jaywalkersw

Thanks to everyone for the input. The reason I am looking at doing the cam now is because I already have crane gold rr on the car. I was under the impression it was 100% stock except for the cat back when I bought the car about 6 months ago. I had a tick coming from my #1 cylinder and (with some help) pulled the valve cover off to adjust the rocker arms (which fixed the problem) and was surprised to find a shiny set of crane gold 1.6 on the car. I am unsure as to whether or not they are still the stock springs (I hope not), but potentially the only thing I would need to replace would be the actual cam (although even if I do find out they are after market springs I will probably replace them while Im in their for peace of mind).

I also want to remain emissions legal as well (hence the no longtubes...maybe shorties at some point but can't be moving the cats all over the place...dont want to fail the visual).

So right now I am looking at around $300 for a cam ~$160 for springs (maybe?), whereas the TC I would like to get (possibly but not for certain if I will) runs around $500. So to go either route it will cost around the same amount, unless I don't do springs.

So I have two more questions:

1) Why would a higher lift short duration cam be better than a longer duration shorter lift? (as far as moving powerband vs increased tq/hp ...remember I want to keep the powerband near the stock cam level...dont want to spin the motor to the moon to get usuable power).

2) Is their a reliable way to tell if you are running stock springs by just looking at them while they are installed? (I am hoping the previous owner switched out the stockers for ones that support a higher lift when he went from the stock 1.5 rr to the 1.6rr)

petechapter50

iTrader: (1)

as you add duration the power moves to the higher end and makes your idle more lumpy witch would hurt you on your stock converter. adding more lift doesent change things as much it just allows more air/fuel in. also remeber that most cam numbers are under stock rockers so your 1.6's will add some lift and duration to your combo.

SS RRR

iTrader: (2)

To simply state, a high lift/low duration cam fills the cylinders with an air/fuel charge more effectively at low RPM, thus creating more torque at that low RPM whereas more duration tends to fill a cylinder more effectively at a higher RPM. It's all about volumetric efficiency.
You can buy a valve seat pressure tester from summit to see what seat pressures you have. If you're going to do a cam I'd replace the springs which match the cam via manufacturer's suggestion.

jaywalkersw

Ok so,
More lift equals lower end power...sacrificing some on the top.
More duration equals more top end...sacrificing down low.

So how exactly does LSA factor into this as far as manners / performance (should I be looking for a smaller LSA or larger based on my above stated purpose)?

SS RRR

iTrader: (2)

There are all kinds of articles you can find on the net like this one:

http://www.chevyhiperformance.com/te...ics/index.html

Usually an emissions legal cam retains a lsa of 112 to 114 on a ltx application.