Snackpacks181

I want to put a Texas Speed Magic Stick 4 Camshaft Item#: 25-MS4 In my 2005 GTO with a set of Patriot Performance GM LQ9 6.0L Stage II Head Assy (2.055/1.57/72cc) Ill be using the stock rocker arms and ill order a set of hardened push rods. I just wanna make sure I won't have any clearance issues with the valves on the piston heads. And if there is anything else ill need to know about this setup. I've heard the word "stall" used when talking about new cams. not sure about that. If anybody could help me out.

Braciole

iTrader: (6)

Stall Speed Converter, it will help with the manners of the car not to mention
it could give you a full sec off your ET.

Snackpacks181

Im not 100% sure what that is, if you could explain in more detail. As of right now im just trying to get my car up and running. blew the head gasket. had intentions of doing some mods to the cam, heads and valve train. figured since I have to replace it now I might as well do it while im there. so im really just trying to get a good setup for the top end.

davidws6

iTrader: (36)

If you go with the Magic Stick 4 which is a 239/242 duration, you'll need a stall !

Go with a milder cam and you won't have to mess with a stall.

+ a milder cam will give you more usable torque lower in the curve to get that heavy Goat movin !

BTW a stall converter lets the engine rev up quicker. Downside is less fuel economy.

But you have to sacrifice some things for others when it comes to performance.

tittan1500

iTrader: (8)

Ok...

1. What do you want to do with the car? what are your goals?

2. If you go with a cam like that your car will need a 3600 rpm + stall

3. I was told my cam and heads would fit no problem.... I checked the PTV and I would have blown my motor the first pull past 3000 rpm, so you need to check your PTV

4. How much maintenance do you want to do or how much reliability do you want to keep (a cam like that can kill valve springs in a few thousand miles) I drive my car all the time in the summer and I would not want to replace the springs every other summer.

On a side note: most tuners in my area cannot get a huge cam like the MS4 to drive very well. so be prepared to spend the cash on a good tune! I drive my car every day that I can during the summer and I am glad I did not go any bigger with the cam and stall because it slips and surges enough as it is.

outkast6991

iTrader: (34)

if the car is an auto a verter is a must with a cam that big(i didn't see you post a4/m6). you will also need to verify clearances to be sure. is there any reason your looking at the lq9 heads(317's i assume)? if you went back to a stock size valve you would gain some clearance, but still need to measure. another thing to consider is with a big cam you may want to swap gears to gain some low end grunt back

Snackpacks181

The car is an m6, If its a manual transmission i won't have to worry about stall correct? . sorry didn't know id have to mention that. kinda new to the aftermarket scene. I don't want a cam thats so big it causes other problems. I want to gain some extra horsepower without making the car impossible to drive everyday. Maybe a better question to ask would be, what is a good cam and possibly headers for a 05 gto. that won't cause me to have to upgrade a ton of stuff to make the car function properly. I'm looking to start with a cam, and work my way out with reasonably priced upgrade. since I blew my head gasket i figured while im replacing that i might as well cam it, and throw on new heads and valve train. then from there work on other upgrades. but i could be doing everything completely *** backwards. I also intend on doing all the work myself, I know my way around an engine, just not what exactly is a good upgrade for a car. If you get what im saying.

Bring the Noise

The heads you chose will drop your compression a little (from 10.9:1 with the stock heads 64cc chamber down to about 10.4:1 with the LQ9's 72cc chamber).

If you don't already have the heads you may want to look at the Patriot 64cc LS6 head as it has the same cnc port and valve sizes with a smaller chamber. (Patriot part # 2031 for the 64cc heads with a 2.055" intake and 1.57" exhaust valve).

Piston to valve clearance will be close with either of the stage 2 Patriot heads (LQ9 72cc head or LS6 64cc head) and the MS4 cam (Magic Stick V.4 239/242, .649"/.609").
You'll want to clay the piston and check the valve clearance before you button up the motor.

Other things to add...
Headers
If you are not located in an area that does visual checks on your exhaust system then a set of Long Tube (LT) headers would be a good choice.
Pacesetter LT's being the cheapest and all the others being close to 1k stainless steel units (with or without cats).

The shorty headers for the GTO only give minimal improvements over the stock exhaust manifolds. JBA and Edelbrock have shorties neither are cheap.

Cat Back
If you are on a budget then the stock dual 2 1/2" exhaust system is pretty darn good all things considering.
There are minimal bends in the pipes (none over 90 degree's) and on mine there were only 2 small crimps in the passenger side pipe (those were to clear the rear diff on the passenger side).
The mufflers are a flow threw type with little back pressure, but they are heavy compared to aftermarket mufflers.
I would recommend replacing the resonator with either an H or X pipe to equalize the exhaust flow.
Magnaflow makes a nice 2 1/2" x-pipe that most muffler shop should be able to install (part # 10791). Cut out resonator and wield in x-pipe (if you have a lift and a can do wielding then you could do this yourself so save money).

If you are not on a budget then Magnaflow, Stainless Works, Borla, SLP, Spintech, and others have Cat back systems for the 05/06 GTO's.
You can search Youtube for "05 gto exhaust" to get an idea of which one you like the sound of and then shop around for a good price once you pick the one you like.

Cold Air intake
The Vararam setup keeps getting good reviews by people that have had the K&N or Volant units and changed over.
All 3 units will run close to $300 after shipping (again shop around for the best price).

Manifold & TB
A ported manifold and throttle body would also add some power. Or for more power a FAST 92 port matched to the heads along with a ported TB (again this depends on your budget).

Once you have the parts install get the vehicle properly tuned. A good shop can tune that cam to be completely street friendly (good idle, and zero surging at low rpm).

Just for reference: I drive a 2005 GTO 6spd and I have a smaller cam then what you are looking at (mines a Lunati Voodoo 222/228 .578" lift on a 113 lsa) with a full exhaust setup (LT's and cat back).
I had low rpm surging issues after the cam & heads install until I had my GTO retuned. After the retune my car is fine at 25mph in 4th gear, which is around 1100rpm (most of the roads in my subdivision are 20 and 25mph ).

Snackpacks181

Ya, what your saying is pretty much my goal. currently i have few greenbacks to go around so i won't be getting intake and exhaust. and i anticipated a tune after the cam and heads. im looking to put some decent power into my GTO so i just wanna make sure what I get is gonna be enough later. Cam wise i just want some decent power, nothing insane and the gargling muscle car sound that a 6.0 liter should have. I know very little about heads so what ever somebody recommends as the best set up is probably what ill get. I appreciate all the help ive recieved so far guys. thanks.

outkast6991

iTrader: (34)

what is the casting # on your current heads? i assumed you already had headers. with any big cam headers are a must IMO. if you have the 243 casting #(which i'm fairly sure you do) and are on a tight budget i would get a cam and headers. you could have a nice VJ done and possibly a slight mill on your stock heads to bump compression(if your cam choice allows). with the right combo and VJ you could have a really nice gain(70+)

Snackpacks181

no i have 0 mods to my GTO, I was going to do bolt ons first. then i blew my head gasket and warped my heads. so now Im forced to either rebuild my top end. or just start upgrading here. If i do end up getting new heads and cam. Ill pick up headers and catless mid pipes while im at it. then get the rest of the exhaust later seeing that the stock pipes don't seem to be TOO restrictive. Would a 228/232 with 112 LSA be to big or should i be aiming for mid 220's and something around 113/114 LSA. so i don't have idle issues and low end power problems.