troopercar

iTrader: (6)

Since this was brought back, I may as well say what I've settled on. The car is at RevXtreme in Sarasota as I write this having the heads and cam installed. I researched, decided what I wanted and could afford, and discussed it extensively with Tracy Lewis to come up with a combo.

He is installing Pete Incaudo ported 243's with 2.05 in. valves, slightly milled to bring the compression up a hair,Comp 921's, custom Tracy Lewis spec'ed cam (dur in the 230's, lift at .595- .610 range, 110 LSA) I will say exactly what it is if Tracy says he doesn't mind I will probably check and/or replace the springs around 10-15k to be safe. Should be near 400-425rwhp through the vigilante 3600 and 3:23's. When I do the rear and tranny I will probably go to a 4600 +/- converter and 3:73's depending on it's needs at the track.

Even with the existing converter and gear 12's should be in the past!

The lightweight VFN hood:


In RevXtreme under the knife:


The heads:

99blancoSS

iTrader: (115)

very nice!

JohnHF

iTrader: (5)

ok so you dont want to pull the valve covers to replace springs for 50k miles

i was gunna say 50k miles is a hella long time, and now this is your weekend car... you dont want any maintance for 10 years? lol. i think you should just go with whatever cam gives you the most power, with the amount you drive this car, throwin in new valve springs every couple years is no biggie. hell you probably wont even own the car that long

Mike75356

iTrader: (1)

+1 i agree

troopercar

iTrader: (6)

That's pretty much what I decided. I already almost never drive the car (with the exception of driving it from Sarasota to Tennessee and back 6 weeks ago), I was just being sure before I took the last steps to ending the factory reliability.

It's a full on toy car now. I could and would DD if I needed to but I have a company truck so I don't need to.

mike13

iTrader: (27)

It's not just valve spring as mentioned before, it's springs, lifters, guides. You need to talk with some cam experts and findout what makes a happy valvetrain.

chrs1313

iTrader: (24)

well in your example those cams are not going to make that much of a difference...maybe with nice heads and a ported 90/90...the difference between a 224 and say a 245 is like 20rwhp...so more like 10.9s to 11.1s...

obviously both cars setup the same

troopercar

iTrader: (6)

Some things came up that really shrunk my budget that my wife will let me use for a toy.
I was looking at porting my 241's and camming it to run the quarter and trying to decide how valvetrain unfriendly I was willing to go.

Since then I got a good deal on a decent set of 243's that have larger valves so I was forced to go smaller on the cam to keep the valves off the pistons. I'm using the stock shortblock and don't want to cut the pistons. My cam choice should work well with those heads, I have an LS6 intake and will keep an eye out for a good deal on a FAST 90.

troopercar

iTrader: (6)

10.9 to 11.1 is HUGE!

11.4 to 11.2 is small

I probably will not go 10's right away because I am on a stock tranny and rear and will not come off the line the way I need to. Once I build the tranny, up the converter, and put some real tires under it I may approach 10's. Plus I'm running out of free weight reductions.

I'm expecting 11.4 give or take, any better than that is just gravy.

chrs1313

iTrader: (24)

haha not really i guess to say that u have a 10 sec NA car...still 2 tenths in my book...

is that because u wont leave hard afraid of breaking something or that u think the car wont be able to...cause my trans is still stock and my rear 10 bolt is untouched also

what cam did you go with?

STROKETHIS1

could we get the exact specs and brand of your cam chrs1313?? Is it a streetable cam?? I'm building a 5.3 and it will be driven alot and am looking for a good cam thats not just guna play heck on the valvetrian.

chrs1313

iTrader: (24)

comp cam custom grind

intake lobe is 3016R
exhaust lobe is 3725R

it is on a 111+2 LSA

lift with those lobes are .612 / .591

dug

iTrader: (10)

that cam might not work so good with the lower compression of the 5.3

99 Black Bird T/A

iTrader: (4)

Here's my experience.

I've ran 65,000 miles on a set of 987 dual springs with a 224 .581 lift and XER lobe cam with out problems. I always allowed the car to fully warm up before going over 3,000 and usually stay under 2,500 rpm or less to be easy on the valve springs when the car is cold. Fully warm up in my book mean how ever long it takes water temp to get to get up and that long again because oil warms up slower than water does. I wanted to change springs when they had about 25,000 miles on them but things happened where that just wasn't possible. Car has 110,000 miles on it and has had heads and cam since 32,000 miles. Other than changing springs at 97,000 miles H & C set up has been solid. I drive the car hard sometimes but I don't beat on it all the time etc. Regular oil changes etc.

If 50,000 is what you want between spring changes, I'd say stay with no more than a XE lobe cam or similar ramp rate cam. They are very good but not as harsh on the valve train. I've been away from this for a good while so others might know of better lobe designs for your application.

troopercar

iTrader: (6)

Both. Plus for now it is a Vigilante converter stalled at 3600-3800, we'll see what it does with this combo. I have a feeling I will need/want a 4400 or so to optimize the ET.

I don't have the card yet but it is a custom grind Comp.
XE-R lobes 232/236 dur .595 int./ .601 exh. 110 LSA

troopercar

iTrader: (6)

We were pretty sure the tranny was slipping on the dyno. We know for sure now it was. Took it to the track to test it and fried the trans on the very first run.

About 4800rpm the engine comes alive like a ******* bobcat in a bathtub and the tranny can't hold it. So when it comes out of RevXtreme with a built trans and the proper stall speed, we'll try again.

Then the rearend.........

99bowtieZ

troopercar- that hood looks great

kdavis

iTrader: (14)

so how often would you have to change springs on a cam close to the size of the ms3

troopercar

iTrader: (6)

every other month....joking, 10-15K To be safe

troopercar

iTrader: (6)

FWIW, I dynoed on a known low number spitting dyno at 378hp@6400rpm and still climbing through a 3600 converter and a slipping tranny. Torque was 358@ 4400 then went flat, slipping. Second pull made 320lb-ft then went flat, still 378 hp when he shut her down. Will prolly pull to 7000-7200rpm, when the tranny is done we'll let her eat.

With at FAST intake later and 3.73's this thing should ride. She's already getting a built tranny and FTI 4500 converter. My rear end is soooo fucked!