Cam and valvetrain upgrades help for a novice
#1
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As the title mentions, I'm looking for advice to upgrade the cam and valvetrain on my LS4. It will have DOD deleted, and it is paired with a manual transmission and LS6 intake. As a preface, I've only ever fixed broken stuff; but never modded motors to any extent, so this is all new to me. My priority is reliability. I don't care about scraping every last bit of power out of the motor if it compromises that. I just want to do whatever I can but keep it as close to "bulletproof" as possible. Also, the transmission has short gearing, and with being a 5-speed, it's quite easy to bounce the tach, so anything that will help protect the engine from high RPM is good too. Do I need to upgrade springs, retainers, etc? I am familiar with and am planning to upgrade the trunnions at least. Lastly, I don't have any plans to race the car. It will be a cruiser that may get floored once in awhile. Any help and advice is greatly appreciated.
#2
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Call Cam Motion for Everything.....
1stop Shop.
1stop Shop.
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G Atsma (03-15-2021), NAVYBLUE210 (03-15-2021)
#3
TECH Senior Member
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As the title mentions, I'm looking for advice to upgrade the cam and valvetrain on my LS4. It will have DOD deleted, and it is paired with a manual transmission and LS6 intake. As a preface, I've only ever fixed broken stuff; but never modded motors to any extent, so this is all new to me. My priority is reliability. I don't care about scraping every last bit of power out of the motor if it compromises that. I just want to do whatever I can but keep it as close to "bulletproof" as possible. Also, the transmission has short gearing, and with being a 5-speed, it's quite easy to bounce the tach, so anything that will help protect the engine from high RPM is good too. Do I need to upgrade springs, retainers, etc? I am familiar with and am planning to upgrade the trunnions at least. Lastly, I don't have any plans to race the car. It will be a cruiser that may get floored once in awhile. Any help and advice is greatly appreciated.
#4
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Yup, I pulled it myself out of a 2006 Impala. Being an '06, it is the earlier version with the 24x/ 1x ignition. I'm going to be running a P59 truck PCM, converted to DBC. It will be installed into '98 Monte Carlo, so the FWD aspect will be staying the same. The way I understand it, is most LS upgrades apply nearly exactly the same, hence I'm positing my inquiry into the Gen 4 forum.
#5
TECH Senior Member
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Which manual are you using? You're charting some new ground here. I actually thought you did a typo on the engine type, lol!
I'm waiting for someone to design a rear/mid engine kit car using this engine/drivetrain combo. Doubt it will happen, though....
The only differences upgrade-wise are the front accessory drive and rear bellhousing/tranny attachment, but you likely know that.
Is the oil pan separate from the transaxle, and/or an app-specific piece? And does the normal LS oil pump fit?
Other than all that, I'm just here for the pizza too..... lol
I'm waiting for someone to design a rear/mid engine kit car using this engine/drivetrain combo. Doubt it will happen, though....
The only differences upgrade-wise are the front accessory drive and rear bellhousing/tranny attachment, but you likely know that.
Is the oil pan separate from the transaxle, and/or an app-specific piece? And does the normal LS oil pump fit?
Other than all that, I'm just here for the pizza too..... lol
#6
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It's a Getrag 284 used in '91-94 Luminas and Grand Prixs with the 3.4 DOHC. I converted my '98 MC to this transmission in 2013, so it's been a complete running/ driving car since then. The "only" thing I'm changing is swapping the supercharged 3800 with the LS4. I have everything more or less solved besides the motor upgrades.
#7
TECH Senior Member
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I don't know how much torque the blown 3800 was worth, but I would bet a bit less than the LS4, which came with the L33's cam (193/193, .482/.482,114LSA).
There is room for improvement there, but I am clueless about the tranny's torque capacity, so you might need to be a bit careful with mods.
There are a number of "truck cams" that will put a bit more pep in the 5.3's step, without going too overboard.
There is room for improvement there, but I am clueless about the tranny's torque capacity, so you might need to be a bit careful with mods.
There are a number of "truck cams" that will put a bit more pep in the 5.3's step, without going too overboard.
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#8
TECH Enthusiast
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Texas Speed makes three camshaft grinds for the LS4 in their FastFWD series. Not sure what makes them front wheel drive specific but the specs closely resemble truck camshafts.
TSP FastFWD - High Lift
TSP FastFWD Low Lift
TSP FastFWD V2 - High Lift
TSP FastFWD - High Lift
TSP FastFWD Low Lift
TSP FastFWD V2 - High Lift
The following users liked this post:
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#9
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Which manual are you using? You're charting some new ground here. I actually thought you did a typo on the engine type, lol!
I'm waiting for someone to design a rear/mid engine kit car using this engine/drivetrain combo. Doubt it will happen, though....
The only differences upgrade-wise are the front accessory drive and rear bellhousing/tranny attachment, but you likely know that.
Is the oil pan separate from the transaxle, and/or an app-specific piece? And does the normal LS oil pump fit?
Other than all that, I'm just here for the pizza too..... lol
I'm waiting for someone to design a rear/mid engine kit car using this engine/drivetrain combo. Doubt it will happen, though....
The only differences upgrade-wise are the front accessory drive and rear bellhousing/tranny attachment, but you likely know that.
Is the oil pan separate from the transaxle, and/or an app-specific piece? And does the normal LS oil pump fit?
Other than all that, I'm just here for the pizza too..... lol
I don't know how much torque the blown 3800 was worth, but I would bet a bit less than the LS4, which came with the L33's cam (193/193, .482/.482,114LSA).
There is room for improvement there, but I am clueless about the tranny's torque capacity, so you might need to be a bit careful with mods.
There are a number of "truck cams" that will put a bit more pep in the 5.3's step, without going too overboard.
There is room for improvement there, but I am clueless about the tranny's torque capacity, so you might need to be a bit careful with mods.
There are a number of "truck cams" that will put a bit more pep in the 5.3's step, without going too overboard.
1) It's rare
2) Rebuild kits don't exist
3) Clutches are stupid expensive because of the dumb pull-type style
4) Limited practical applications (60* bellhousing, FWD config.)
5) Short gearing with a 3.67 FD.
But as long as they're maintained and not driven wrong, they don't have any real problems, IMO. Synchros would be the only real weak point I'm aware of, but I have 3 whole transmissions to work with for spare parts, so I have a backup of sorts.
Texas Speed makes three camshaft grinds for the LS4 in their FastFWD series. Not sure what makes them front wheel drive specific but the specs closely resemble truck camshafts.
TSP FastFWD - High Lift
TSP FastFWD Low Lift
TSP FastFWD V2 - High Lift
TSP FastFWD - High Lift
TSP FastFWD Low Lift
TSP FastFWD V2 - High Lift
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Corona (03-16-2021)
#10
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If that trans fails and u want auto, try a 4T80. Can u provide a link for that oil pan u referred to?
#11
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