/320). That wouldn't be a bad cam on the street at all according to chad from GLM. He said he had the TR224 first, and switched to the 228R and noticed no difference at all except more power.