torchred96

While I am waiting to fix the front of my car, I have the radiator support etc and hood out of the way.

I would like to do a cam change while I have everything apart as it will be easier now than at any time in the future.

So here is the question. If I install the Gm Lt4 Hot Cam that many folks here talk about, would I ABSOLUTELY have to do other Mods to the engine to get it to RUN Correctly and as reliable as a daily driver? That is, could I just put the cam in (and new t chain of course) and put the rockers springs etc in later as cash becomes available? Since the cam is < 200 dollars it makes sense to do that while the car is apart IF and ONLY IF it will run right.....without extra programming, fpr etc(although I might do the fpr since I will have it apart). What about other cams (daily driver though, nothing too radical) if not the hot cam?

I know I am expecting a lot for the car to run right, but what is your experience???

There are no mods to my lt1 presently and it currently has 63k miles. Remember in your answer that this is an obd-ii car and that is my main reason for asking. Also, I am less concerned about tire smoking (since it is costly....I know, I have a l98 iroc that eats rear tires) but rather mid to top end performance. Also stock 3.07 gears in the car now which I don't want to change either.

thanks for your wisdom in advance. This is an awesome forum!

Sam

Nathan Plemons

You'll probably have to do the springs now. I'm not sure without 1.6 RR's but they would be close to coil bind and are probably getting weak anyway. Other than that it should run.

torchred96

Thanks Nathan.


I guess that my real concern is losing the riliability of the car.

So could I assume that by doing the install of the hot cam only...without the 1.6 rockers (assuming that the coils don't bind) that the car will get me to work and back until I get the rest of the stuff done?

Thanks again
sam

Tads-LT4

You will probably want to get the hypertech so that you can adjust idle speed. With the idle set to low you will get a missfire code. I have heard about other programming ideas but never looked into them.

Mike92

The stock springs suck, they are made for mileage therefore less friction meaning less spring pressure. Oh and three words of advice DYNO TUNED CHIP!!!! get one

silver & red CE

You have to do the springs, they will bind even with the stock LT1 rockers
but the good news is you can use the LT4 springs with you stock LT1
retainers and cups. I've heard the springs run ~$35 so it's not a lot of money.

Eric

torchred96

Man, remember the days of asking the guy behind the counter what combination works and hoping he has every bit of experience for every mod possible? Being able to tap the experience of hundreds of forum members is indispensible!

Ok, nuff sucking up. So far, I understand it will be necessary to change my stock lt1 springs to at least the stock lt4 springs for little cost.

I will also need a hypertech programmer to raise the idle and avoid setting off a missfire code.

And, and I am not sure if this applies.....help me out.. I have to get a chip??? I thought that the 96 doesn't have one.....obd 2 help!

I don't need to get the 1.6's yet as it will run.

Does anyone have any predictions on HOW it will run? I mean, will it be sputtering and running awlfully rich or hot or anything bad like that? Not real concerned with OPTIMUM power right now....just running reliably. I can deal with the low idle adjustment. Oh, but why can't you just raise the idle by turning the screw on the throttle lever stop body or doesn't it have one?>

VMAX451

Can't do it. The idle is computer controlled through the idle air controller (IAC). If you change the throttle stop to alter the idle speed the computer will try to undo it via the IAC, and if it can't get it back to the programmed idle speed, it will complain and set a code and all sort of bad things will happen :) .

BrianCunningham

The cam and the stock torque converter won't get along to well.

Most HotCam owners have a 6sp

lcvette

torchred96,
where yoiu are at right now is trivial in respect to the cam change, it is much more involved then you think right now. the starter, dust shield, oil pan must all be dropped i think maybe even the exhaust sytem if its in the way of these, can't remember on a stock set up im used to aftermarket system on the car with smaller or no cats. the balancer the hub the timing chain cover, the intake manifold all the wiring harnes and fuel injection system, the motor mount bolts must be removed and the engine lifted 1-1.5" for the cam to clear the front cross member. not to mention changing the springs with the heads still on the car is a treat in itself, with the auto your car is not gonna like the swap without reprogramming, but, as for reprogramming, if you contact speed demon they might be able to swap you to an OBD1 computer programmed for ~400, hard to beat! but verify with them, my pricing may be off. don't get discouraged, its a super modification but to do it right i recommend doing it all together. and i don't know what else is done on your car currently but i recommend having other needed mods to compliment the system. ie.. exhaust, high flow intake, gears if your serious, althought its streetable with stock gears, the setup cozies up to the high ratio ring and pinion nicely.also i recomend going with a meziere electric waterpump during the swap so you can upgrade to a cloyes dual roller timing chain setup without interference problems, this is only about 40-50 dollars more then upgrading to the LT4 extreme duty roller timing setup and your getting the electric water pump to boot. if you haver any other questions please feel free to email me! also the cam without headwork is not nearly as effective at making power. however, if you were installing all the correct springs shims, locks retainers and suchj the heads could be done at a latyer date. but the stock programming is not going to get along with that cam very well and you will find yourself a very unsatidfied vette owner like this, much more then if you saved and waited to do the job all in one. if you'd like i can send you a list of everyhting needed to complete the task correctly. but i stropngly urge you to save and order part by part until you have everything! will save you a wealth of aggrevation!

chris :smash:

Nathan Plemons

You won't loose any reliability whatsoever. Since I've done my cam I have had 2 problems with the car. One was a dead battery, not exactly caused by the cam. The other was a small problem with my electric water pump relay, also not caused by the cam.

Any cam shouldn't really remove your reliability, just your streetability. I love the hot cam because it is plenty mild for the street, but it gives a serious kick in the pants over stock.

silver & red CE

I wan't aware a hypertech would let you increase the idle speed. You can also ship your PCM to a programmer and have it reprogrammed.

Eric

Tads-LT4

I have the LT4 hot cam in my LT4. I do have the manual trans so I can't say much about the auto. I have the hypertech along with a cartridge for my other mods. I can adjust the idle speed, gear ratio etc. I leave cam progammed as a stock cam and seem to run fine. My best 1/4 was 12.82. Special tires really helped here. I was getting misfire codes all the time until I bumped the idle up to 900 rpms. Sense then I got a misfire once during staging when I was backed out twice do to the idiot next to me. Another valuable option with the hypertech is the scan cartridge. This allows you to read codes, clear codes, and look at real time data.

torchred96

Thanks Chris and All who have replied to my post. I enjoy reading you comments and have learned a great deal.

Well my question was really in regard to the Hot cam because that's what I have heard about. But reading these and other posts, it seems no one is running an auto trans with this cam. Please advise of a cam that is more suited to the auto transmission. Any ideas? Now I am getting squeamish.

:confused: again, thanks for you invaluable experience and opinions.

AquaMetallic94LT1

Crane makes a cam that I used in my 383 initially. Its Power Max 2033. 210/224 duration @ .050 and .479, .518 lift. Be sure to use the springs recommended by Crane.

This will get you to the 1st page:
http://www.cranecams.com/master/apps/chevy40.htm

BlueShark29

I was reading all the comments on this post, and thought that I would put in my .02, since I am running a 383 with a 700R4 in my '81 Vette (Check out my homepage on my sig). I use this car as a daily driver (actually all of them are, depending on my mood). When I built this setup I was trying for a little modern technology, thus the Edelbrock Fuel Injection (this being the old style 350 block, pre '86). I wanted the performance of the Hot LT4 cam, and found an off the shelf Lunati hydraulic roller cam for computer controlled vehicles with specs close to the Hot LT4 cam (219/227 @ .050, .502/.544 lift w/ 1.6 roller rockers). I also changed the original 350 Turbo for a 700R4, and used a stock Chevy torque converter for a 4.3 V6 S-10 (higher stall, around 2600 or 2800). This setup works quite well in town and especially on the highway. With my 3.08 rear gears I am running 85 mph (in overdrive) before I am on the cam (2000 rpm).
Although most of the people use the Hot LT4 cam with a standard transmission, it is possible for that type cam to be used in an automatic. I hope this helps.