Tuck Capo

I can't seem to get an answer from any of the vendors to my question. Vehicle is a 5000lb fat *** getting a stock rebuilt bottom end gen 3 6.0 lq4 with pocket ported 243 heads, small stall, 342 gears, stock truck intake and manifolds with no cats & duals, and cai. Looking for torque under the curve for street/strip use and towing a 3-4k lb boat in the summer. TSP recommended a 212/218 .550 on a 110+3(I want it to sound good), while comp recommended an LSL lobe 215/223 .604 .610 112+5. The Comp cam setup would cost triple what the tsp setup costs with all of the recommended supporting valve train parts. My question is would it be worth it to spend $1200 on the comp setup or would the $400 tsp setup be good enough. I don't want to spend an extra $800 if I'm only going to see 5 extra hp/tq numbers. I can't seem to find any real #s to go off of. Any advice would be greatly appreciated...even if it's a different cam lol. Thanks

G Atsma

TSP is VERY reputable. If they recommend a package for you that would do what you want, AND save $800 in the process, it is totally a no-brainer to me. TSP has a far better rep on customer service, plus they grind their own cams now, and are doing it very well. Comp used to grind TSP's cams, but after a little episode of bad metallurgy they started doing their own.
That TSP cam will do a great job! 212/218 is a VERY popular grind, because it flat WORKS!
TSP's quality is among the best.

A.R. Shale Targa

iTrader: (2)

Well headers would be the single biggest improvement to this whole combination for sure.
The Comp cam has a few extra degrees of exhaust duration to help the cast iron manifolds; however the added lift IMO goes wasted since your heads most likely don't flow any more air @ .600" than they do @ .550".....
IIWY I'd go TSP and be happy. They're great people and would definitely get you the right parts for your application

G Atsma

Keep in mind he does have 243 heads that have been pocket ported, and might handle the higher lift. That being said, the 212/218 split would still be best for him (the split on the Comp cam sounds more like an LS3 spec) And if he wants more lift for whatever reason, TSP has that option (.600") if desired, on the same cam.

JakeFusion

iTrader: (7)

Cam Motion has truck cams as does Brian Tooley which don't require any sort of exotic valvetrain parts. Sounds like TSP has a similar lineup.

All of them are in that sub 224 duration range as well.

Somebody on here posted a Cam Motion truck cam added 41rwhp to their truck. That's a pretty good gain for a small, inexpensive mod.

G Atsma

Even a stock LS2/early LS6 cam (204/211, .525/.525, 116*) adds a bunch of power as the stock truck cam (190/191, .466/.457, 114*) is a real choker. A nice mild cam as above will really liven it up.

Pulse Red

There is a poster on the Aussie LS1 forums who has an LS1 with a Comp 215/223 .601/.609 111+3 with ETP heads that makes really good power. He was very happy with this cam I believe. I would have thought it would be nice using LSL lobes with a strong idle.

Tuck Capo

Thank you guys. Good advice here. I'm going to go with the 212/218. I see cam motion and BTR mentioned. Ive looked at both but they seem to be very similar. Would a btr 212/218 be the same if the specs are the same? I see that tsp says their loses are proprietary. The saw that the cam motion cams are around 116 lsa. From my understand this would have a more smooth idle then say a 110 lsa, but move the powerband up in the rpm range. Correct?

G Atsma

You'll like the 212/218. If you go TSP, you can choose between 3 or 4 LSA's and your choice of .550 or .600 lift.

A.R. Shale Targa

iTrader: (2)

Smaller/lower LSA tends to hit harder(at the stall point) and make more mid-range torque whereas in general the larger/higher LSA brings the "book-ends" of the torque band up at the sacrifice of the peak......wider/flatter band if you will

Tuck Capo

Ok thanks Targa. That's what I was thinking. I'll go with the 212/218 .550 110+3 that tsp recommended. Thanks everybody for clearing this up. I love this forum

G Atsma

Me too! Beats being in the dark looking for good advice on parts combos and/or techniques. A good place to learn!

G Atsma

That is something I never realized about higher LSA's. Good to know
for a street engine where a flatter torque curve is VERY nice to have!

JakeFusion

iTrader: (7)

One other thing about LSL lobes... while stable to high RPM, you have to have a lot of spring pressure and light weight valves/valvetrain for them to work at their peak.

So, for a mild cam, I would look for milder, easier to control lobes.

00pooterSS

iTrader: (40)

I'd be all over the TSP recommendation. I don't think the comp cam is worth the extra $$ and if they were the same price I would personally go with the TSP anyway. The larger cams tend to push power higher up in the RPM range.

The guy that did the truck cam that posted the 41 rwhp gain was thunderstruck507

I agree with the headers too, if you're avoiding them due to budget the speedengineering longtube stainless headers are $240

From what I gather the TSP cam will have better usable power down lower and also the comp cam having the higher split will push power out further in the rpm range which isn't really what you need for the heavy truck and towing.

Jakefusion and ARshale correct that if it is wrong.

JakeFusion

iTrader: (7)

Yeah, that's pretty accurate.

Mechanic a

I have that texas speed low lift cam in my 03 2500hd 6.0 with the ls6 blue behives slightly shaved 317's no port work, stock stall, flow tech shorties, and 4:11's and I think its a bit lacking. not saying its a bad choice, it pulls good, but I wish I went a tad bigger. it does sound nice, even with the stock exhaust and just the headers everyone looks when I drive by

CAMMOTION PERF

We do a ton a truck cams and have a complete line of truck cams on our website. For your typical truck build, we have a line of "drop-in" cams that require no other modifications. Just the $399.00 camshaft. $399 total.

Then we have our "high-lift" series for trucks. This camshaft has more lift for improved power and torque. The camshaft is $399 and the valve springs are $99. That is all you need. $498 total.

Finally, if you want a more aggressive camshaft for maximum power, you will upgrade the pushrods too. So $399 for the camshaft, $199 for our dual valve spring kit and $94 for the pushrods. $692 total.

It just depends on what you want for your build. The real balancing act in your case is making a camshaft that will increase your power as much as possible, while still maintaining the low end torque needed to tow. For this I would make you a 212/220 on 111+4. The lift will be determined by which of the above options you would like.

Another consideration is gearing and torque converter. While these items will add cost, they could significantly increase the aggressiveness of the camshaft that you could run. Going to some 4.10 grears and a Circle D torque converter could allow you to be more aggressive on the camshaft and still maintain the off idle torque for towing that you will need. Food for thought.

pantera_efi

iTrader: (1)

Hi Capo, there have been many reports of Comp Cams BAD cores, worn camshafts/soft cams. (LS-x)
I agree with the Cammotion AND their Core Quality with their 8660 or higher core choice. (+ $25.00)

I sell Crower Cams, they use Camshaftmachine cores for my work.

I would ask TSP to state their core company AND if there is a low cost core upgrade ?
I agree with all here that TSP is a top quality choice.
I would ask TSP for the Base Circle diameter, this will help with push rod length.

Lance

Dian

good thoughts. iv always been wary of aftermarket cams quality. so, how does 8660 induction hardened vs. 8620 carburized compare?