LT1-LT4 Modifications 1993-97 Gen II Small Block V8

Camshaft options

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Old 09-06-2015, 01:56 AM
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Default Camshaft options

Does anyone know few Camshafts that are better than hot cam ?

I mean for power gains and better drivability.

My car has hot cam package in it. 335rwhp/335tq. But I wish it has smoother idle, I'm not sure if its cam specs or tune related.


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Old 09-06-2015, 02:33 AM
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I think your best bet would be a custom grind cam. Im not sure if advanced induction or lloyd elliot still make custom cams for LT1s, but you can talk to them and they would be able to set you up. I remember the cc503 being a pretty good cam for stock heads too.

However, chances are the idle is tune related. The hot cam should have a really smooth idle.
Old 09-06-2015, 09:12 AM
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Generally speaking, your idle will be worse with a cam that is going to make more power when naturally aspirated.
Old 09-06-2015, 10:31 AM
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Originally Posted by Zlow28
The hot cam should have a really smooth idle.
Have you been in a car with a hotcam? 'Cause they don't have a 'really smooth' idle.
Old 09-06-2015, 10:41 AM
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Hotcam has a choppy idle. Definitely not smooth. Lloyd still can do custom cams. Mine came from lunati when I ordered from him.
Old 09-06-2015, 01:17 PM
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If you want a cam with similar power to a hotcam but smoother idle then you will want less duration, more aggressive lobes, and a wider LSA. Think XFI 466.
Old 09-06-2015, 02:09 PM
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Originally Posted by guppymech
Have you been in a car with a hotcam? 'Cause they don't have a 'really smooth' idle.
I might be confusing it with a different cam then. Its been a while since ive had a lt1.
Old 09-06-2015, 02:35 PM
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Originally Posted by Mohammed
Does anyone know few Camshafts that are better than hot cam ?

I mean for power gains and better drivability.

My car has hot cam package in it. 335rwhp/335tq. But I wish it has smoother idle, I'm not sure if its cam specs or tune related.


1994 corvette.
Lloyd Elliott Portworks is who you should talk to for a custom cam.
Old 09-06-2015, 06:08 PM
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Originally Posted by shbox
Generally speaking, your idle will be worse with a cam that is going to make more power when naturally aspirated.
Agreed.

I think there is a version of the CC503 that is 114. Seems like I remember Shbox having that version of the CC503. That might give a little smoother idle.

Are you looking to quiet the car down?

A cam change is a big effort just to smooth out the idle a little bit.

I have the CC503 with an LSA of 112(just like the hotcam) and I don't consider the idle to be all that rough. Got a hint of lope to make some one raise an eyebrow and know the car is not stock.

Here is a compare of my '96 stock and with the CC503. It's not a heck of a big difference. The pro mag rockers clicking seem to be the biggest change in the engine bay.

Stock:

CC503:

Last edited by ACE1252; 09-06-2015 at 06:19 PM.
Old 09-07-2015, 01:42 PM
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Originally Posted by shbox
Generally speaking, your idle will be worse with a cam that is going to make more power when naturally aspirated.
Never thought of that.


Originally Posted by BOLO
Lloyd Elliott Portworks is who you should talk to for a custom cam.
Originally Posted by Badazz 97 TA
Hotcam has a choppy idle. Definitely not smooth. Lloyd still can do custom cams. Mine came from lunati when I ordered from him.
Will try to contact them ,thanks!


Originally Posted by Catmaigne
If you want a cam with similar power to a hotcam but smoother idle then you will want less duration, more aggressive lobes, and a wider LSA. Think XFI 466.
Thanks for the advice
Old 09-07-2015, 01:49 PM
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Originally Posted by ACE1252
Are you looking to quiet the car down?

A cam change is a big effort just to smooth out the idle a little bit.

I have the CC503 with an LSA of 112(just like the hotcam) and I don't consider the idle to be all that rough. Got a hint of lope to make some one raise an eyebrow and know the car is not stock.

Here is a compare of my '96 stock and with the CC503. It's not a heck of a big difference. The pro mag rockers clicking seem to be the biggest change in the engine bay.

Yes, more quiet is what I wanted.

Considering the cam swap effort,time and tuning. I'm mostly will change my mind on this.

Maybe I should have not driven a stock C4 and compare it to mine !! It was quiet and very friendly for DD. lol
Old 09-07-2015, 02:34 PM
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Originally Posted by ACE1252
Agreed.

I think there is a version of the CC503 that is 114. Seems like I remember Shbox having that version of the CC503. That might give a little smoother idle.

Spreading the LSA compromises torque, better to just stay smaller. 112lsa is already pretty wide, yes it is typical of catalog cams but it is wide when you consider the majority of quick NA cars are more like 108-109. Yes this lopes more. Point being 112 is already spread wide.

Friend had the 503 on 114lsa and it didn't work worth a damn.
Old 09-07-2015, 04:27 PM
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Originally Posted by 96capricemgr
...

Friend had the 503 on 114lsa and it didn't work worth a damn.
I have no complaints with it for my daily driver. Been in there for 10+ years. I don't race my car.
Old 09-07-2015, 05:39 PM
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The car drove fine, just would have performed better with a smaller cam on appropriate LSA. He had heads and cam and struggled to run what the next guy did with a custom 218/228 cam only on tighter LSA. The car with the extra wide 503 was owned by an engineer and had a lot more cash and effort thrown at it.
Old 09-07-2015, 05:57 PM
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Originally Posted by 96capricemgr
Spreading the LSA compromises PEAK torque,
Yes, a tighter LSA will mean more peak torque, but it also narrows the powerband and increases overlap. If the Hotcam is too choppy for OP then he needs less overlap which can be achieved by doing what I already stated above.

Overlap = ((.050 duration intake + .050 duration exhaust)/2) - (LSA*2)
Old 09-07-2015, 06:18 PM
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Yeah I get that but what I was trying to say is 112 is already pretty damned wide, you can't just keep widening it. The setups with 108-110LSA are not a narrow torque spike, they make nice average power. If the car is NA and the cam already 112LSA and the manners not acceptable then it is tuning/setup or the owner just needs less duration.
Old 09-07-2015, 07:35 PM
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Originally Posted by ACE1252
Agreed.

I think there is a version of the CC503 that is 114. Seems like I remember Shbox having that version of the CC503. That might give a little smoother idle.

Are you looking to quiet the car down?

A cam change is a big effort just to smooth out the idle a little bit.

I have the CC503 with an LSA of 112(just like the hotcam) and I don't consider the idle to be all that rough. Got a hint of lope to make some one raise an eyebrow and know the car is not stock.

Here is a compare of my '96 stock and with the CC503. It's not a heck of a big difference. The pro mag rockers clicking seem to be the biggest change in the engine bay.

Stock:
1996 Camaro Z28 walkaround testing Nikon camera.... - YouTube

CC503:
HD Video 1996 Camaro Z28 - Kooks Long Tube Headers - YouTube
I notice you have NC plates? and you must have cats on your exhaust system. I have 11:7:1 SCR, 503 with 1.6 rollers as well with magnaflow exhaust (more quite than flowmater) and mine sounds way more Lopey and loud than yours. Kinda like it though, sleeper style
Old 09-07-2015, 11:50 PM
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Originally Posted by Mohammed
Yes, more quiet is what I wanted.
Does the car still have it's cats/mufflers? Adding them back or changing the brand of muffler could make a big difference in the sound department. You would just need to make sure what you get will quiet it down.

Now, if you are having driveability issues, that is another issue altogether. We would need to see a full list of mods the car has to better understand what might be wrong with it.

Originally Posted by VoyagerCamaro
I notice you have NC plates? and you must have cats on your exhaust system. I have 11:7:1 SCR, 503 with 1.6 rollers as well with magnaflow exhaust (more quite than flowmater) and mine sounds way more Lopey and loud than yours. Kinda like it though, sleeper style
It does have the cat'd y pipe from Kooks. The driver's side is not working anymore as the rear O2 input is following the front O2 input. It's keeping the PCM from going complete on the OBD diagnostics, but so far has still passed NC inspections(no codes). I do have decked heads(around 0.005"), but I doubt my SCR is as high as yours. The car runs good. I think I've got around 400 at the crank. I need to dyno it.

Originally Posted by 96capricemgr
Yeah I get that but what I was trying to say is 112 is already pretty damned wide, you can't just keep widening it. The setups with 108-110LSA are not a narrow torque spike, they make nice average power. If the car is NA and the cam already 112LSA and the manners not acceptable then it is tuning/setup or the owner just needs less duration.
I assumed that increasing the LSA would generally give less duration, but that may not always be the case.

I don't have the cam experience of many here but if the OP is having issues, it's got to be the car setup/tune. No way the LT4 hotcam should have any major driveability issues. I might expect it to have a problem on tip in at low speeds in a parking lot when letting it chug along with the IAC controlling thing(like my CC503). Other than that, it should idle close to stock and have much more power with all the supporting intake, exhaust, and rocker mods.

In any event, I don't thing the OP needs to change the cam. Adjust the setup? Most likely, but I don't think he needs to go crazy with a cam change if he is happy with the power. His tune might need some work depending on who done it.

Now, one thing he might be feeling is the loss of low end torque compared to a stock C4. I felt the same thing when I went to the CC503 from stock. I think my tune is playing into that some(it still needs work). However, the power from 3500 on up more than makes up for what little I lost on the bottom end of the rev range. Thing pulls LS like all the way to 6300.

Last edited by ACE1252; 09-08-2015 at 12:16 AM.
Old 09-08-2015, 03:07 AM
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Originally Posted by ACE1252
Does the car still have it's cats/mufflers? Adding them back or changing the brand of muffler could make a big difference in the sound department. You would just need to make sure what you get will quiet it down.

Now, if you are having driveability issues, that is another issue altogether. We would need to see a full list of mods the car has to better understand what might be wrong with it.

In any event, I don't thing the OP needs to change the cam. Adjust the setup? Most likely, but I don't think he needs to go crazy with a cam change if he is happy with the power. His tune might need some work depending on who done it.
No cats , flowmaster exhaust. It sucks !! i dont like it. on my next list. But i have some priorities.

I've changed my mind on this. I will not bother changing the cam, i will be paying for new cam , labor work and tune. Tune is hard to find here for LT cars. and will lose power !!
Old 09-08-2015, 03:09 AM
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I can imagine the results after swap to stock or another cam !!!


vs c5z06 , unknown mods. He went ahead at the end,.





vs cammed ws6.




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