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Saw this older test on Comp's LSR series 227/243 0.613/0.623 113 LSA (PN 54-454-11). This was a magazine test on a GMPP crate LS3 that was pretty much stock valvetrain wise except for a spring upgrade.
With that being said, my (very limited) camshaft knowledge comes from watching Dick Holdener YouTube videos, reading forums, etc. I've learned, what seems to be accepted as common knowledge, that a larger cam with sizeable gains up top will always sacrifice something down low. You're just "shifting around gains on the curve."
This particular dyno chart really shocked me though. Pulling all the way down to 3,100 and no signs of the 2 curves crossing over? Seems too good to be true. What am I missing? Even charts of much milder cam grinds have begun to give up their gains down low well north of 3k rpm.
Saw this older test on Comp's LSR series 227/243 0.613/0.623 113 LSA (PN 54-454-11). This was a magazine test on a GMPP crate LS3 that was pretty much stock valvetrain wise except for a spring upgrade.
With that being said, my (very limited) camshaft knowledge comes from watching Dick Holdener YouTube videos, reading forums, etc. I've learned, what seems to be accepted as common knowledge, that a larger cam with sizeable gains up top will always sacrifice something down low. You're just "shifting around gains on the curve."
This particular dyno chart really shocked me though. Pulling all the way down to 3,100 and no signs of the 2 curves crossing over? Seems too good to be true. What am I missing? Even charts of much milder cam grinds have begun to give up their gains down low well north of 3k rpm.
If you don't mind 9*'s of overlap, it's a pretty well specced cam. Mild intake duration with 3 degrees of advance which brings the power in early. Combine that with a big exhaust event to extend the power band on the top end and you have good power bottom to top.
How often, during your morning / evening commute, does your engine RPM reach 3100 RPM?
How much are you willing to give up below, say, 2000 RPM, down there (1750 or so) where your stock converter stalls?
NONE of those videos EVER shows that part of the curve. It's too embarrassing.
Now, if your car is NOT a street driver (track ONLY), and/or you have a converter with a stall at or above 3000, or this is a LIGHT stick car (let's say, Miata) with AT LEAST 4.10 gears, then a cam like that will give you what you want. Since you don't tell us what vehicle this is in, what you're using it for, what gears you have, what converter is in it, etc., the best we can do is GUESS.
How often, during your morning / evening commute, does your engine RPM reach 3100 RPM?
How much are you willing to give up below, say, 2000 RPM, down there (1750 or so) where your stock converter stalls?
NONE of those videos EVER shows that part of the curve. It's too embarrassing.
Now, if your car is NOT a street driver (track ONLY), and/or you have a converter with a stall at or above 3000, or this is a LIGHT stick car (let's say, Miata) with AT LEAST 4.10 gears, then a cam like that will give you what you want. Since you don't tell us what vehicle this is in, what you're using it for, what gears you have, what converter is in it, etc., the best we can do is GUESS.
Appreciate the input and definitely relevant questions. I’m planning my build on a daily driven 2wd Squarebody C10. 3,500 lbs, will be going with a GM Performance LS3 (430 hp version) and the TKX manual with the 2.87:1 1st gear. 29” tall tires and 3:73 gears at the moment.
This cam research began because the out of the box “performance” 495/525hp versions of the LS3 from GM (with the LS “Hot” cam and the ASA cam) are apparently both outdated and less than ideal lobe designs. And the ASA cam having bad manners for a daily driver to boot. So I’d rather do my own cam versus paying for the “upgraded” versions that aren’t ideal.
I realize the Superflow engine dynos won’t reliably pull down into that range, which is why that part is not usually shown. However, I’ve looked at a lot of charts and this particular cam seemed to carry a lot of gains all the way down to 3,100 over stock, which is usually NOT the case. It may fall on its face and buck like crazy at low RPMs which would be a dealbreaker on a daily driven truck. That’s what I want to avoid. But the curve stood out as looking pretty damn good to me.
The ASA cam has 10 degrees of overlap, and you have indicated that you don’t think you’d like the manners. Heck, I didn’t like the manners of that cam even in my 2400# Miata.
This 227/243 cam with 9 degrees overlap won’t have significant differences in low speed behavior from the ASA cam.
Last edited by grubinski; Apr 17, 2025 at 07:23 PM.
The cam in my signature makes excellent street level power with really close to stock like manners. 500 rwhp with ported heads, intake manifold, etc. It can idle around in 6th gear all day long. Even go up mild grades at idle speeds. I know there's 10 to 20 hp available with a bigger cam. That power is only going to show up over 5500 rpm...and manners and low end power will suffer big time. The absolute worst thing (in my book anyway) you can do is over cam a street ride.
The cam in my signature makes excellent street level power with really close to stock like manners. 500 rwhp with ported heads, intake manifold, etc. It can idle around in 6th gear all day long. Even go up mild grades at idle speeds. I know there's 10 to 20 hp available with a bigger cam. That power is only going to show up over 5500 rpm...and manners and low end power will suffer big time. The absolute worst thing (in my book anyway) you can do is over cam a street ride.
Thanks for the recommendation. Is the 226/234 115+4 cam a shelf cam or something you had custom ground?
That cam is a custom one that I had Cam Motion grind for me. It's similar to a cam specced for me by Pat G. That was 16 years ago before I even knew who he was. The shop doing the work "had a guy" in Victoria, Tx that custom specced their cams. It was a 226/234 114+2 with lift just over .600". It replaced a cam that had 9* of overlap that I absolutely hated. TxSpeed's Torquer 2. Pat's cam made the same HP but was down 30 or so torques. Manners were immensely better. I was happy.
My current cam has those same specs but with a 115lsa and 4* of advance. Lift is .620 on both sides. That cam would do you a good job along with some head milling and use of a thinner head gasket. If you're putting it in an otherwise stock LS3, I'd have it ground on a 114+4. That will bring the power in a little sooner which I think is important for a street ride.
Old Motörhead, thanks for your insight and experiences with your custom camshaft that has worked (and the ones that haven’t.). Much easier to learn from others’ experiences who have been down multiple roads (and cheaper).
With that being said, I’m seeing good reviews as well of the BTR Stage 2, V2 camshaft as being “streetable.” (Highly subjective term). The dyno of that cam posted to their site does look tempting, especially seeing how low they did their pull. I guess the problem lies with the fact it’s anyone’s guess what the overlap of this particular cam would be for comparison, with their super secret exhaust duration specs 221/24X, .624/.636, 112 LSA
Old Motörhead, thanks for your insight and experiences with your custom camshaft that has worked (and the ones that haven’t.). Much easier to learn from others’ experiences who have been down multiple roads (and cheaper).
With that being said, I’m seeing good reviews as well of the BTR Stage 2, V2 camshaft as being “streetable.” (Highly subjective term). The dyno of that cam posted to their site does look tempting, especially seeing how low they did their pull. I guess the problem lies with the fact it’s anyone’s guess what the overlap of this particular cam would be for comparison, with their super secret exhaust duration specs 221/24X, .624/.636, 112 LSA
INTAKE LOBE LIFT @ TDC: 0.05018
that would be a great cam. Btr tests all of their cams on a spintron to make the cams as powerful as possible while still being easy on the valves. When float or bounce is detected, the scale back slightly. Even if that cam has 245 exhaust duration, that's only 9 degrees of overlap.
if you like more torque everywhere, tsp released new chopacabra cams today. They have one for a 6.0 and one for a 6.2. The 6.2 is spec'd for rectangle heads. 216/230, .550, .550, 108+2. Low intake duration since the intake ports are huge, and higher exhaust duration to account for their lower exhaust port flow vs intake. 108 lsa for low and mid range torque. .550 to be easy on the valvetrain.
If it’s 240, that’s 6.5 degrees overlap. 241 would be 7 OL, 243 would be 8 OL…
Personally, I’d never buy a cam from BTR because they’re playing cute with their specs like that. It’s irritating, and makes it impossible for a customer to make an informed decision. They want you to be forced to rely on their marketing buzzwords. FBTR.
If it’s 240, that’s 6.5 degrees overlap. 241 would be 7 OL, 243 would be 8 OL…
Personally, I’d never buy a cam from BTR because they’re playing cute with their specs like that. It’s irritating, and makes it impossible for a customer to make an informed decision. They want you to be forced to rely on their marketing buzzwords. FBTR.
Yeah it's ridiculous. You're willing to pay for a product that you can't even get the full specs on. Annoying for sure.
In addition to having no idea what the overlap is, you have no idea what the ground in advance is...if any. They do give you a little clue with this little blurb...,When used in higher compression and/or boosted applications, E85 fuel is recommended.
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Comp 227/243 LSR Cam 
221/24X, .624/.636, 112 LSA
