Cam for L92 Heads: Lessons Learned
#145
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hello there im from AUS, im getting a 427 ls3 built buy a shop that sponsors this forum, with l92 heads, the motor has the fast 102 w/tb, the car is 4400lbs in weight with a 4l65e with a 4200rpm stall, the cam he told me to go is a 248/260 114lsa do u guys think it will work??
Thanks
Thanks
I don't think some of the cars mentioned are overcammed they just aren't setup correctly... Going up 10 deg on the intake means dyn comp drops off-right off and then ppl wonder why there cars don't go. They need another 1 point in comp minimum and then you should be just checking the quench. There is so much more to it. A lot of calculations and experience. Some ppl pipe up about it and dont even understand the basics of cam timing and how it relates to manifold selection. If a cam is installed and doesnt perform it doesn always mean its the wrong cam just selected for the wrong compenents. Ie if I run a 245 intake lobe on 114+2 I will need a hefty comp ratio to make up in the late ICL and so on. If I run that cam with a victor junior it will lose 40 tq so I tighten the lsa up to get it back and get the engine to peak where I want it,
So at times to find more power its a case of finding whats required and then altering ICL and compression and other things to find the correct results.
Also any aftermarket camshaft tends to always produce the same amount of tq in a given engine(we are talking real engine dyno numbers) The amount will only change slightly but going up and down in size and most of the time the change is from dyn.compression. eg a 212-218 cam on .570 lift will make very close numbers to a 230s cam its just where it peaks that changes, one will make 500tq at 4000 the other at 5300. Its a matter of keeping it as high as possible and long as possible to make big top end hp, ie its a multiplication of torque or for a early peak you get more power early on but the power drops off early. So torque can stay with 10 foot pound but power can alter by 50hp or more. Its a matter of finding what you want and then once its in listen to what the motor wants to get the best from it.
To gain torque, don't look at fancy camshafts because an extra 10 foot pound isnt gonna do squat, Heads, intake, capacity exhaust and compression can all alter torque dramatically the cam just changes the curve to what you want.
cheers
#146
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So you're saying that everything has to work together?????
Cams that work with a composite manifold are not necessarily right for carb type manifold. I have also never seen a carb manifold with an elbow produce good numbers NA with these heads. Most people do better taking the elbow/manifold off and putting on a composite manifold and the right cam or using a 4 barrel TB.
Cams that work with a composite manifold are not necessarily right for carb type manifold. I have also never seen a carb manifold with an elbow produce good numbers NA with these heads. Most people do better taking the elbow/manifold off and putting on a composite manifold and the right cam or using a 4 barrel TB.
Last edited by WKMCD; 12-30-2009 at 08:37 AM.
#148
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So you're saying that everything has to work together?????
Cams that work with a composite manifold are not necessarily right for carb type manifold. I have also never seen a carb manifold with an elbow produce good numbers NA with these heads. Most people do better taking the elbow/manifold off and putting on a composite manifold and the right cam or using a 4 barrel TB.
Cams that work with a composite manifold are not necessarily right for carb type manifold. I have also never seen a carb manifold with an elbow produce good numbers NA with these heads. Most people do better taking the elbow/manifold off and putting on a composite manifold and the right cam or using a 4 barrel TB.
#152
Board member Andrew Borodin has the LS7 cam in a L92 and makes 418HP at the rear wheels. See video at http://v8tvshow.com/content/view/724/98/ Adding a 15% loss factor that's 490HP at the crank. Nothing wrong with that & again for an econo build you get low price and OEM reliability. I'm not saying there are not other options but the valve timing events for this cam seem to work.
#157
In all fairness though he has some great points and data to back it up. He and I have had many heated discussions over the years (like many others have) about cams, and he is starting to sway me to his way of thinking about cam design, and I have done a lot of research that backs up his thinking. However, he thinks his way is the only way and doesn't always seem to understand that some guys just want a nice mild cam that doesnt' lobe to much are very little at all.
When you study the GM Tech article and throughout the 2 big Livernois and Lunati cams (which performed terrible below 6k rpm) all the cams are within 10 - 15 hp of one another and a lot of it comes down to what you are looking for in a cam and where it makes power. I am very big on power, specially tq, under the curve, and his 228/232 has shown that it makes more tq. at 3k rpm than a 224 cam which did surprise me. It seems to be the sweet spot of intake duration, however I plan to go with XFI lobes for a little more tq. and bump up the CR to 11.5:1 on a 116 + 2 LSA. Can't wait for next year to try it!
When you study the GM Tech article and throughout the 2 big Livernois and Lunati cams (which performed terrible below 6k rpm) all the cams are within 10 - 15 hp of one another and a lot of it comes down to what you are looking for in a cam and where it makes power. I am very big on power, specially tq, under the curve, and his 228/232 has shown that it makes more tq. at 3k rpm than a 224 cam which did surprise me. It seems to be the sweet spot of intake duration, however I plan to go with XFI lobes for a little more tq. and bump up the CR to 11.5:1 on a 116 + 2 LSA. Can't wait for next year to try it!
Most of the great installs on this forum are using strokers where adding 5 degrees overlap from 10 additional ex duration degrees will still drive well but it isnt the case in smaller displacements where a smaller split helps this. So when choosing a cam's specs you may want to think about if the extra 3-4hp up top from the big split is for you. Now having a 6.2 liter and not a stroker you say you want a nice idle but then you want to talk about how cams in a test on an engine dyno run?
I'm all for anyone doing research but internet research doest hold a candle to installing a cam and driving the real car especially when its a 6.2 liter and not a stroker. I share everything I do and I dont have secret cam specs. Not for nothing but you came on the corvette forum touting that you nailed down the perfect design criteria and quoted an engine dyno test with no installs of your own to back anything. You can believe what you want but an engine on a engine dyno using headers that dont fit your car and the exact same compression for all of the cams is just rediculous. Guys see insane changes in TQ just changing header diameter and primary length. I myself saw a 34rwtq@ 3500rpm just from this change so sorry if I dont agree with the test. A 224 cam with a 1 3/4 diameter primary may make great power but you are handicapping a bigger cam with the same compression and not giving it the primary it wants. Bigger cams with bigger exhausts and more compression make more power all the way through the powerband. Of course a bigger cam with the same compression and the same small headers will make less low end.
Aside from that thread, I dont ever remember posting on any of your threads and having 'heated discussions'. I respect your input as well as anyone else's. I have no personal stake in anything that results from anyone using any info that I share. I was just trying to save a few guys from installing some rediculous overlap cam in their daily driver from reading about big splits with big overlap making the same power.
#159
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I have to agree that not everyone has the same goals when designing a cam. In the case of my cams, the number one consideration has alway been that they have to be really nice driving. I dont think you can say a +4 overlap cam is bad driving especially when the big tuner big cams are sometimes 16 degrees overlap and buck and surge in a stock displacement LS3 making little if any more power.
Most of the great installs on this forum are using strokers where adding 5 degrees overlap from 10 additional ex duration degrees will still drive well but it isnt the case in smaller displacements where a smaller split helps this. So when choosing a cam's specs you may want to think about if the extra 3-4hp up top from the big split is for you. Now having a 6.2 liter and not a stroker you say you want a nice idle but then you want to talk about how cams in a test on an engine dyno run?
I'm all for anyone doing research but internet research doest hold a candle to installing a cam and driving the real car especially when its a 6.2 liter and not a stroker. I share everything I do and I dont have secret cam specs. Not for nothing but you came on the corvette forum touting that you nailed down the perfect design criteria and quoted an engine dyno test with no installs of your own to back anything. You can believe what you want but an engine on a engine dyno using headers that dont fit your car and the exact same compression for all of the cams is just rediculous. Guys see insane changes in TQ just changing header diameter and primary length. I myself saw a 34rwtq@ 3500rpm just from this change so sorry if I dont agree with the test. A 224 cam with a 1 3/4 diameter primary may make great power but you are handicapping a bigger cam with the same compression and not giving it the primary it wants. Bigger cams with bigger exhausts and more compression make more power all the way through the powerband. Of course a bigger cam with the same compression and the same small headers will make less low end.
Aside from that thread, I dont ever remember posting on any of your threads and having 'heated discussions'. I respect your input as well as anyone else's. I have no personal stake in anything that results from anyone using any info that I share. I was just trying to save a few guys from installing some rediculous overlap cam in their daily driver from reading about big splits with big overlap making the same power.
Most of the great installs on this forum are using strokers where adding 5 degrees overlap from 10 additional ex duration degrees will still drive well but it isnt the case in smaller displacements where a smaller split helps this. So when choosing a cam's specs you may want to think about if the extra 3-4hp up top from the big split is for you. Now having a 6.2 liter and not a stroker you say you want a nice idle but then you want to talk about how cams in a test on an engine dyno run?
I'm all for anyone doing research but internet research doest hold a candle to installing a cam and driving the real car especially when its a 6.2 liter and not a stroker. I share everything I do and I dont have secret cam specs. Not for nothing but you came on the corvette forum touting that you nailed down the perfect design criteria and quoted an engine dyno test with no installs of your own to back anything. You can believe what you want but an engine on a engine dyno using headers that dont fit your car and the exact same compression for all of the cams is just rediculous. Guys see insane changes in TQ just changing header diameter and primary length. I myself saw a 34rwtq@ 3500rpm just from this change so sorry if I dont agree with the test. A 224 cam with a 1 3/4 diameter primary may make great power but you are handicapping a bigger cam with the same compression and not giving it the primary it wants. Bigger cams with bigger exhausts and more compression make more power all the way through the powerband. Of course a bigger cam with the same compression and the same small headers will make less low end.
Aside from that thread, I dont ever remember posting on any of your threads and having 'heated discussions'. I respect your input as well as anyone else's. I have no personal stake in anything that results from anyone using any info that I share. I was just trying to save a few guys from installing some rediculous overlap cam in their daily driver from reading about big splits with big overlap making the same power.
#160
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A 500rwhp on dynojet would read around 330rwkw at the most on a mainline. Even then maybe less.
Infact a 233 233 112+0 cam is making 350rwkw with fast and higgins heads. and over the radiator intake with speed density tuning. 350/.746 this is 469hp plus the 10% loss takes it to 521rw dynojet hp, around 580-590 flywheel hp..
A stock LS3 on mainline will make around 335 on a DJ around 382 both M6. Thats a 12% loss. It is hard to compare but all the results are consistent with a percentage difference.
This is another eg that single patterns work well on the short strokes,