So what do you think about your GM Hot Cam. I`m thinking about getting one installed by GM when I go in for some warranty work. I would go with a diffrent cam but I can still keep my warranty if I get a Hot cam and let GM charge me out the *** to install it. I hear it is easy on the valve springs and is very streetable and has a mild lope to it. I have all the bolt-ons but a pully and for warranty reasons headers, although I do have a set of gutted cats to add after I get it back from GM. What HP or ET gains have you sceen after a Hot cam install and also what kind of drop in gas milage have you sceen? Last but not least has any of you guys had GM install a Hot cam for you and how much did they your wallet for. Thanks for any help guys.

 

I just installed mine. Maybe I need some tuning but my lope isn't so mild. What warranty work are you having? If they are taking off the front cover. Replacing the cam itself at that time is't that big of a deal. The difficulty comes in changing the springs with the heads still in place. Can be done just not the easiest. Now if they are pulling the heads too the springs are only about an hour job.

 

GM hot cam is awesome & can make good power. I went 117mph in the 1/4 with my M6 Z28 @ 3480lb's in 1750' DA. . . hasn't ever been dyno tuned, no skinnies on the front, etc. . . stock heads & TB in place.

The lope is NOT mild. . . more wild. It is easy on Valve springs, as I've gone 50k+ on my original hotcam springs before replacing them, and you never hear about ANYONE breaking springs w/ a hotcam.

If you do not have, and if you do not plan on getting headers, do not waste your time & money on the hotcam. I had the cam in w/ stock exh. manifolds & gutted cats, and I think I ran 112.5mph as compared to my stock cam best of 111.77mph.

 

It has alot of exhaust duration but I don't believe it was designed for the LS1. I think it's a carry over from the LT days.

Lot of folks here have done well with the hotcam and there was a post on here a while back about a guy hitting the 400 mark with one.

Think about where you want your car to be when your done and choose you cam accordingly. You dont have to experiment with combo's. Do a search, there all here.

 

No the hot cam is a performance part and performance parts do not have warranty. It would void the warranty on the engine, since the motor is being cracked to put a cam in. Of course depending on the dealer, that might or might not be an issue. Dealers that I would trust to install a cam and then honor a warranty issue on the engine with a cam in it are next to none. With that said, I know of one case where a car had heads and cam. The cam walked and wiped out a lobe wasting the engine. Somehow the cars owner got the engine warrantied by GM. Just goes to show you never know how that will work out...

 

mgreen, what was your rev limiter set at with your hotcam when your trapped 117mph. I agree, I did not gain much with the hotcam until I got headers. For what it is, I am very happy with my gm hotcam, I have only occasional idle issues on stock tuning.

 

I have 4.10's w/ 245 nittos. . .stock tach and no shift light.

I have my limiter set to 6600, and when I ran the consistent 116's and the 117, I hit the limiter in at least one gear on every pass. . . some passes, more than once.

So I'm leaving even more trap speed on the table there.

Here's how my timeline looks:

hotcam + stock manifolds = 112.5mph
Added hooker Long tubes = 114.3mph

Added LS6 intake and Nittos (no drag tires previously) = 115.5mph

Added 4.10 gears = 116's & 117mph.

I should mention. . . all of these times were run in the middle of summer with 1750 to 2200' DA.

So I was leaving ~2mph on the table, all the time, had I run in perfect 50* weather in the spring or fall.

 

I have had my Hotcam installed since April, and I am more than satisfied with it. It has a lot of Torque in the midrange which is what I was looking for. (See sig, I have the dyno graph of my website) I do not want to spin my engine way up to make power like some other cams. Plus it is definitely easy on the valve train. It was also inexpensive. It comes with LS6 springs and shims. You DO have to buy new valve seals which it doesn't come with, in order to replace the stock shims. But that is only like $20-30. Anyways, I reused my stock pushrods, timing chain, etc... And it lopes nicely I have LS1Edit, and tuning it helped. But that goes for any mod...

Good luck!

Tommy

 

I gained 39 rwhp with the addition of the hotcam (and professional dyno tuning from Speed Inc) I went from 331 RWHP to 370 (A4) I have all the bolt-ons though, including long tubes, underdrive pulley, and LS6 intake. Best numbers at the track so far have only been 12.7's @ 110 mph. I think there is more in her if I can get the weight of my car down a bit more and get a better launches (best 60 ft is 1.7x on nittos). All in all, I am very satisfied with my cam choice, especially for my daily driven car (150 mi/wk).

Do a search, and you'll find all the pros and cons about the hotcam. Good luck with your decision.