derotoredFD

iTrader: (5)

Hey everyone, I accidentally posted this in the external forum and it probably belongs in here. Sorry if you read it twice.

I'm swapping a 2005 gto ls2 with t56 into a 93 rx7(2800lbs) and I'm trying to pick out a cam to match a set of stock ls3 heads and a ported l76 intake manifold I'm bolting on. I'm looking for 470-480 rwhp on a dynojet with the mazda 4.10 rear end. I'm wanting pretty good driveablilty, a little bucking is ok but minimal , and the car will mostly be a street car with occasional autox and roadracing mixed in. Here are all the mods I'm doing to the engine.

stock 2005 gto ls2
2005 gto t56 with spec lightweight clutch and flywheel
milled 11:1 stock ls3 heads with patriot extreme dual springs/ti retainers
hardened pushrods
ported l76 intake manifold and aftermarket cable t-body(probably a 92 or 95mm)
1 7/8" long tube headers Y'd into 4" single exhaust no cats
99+ fbody m6 ls1 ecu
factory mazda 4.10 rear end
stock ls2 maf
single roller chain and melling high pressure oil pump
stock water pump
Underdrive pulley(any recommendations?)

I've searched around quite a bit but results are all over the place with cam selection for this combo. Here are some that I have found, which is best(these or other recommendations) for a 470-480hp goal with good streetability?

patrick G thread for a road race f body that wanted big power band, made 460rwhp thru cats. Not quite 470hp, would a bigger cam see more? going bigger doesn't seem better on the ls3 heads
223/231 .610/.617 113+4 comp lsl lobe

spinmonster from the corvette forum picked out a cam that seemed really nice and made 474 on this vette with 4.10 rear. He also suggested lightly porting the exhaust side only to get rid of the bump near the headers side and to narrow down the valve guide bosses. Anyone have thoughts on this?
xer comp cams lobe 228/232 .588/.595 114+2 lsa he also said 226/232 114 would do nicely, anyone know what that made?

Texas speed recommended a 228r cam 228/228 .588/.588 112lsa for powerband with road racing, and 229/236 112 lsa for more peak numbers. I have read that the ls3 heads like 8-10 degrees of seperation(like 221/229 or 221/231) and bigger isn't always better, so would the 229/236 not really fit these heads well on a 364ci?

I'm just trying to find the best cam for my setup, and will probably end up getting patrick g to spec me one, but I wanted to get a good idea of what works and doesn't before I go asking. I'm sure there is an off the shelf cam that will get real close.

Please input!

Tainted

iTrader: (9)

Have pat G or geoff at Eps spec you out a cam... Seriously. Their knowledge and input is well worth the spec fee especially with a bit more custom setup like yours..

1badeagle

iTrader: (9)

I second talking to Patrick G. He spec'd me a cam and EPS did the grind work for me. Its cheaper than a off the shelf cam too!

MX6.0

I'm doing a similar swap (LS2 with LS3 top end) in my Miata (2300 lbs). Mostly street with some autocrossing, light clutch, similar mods, ect. Had a cam specced by PatG that was done by EPS. 222/230 114

I cant comment on driveability yet since I'm still doing the swap

eyerideakfx400

Check out this article, this was a good reference for me when I was looking for a cam for LS3 heads. They also take the time and measure each cam to verify how accurate the specs are. Im doing LS3 Heads on my LS2 shortly so I have no dyno results yet.

http://www.gmhightechperformance.com...n/viewall.html

I ended up getting the Katech LS3 tourqer cam because I like the broad range of TQ & HP that it showed. And since the LS3 heads have such massive intake runners, theres really no need for any bigger on Intake side, (for street) expecially since PTV clearance on intake valve will be an issue with bigger cams. This setup I will be able to run 11.5:1 with about 0.100in intake valve clearance. With no flycutting or changing Pistons..!! Will measure to verify before starting but those are my estimates. If you want to save a $100 call up COMP and ask them to grind you a similar cam. Mine was ground by COMP, designed by Katech. So it cost me $500 for this bitch. Better be worth it.

Patrick G

iTrader: (14)

Bobby Hanvey from Corpus Christi had an FD RX7 running a stock LS2 short block with stock LS3 heads, stock L76 intake and 1 3/4" mid-length headers. He used a 222/230 .597/.600" 114LSA +2 Patrick G custom camshaft ground with EPS lobes. I was so shocked with the power that it made, that I was too embarrassed to post the numbers out of fear of people calling BS. The car made well over 500rwhp. No lie. It went on to run some 130+ mph 1/4 mile times which backed up the dyno numbers. I am still in shock with how strong it ran. If you surf the RX7 conversion boards, you may already be familiar with this car. It's a freaking beast for such a sensible cam.

Mez

iTrader: (1)

Peak HP is very misleading. For the relatively heavy GTO, it is critical for the best overall performance, to select a cam that delivers the BEST AVERAGE TORQUE over the intended RPM range is what you should design for.

I love the article posted by eyerideakfx400 where they tested many cams including the one in my LS2; the Lingenfelter GT-11 cam. The cam specs are 215°/231° duration and .631"/.644 lift on a 118 LSA. Pretty unusual cam. My car dyno'd at 457 rwhp with Lingenfelter ported 243 heads, ported FAST 92 intake, Yella Terras, and LT headers. It idles at 650 rpm with just a hint of a lope. It starts and drives like stock and pulls hard from 2500 rpm to 6500 rpm. Peak HP is right around 6000 rpm but pulls to 6500 rpm very well. This combo makes lots of torque coming out of a slow corner in 2nd gear. Does it make 500 rwhp peak? No. Do I care? No. LS2's with big cam in a heavy car is not very smart, in my opinion.

Do I only recommend this cam? No. There are so many choices out there but I do recommend you keep the overlap to the minimum. You have to be careful to select a cam that won't sacrifice torque in the 2500-4000 rpm range just for 10 more rwhp at 6000 rpm. That cam recommended by Patrick G seems pretty good.

One last point, don't be afraid of lift over .600" because today's aftermarket valve springs are very good. I have 20,000 miles on my Patriot Gold springs and had them recently checked with the thought they needed to be replaced. But they checked out identical to new spring spec so I kept them.

topbrent

iTrader: (1)

That is very impressive!

517 rwhp - http://www.norotors.com/index.php?topic=4134.0
Build Thread: http://www.norotors.com/index.php?topic=348.0

1badeagle

iTrader: (9)

^very impressive. That's a t56 car correct?

Tainted

iTrader: (9)

See, pat g worth the money!

derotoredFD

iTrader: (5)

I just read through his build thread, that is totally unbelievable that he made so much more than that fbody with basically the same setup. How did he do it? What a car, that is literally the perfect combo of driveability, crazy power, and not even having to flycut the pistons that I am looking for. The powerband is so sick too. So would you basically spec me out the same cam? I know his results are mega high, but do you think I could hit 480 on a dynojet with a similar sized cam?

Keep making wicked cams sir!(especially for me)

I have actually ran into your build thread a couple of times, that car will be absolutely insane when you finish. My friend in jacksonville FL wants to do a lq9 swap into a 91 miata, but he was leaving it stock.

Thanks for the link, that was a really interesting read. I'm going to have to read it twice probably haha.

Dude thanks for the link, I ran into that build thread but didn't read far enough I guess haha. That is just insane power for that cam.

Correct that was a t56 car with a 3.90 rear end when he dynoed, and when he ran the 1/4 times it was a 8.8 explorer rear end with 3.55 gear.

1badeagle

iTrader: (9)

I literally dont see how he made that power. Awesome that he did, but I dont think my built 370 will be close to that.

Tainted

iTrader: (9)

U can get 500whp from a stock bottom end ls1 i dont see how a 370 wouldnt do it

1badeagle

iTrader: (9)

I have a
lq4 370
Mahle Flat top l92 style 4.030 pistons
6.125" eagle rods
Ported, .040" milled LS3 heads
Victor JR
2" long tubes
235/243 .621/.624" 110LSA +4

And I dont expect to hit 500 Whp

eyerideakfx400

Sorry to Hi-jack but somewhat relitive.. Ive seen mixed specs on the LS3 heads as far as the advertised combustion chamber cc size goes. Ive seen 68 and ive seen 70. Has anyone else? I just got my 12629063 heads (at cost btw) and measured them with washer fluid (low surface tension) and a graduated cylinder (with the spark plug installed and got exactly 68cc's. Intake was 263cc's and exh was 85cc's. Now I just came up with this method as an experiement and wanted my own basis to go by. Im planning on milling these babys down to get as much compression as I can run with 93oct but not sure how much is too much. PTV clearance shoud'nt be an issue for me due to my smaller cam im installing 224in.581in/236exh.601 exh. Question is if my Stock LS2 heads are 65cc's (?) whats the highest compression ratio I can get away with using LS3 heads on a stock LS2 on 93oct. I'll use thinner head gaskets too I dont care about that. And any suggestions on a timing chain? Billit,single roller,double roller,adjustable,nonadjustable,prestreched,stock, .... So many choices its overwelming..... lol sorry guys. This is my first perf LS build. Im a dealer tech and I'm just used to replacing factory parts with factory parts..

Tainted

iTrader: (9)

hell fafonfoe made 475rwhp with an ls2 with stage 2 ported ls6 heads and supporting mods with a 231/236 cam in a G35.

I dont see how people here are running bigger cubes, donkey dick cams, etc. etc. and not hitting 500whp! I can find countless threads for ls2/ls3 and cam only ls3 cars putting down 500whp and ls1's to boot as well!!

I guess maybe people are just doing a generic build, or arent matching their parts correctly??


I've seen a few mill their L92 heads to .050 and get 11.4 compression (and this was with stock gm gaskets). Careful milling to much down though! Cant say for sure or not that thats correct, but I have seen it a few times now. For a timing chain I'd run a single chain aftermarket one. Katech c5R is a very good one!

1badeagle

iTrader: (9)

Idk, you Just don't see many guys making 500whp with l92/ls3 setups. It's going in a 3000 pounds third gen formula. The motor is built for a 250 hit of nitrous, but I'll only be running a 150 shot. I only have a 6 point rollbar so I'll only get to run a fast pass one time.

Imstock2

iTrader: (6)

I'm going with spinmonsters cam... driveabilty and well I bought his complete set up. He mad 474hp but I should make a little more then him with thinner head gaskets and heads milled. If I ported the exhaust side of the heads that'll help. He made this set up for his sc/meth/nitrous but I turned it into a nice n/a and nitrous. I'm about finish with my build. I do believe with heads milled,exhaust side ported, and .040 gaskets you should be very close with good driveabilty. There's video's of spin's engineering. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8IAD2DF_PM

low2001gmc

iTrader: (148)

great thread with lots of useful info and comparisons......

LS6

From the links of the buildup that Patrick G mensioned about, the head where milled I think to 0.03". but what is the compression he ended up with?

Thanks