Best heads for lt4 hotcam
#21
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Whats the cost involved in "budget" LE heads? I'm in the same situation having a stock bottom end motor that had a Hotcam put in it years ago along with the rest of the LT4 package which was all the rage back then, I'm taking my motor out to do some cleanup and trans swap, I'm going to have the intake and headers off anyway if I could stay to $1000 or less I'd like to do something for the heads but I can't get into another cam swap and the full blown LE2 or better yet aftermarket stuff??
#22
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Sure with Nitrous, but without it hes at 358, those #s can be had with stock heads & a 503 cam if tuned right, with lloyds budget heads & the cam we talked about would be in the 375 HP range, step up too the LE2 heads & cam & your over 400 HP, There is no sence in getting a good set of heads & scimping with the cam, you want to "match" the set for best overall HP/TQ. Putting on a good breathing set of heads & a small cam is like putting in a good cam with skimpy heads, your defeting the purpose.
If you are doing a cam anyway or are building a new short block, then yes, absolutely give Lloyd a call and see what he can spec out for you. Otherwise, if you have the hotcam installed and running well already, and you think you can still hit your goals with it, then why not install a good set of heads and intake. I'll take a look at the cam when it's time for a new short block.
#23
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Sure with Nitrous, but without it hes at 358, those #s can be had with stock heads & a 503 cam if tuned right, with lloyds budget heads & the cam we talked about would be in the 375 HP range, step up too the LE2 heads & cam & your over 400 HP, There is no sence in getting a good set of heads & scimping with the cam, you want to "match" the set for best overall HP/TQ. Putting on a good breathing set of heads & a small cam is like putting in a good cam with skimpy heads, your defeting the purpose.
#24
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If you are wanting to do a smaller cam that passes emission and makes good USABLE power then you will want the CC503, Crane227, GM 846... The HOTCAM was all the rage years ago... companies have designed far better cams. Definitely get something that will work within the best areas of the heads you choose. LE1 heads are more than enough for a HOTCAM.
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The hotcam was already in there and since we thought keeping it would still hit my goals, we saved some money and effort and left it alone when we did the heads and intake. I think cam-only numbers exceeding 350+ with any cam is the exception rather than the rule, especially running through a bigger converter, cats and 12-bolt, and I highly doubt that 503 runs anywhere as smooth as the hotcam on the street. I bet most people wouldn't be any the wiser if I told them I was still running the stock cam.
If you are doing a cam anyway or are building a new short block, then yes, absolutely give Lloyd a call and see what he can spec out for you. Otherwise, if you have the hotcam installed and running well already, and you think you can still hit your goals with it, then why not install a good set of heads and intake. I'll take a look at the cam when it's time for a new short block.
If you are doing a cam anyway or are building a new short block, then yes, absolutely give Lloyd a call and see what he can spec out for you. Otherwise, if you have the hotcam installed and running well already, and you think you can still hit your goals with it, then why not install a good set of heads and intake. I'll take a look at the cam when it's time for a new short block.
#26
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I understand some of what your saying, but from what i'm reading, you only gained 8 rwhp from the head/intake swap, sence you said with just the cam-only exceeded 350+ rwhp, if thats all i'll get from a head/intake swap, thats not too good is it?? According to Lloyd himself, the hot-cam will not make the #s of the 503, LLoyd had a cam spec'd out that was worth 10 & 10 over the 503 & was very streetable, this was with STOCK heads, his budget heads are worth 30 rwhp, the 503 is by far not a radical cam, especially on a 112, its very streetable, & not that noticable behind an M6. Theres nothing wrong with exceeding ones goals, but if someone is in the market for a head/cam package, the hotcam is basically an entry level cam thats been around awhile, But it is still a tad small for even a stock head, so why would you invest in a good set of heads & not put in a decent cam, but i see what your saying when you were exsperimenting, but i'll bet if you install a GOOD cam with those LE2 heads, the #s will sore.
Otherwise, I completely agree with you. The hotcam went in over 8 years ago. If I was doing a cam today, would I chose the hotcam, probably not as I agree, Lloyd can come with up some specs that will be just as driveable as the hotcam but put up much better numbers. And I agree, I left some good numbers on the table and it was hard to turn down, but I chose to leave the hotcam and so far, no regrets.
The only reason I posted in this thread was because the original question was what is a good head for the hotcam so I thought I would post my results. This thread has now become what is the best head/cam package, so I will gracefully back out.
Will these hotcam discussions ever end...
#27
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The Hotcam is good for what it is, and just may not suit everybody's goals. I think way too many people get caught up in the 'gotta have a custom cam/cam of the day to get the most power', which is true a majority of the time, but some of those same people won't get their junk running right in the first place. A well running Hotcam/head car will surprise a lot of you and for someone looking for a cam easy on parts and completely emmission friendly with any test in any state, it is hard to beat.
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No offense thats slow for what you have done.... with bolt ons 357 and lt4 im putting 341 @ wheels in 12's not bragging....i just wanted to say what ive done which isnt to far off from you....its the luck of the draw ..all motors are differnt from factory i personally test 3 brand new lt1 my friends bought all autos same tires and mods and all 3 put differnt times at the track if your all about at the track...me im a street racer.....i didnt notice if you car was a4 m6 if its a4 STALL bigger gears long tubes no cats possible porting the heads around 1000 bucks it pays off...... GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR CAR BRO
#30
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Yea I agree my car is slow! I was thinking it would run a little faster too but people have said my times are normal for my altitude 6500 da that day.
No offense thats slow for what you have done.... with bolt ons 357 and lt4 im putting 341 @ wheels in 12's not bragging....i just wanted to say what ive done which isnt to far off from you....its the luck of the draw ..all motors are differnt from factory i personally test 3 brand new lt1 my friends bought all autos same tires and mods and all 3 put differnt times at the track if your all about at the track...me im a street racer.....i didnt notice if you car was a4 m6 if its a4 STALL bigger gears long tubes no cats possible porting the heads around 1000 bucks it pays off...... GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR CAR BRO
#31
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that is not bad with DA like that....my buddy brought his car to colorado when he moved there and when he brought it to the mile high track it ran 13.3s and he said people flocked to him saying how awesome his car is and all that time he was saying it only ran 13s but in houston the car runs 11.8......
#33
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The Hotcam is good for what it is, and just may not suit everybody's goals. I think way too many people get caught up in the 'gotta have a custom cam/cam of the day to get the most power', which is true a majority of the time, but some of those same people won't get their junk running right in the first place. A well running Hotcam/head car will surprise a lot of you and for someone looking for a cam easy on parts and completely emmission friendly with any test in any state, it is hard to beat.
Don't know what it put down when I sold it in 2000, but it ran 12.4@111. Passed emissions and ran great. Surprised a lot of people back then.
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The Hotcam is good for what it is, and just may not suit everybody's goals. I think way too many people get caught up in the 'gotta have a custom cam/cam of the day to get the most power', which is true a majority of the time, but some of those same people won't get their junk running right in the first place. A well running Hotcam/head car will surprise a lot of you and for someone looking for a cam easy on parts and completely emmission friendly with any test in any state, it is hard to beat.
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Rob and Kevin, What were your altitudes with those times? I think there something wrong with my car to be only running 14.0? Maybe its the 145,000 miles on it? or tune? Something has got to be up with it? I just got a cable the other day so I can scan the car for codes now. Im gonna do that and see if anything is wrong sensor wise. My Buddy has a bolt on ls1 car running 13.80 @ 102 mph I would think I should be able to beat him with my mods
#36
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The Hotcam is good for what it is, and just may not suit everybody's goals. I think way too many people get caught up in the 'gotta have a custom cam/cam of the day to get the most power', which is true a majority of the time, but some of those same people won't get their junk running right in the first place. A well running Hotcam/head car will surprise a lot of you and for someone looking for a cam easy on parts and completely emmission friendly with any test in any state, it is hard to beat.
#37
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Rob and Kevin, What were your altitudes with those times? I think there something wrong with my car to be only running 14.0? Maybe its the 145,000 miles on it? or tune? Something has got to be up with it? I just got a cable the other day so I can scan the car for codes now. Im gonna do that and see if anything is wrong sensor wise. My Buddy has a bolt on ls1 car running 13.80 @ 102 mph I would think I should be able to beat him with my mods
I run at E-town which is about 60ft above sea level. I never calculated the DA for the runs in my sig but I can tell you the weather conditions.
58 degrees, 68% humidity, Baro 30.27.
You said the DA was 6500, do you mean your static altitude is 6500ft?
#38
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Rob and Kevin, What were your altitudes with those times? I think there something wrong with my car to be only running 14.0? Maybe its the 145,000 miles on it? or tune? Something has got to be up with it? I just got a cable the other day so I can scan the car for codes now. Im gonna do that and see if anything is wrong sensor wise. My Buddy has a bolt on ls1 car running 13.80 @ 102 mph I would think I should be able to beat him with my mods
Could be tune. Could be its too tired with all those miles. Could be altitude and temp. Scan the car and see what's up. I used to tune with LT1 Edit. Don't know what is out there now though.
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Ok, so its still a long ways up.
Could be a combination of poor ring seal and knock retard. Poor ring seal will bleed off cylinder pressure and allow some oil into the chamber which pre-ignites.
Could be production variance in the heads/intake, or cam timing.
Really it could be alot of things combined or a few larger issues or simple as the weather on that particular day. DA can't account for every aspect of weather that day and the calculation to sea level is only close.
Could be a combination of poor ring seal and knock retard. Poor ring seal will bleed off cylinder pressure and allow some oil into the chamber which pre-ignites.
Could be production variance in the heads/intake, or cam timing.
Really it could be alot of things combined or a few larger issues or simple as the weather on that particular day. DA can't account for every aspect of weather that day and the calculation to sea level is only close.