Shriker

OK, first , I know cams have been extensively talked about here and I have been all over the search feature in both C4 and C5 tech and perf as well as other sites and discussed with several friends, etc.

My mods are in my sig. Basically, at ~63K miles, I am getting ready to go with a new water pump (think it is begining to leak out of weap hole) , opti spark, LT4 extreme duty timing chain, ported intake (my LT4), and a new cam along with springs, retainers, roller rockers, pushrods.

I know the GM LT4 Hot Cam is a good choice yeilding ~25-30 rwhp on most lightly modded LT4's like mine with mild lope and good streetability. I also know from Jeff Kopp that I can get the Hot Cam Kit for ~$500 or so which is very cheap. With my current mods and this kit as well as ported intake and custom tune I would expect my car to dyno around 350 rwhp.

My question(s) is , is this the best cam choice for me? I will not be doing heads at this time. So, given stock bottom end and stock LT4 heads, I want to retain decent drivability (although its NOT a daily driver so some lope is fine but want A/C,brakes, no/minimal surging etc.), have good reliability and produce excellent power everywhere. I would prefer to lose little to no low end and mid range ,though some concession here may be inevitable. I have thought about everything from the Hot Cam up through the CC 306.

I know that the trend with LS1/6's is single pattern cams, much of this is because of how good their exhaust ports are. I know LT4 heads flow very similarly to LS1 heads (though not quite as well) and wonder if a single pattern would be a better choice for me (also given my exhaust in NOT a restriction at all).

So, lets here what you guys think and show me some results so I can make a good choice!! Thanks.... :seeya

Zora

Hot Cam :smash: :yesnod:

Nathan Plemons

Well since you've already got an LT4 you don't really need the Hot Cam kit because that comes with springs and rockers, exactly what you already have. All you really need is the cam which is approx $180. There are a lot of different choices for cams but remember the Hot Cam was designed specifically with your motor in mind. It'll run great without any extra tuning.

The largest drawback to the Hot Cam seems to be that the upper limit is around 370 hp with a complete package. If that will suit you then you can't go wrong, if you want more power than you should look elsewhere. :cheers:

GS345

I just got my car back today. Added the Hot cam, TPIS LT headers, free-flo cats, wires/plugs, and t-stat. All i can say is wow, I cant beleive how good the car sounds and runs now. The hot cam is actually a little more loopy than I would have thought and love the sound of it. So my vote is for the hot cam.
:D

:cheers:
jeff

Shriker

The Hot Cam has been at the top of my list because of several things. First , its a proven item on LT4's - with my exhaust and with a ported intake along with tuning , LT4's with the Hot Cam are almost always 345-350+ rwhp. Next, they are reliable, cheap and run well in these engines. They dont seem to lose much if any low end or mid range while achieving more top end.

But.....I have not seen many other cam applications in LT4's with bolt ons. If I could , I would have liked to do heads at this time as well but the extra $$$ it would cost to have a top notch job done on my heads is just not in my budget now. I would love to see 365-375+ rwhp but dont want to sacrifice too much low end or wind up with poor idle and driveability problems like surging etc. :seeya

LT4POWR

Comp Cams EX 230/236 and a good dyno tune :yesnod:

Springer's LT4

I lost nothing down low with the hot cam in my otherwise stock LT4... drivability is fine after tuning. I do have a slight surge at the 1500-1800 rpm range, but it doesn't bother me much at all.

Thats prolly due to the fact the hot cam works so well in these motors! :)

I hope to be above 360+ rwhp with long tubes/exhaust.

Shriker

Was hoping to hear from you on this one , Springer....your info has been very helpful with back to back dyno testing of the Hot Cam on an otherwise stock LT4. Your stock numbers were pretty strong as well.

I never dynoed my car stock but am guessing it would have dynoed in the 295 rwhp range. I have an open lid/K&N, long tubes, high flow cats and B&B catback with Xpipe. This combo dynoed 317 at MTI on a pretty nice day (had an exhaust leak , slight ticking , otherwise car ran well). I am guessing a ported intake and adding the Hot Cam and a good tune should get me 30-35 rwhp on my car . This should add up to around 350+ rwhp , which is just about how these cars consistently do with that cam and long tubes.

I am just thinking that I may be able to go a bit bigger with the cam like say a CC305 or something and get maybe ~10+ rhwp more with no ill effects or losses anywhere. :seeya

lead_foot

Anyone use the Speed Demon custom grind "SD-X2191"? http://www.speeddemonmotorsports.com/ Sounds like a hot cam with a little more lift. Obviously more expensive. But I like the added lift. :)

I realize that this cam will not work with the LT4 springs because of lift. But if you were doing heads at the same time and you could change springs to handle the lift would this be a good choice, ignoring the $ difference? :)


[Modified by lead_foot, 11:56 AM 1/29/2003]

J Z06

Hot Cam. RichS has one in his quick GS. 118+mph in the 1/4 with an 11 sec time backing it. That's flyin'!! :cheers:

MSR

m, the advantage of running all stock valvetrain is considerable. if i were you, i wouldn't consider anything but a HOT cam. (definitely check pushrod length, it doesn't always work with stock pushrods, apparently.)

btw, leo (i dunno if you ever met him, i've known him since the MTI days) made 399rw with a HOT cam, and ported LT1 heads. a little over 11:1 compression, though, and although i wasn't there for the pulls, my guess is that they were flirting with detonation. (more than flirting, probably...)

also, i do think that even the HOT cam needs better springs in order to pull those better numbers. with stock LT4 springs the power usually sags up top. but, it still works, and with unported heads you won't be revving so high anyhow, right? (one more reason to be sure of pushrod length, so you don't hold the valves way open from lifter pump-up if some float occurs.)

i've considered the possibility of using a HOT cam for more radical combinations, using 1.7 rockers. with good springs and the extra lift and area under the duration curve, it could be a great compromise of power and driveability. CC makes "hi-tech" stainless 1.7 rockers for SBCs.

on the other hand, if you're getting all new valvetrain, why not just go custom, right?

317rw with the longtubes? that's good. could you feel the difference?

Gonzo

I to am looking at having this done. when you mention tuning are most people talking about sending the pcm out to Ed Wright, using Hypertech (Icurrently have hypertech to adjust for my 4.11 rear and 335 tires), or getting it tuned on site.
I am not aware of anyone locally in the Atlanta area that can tune an LT4 so that means send it to ED or HYpertech or stock. Will the hot cam NOT RUN WELL without some tuning?

Also what else should I replace with the HOT cam. I am not doing the work myself so Iplan on getting the most for my money, I dont want to go back and have to have someything else replaced latter. For example I am upgrading the radiator because there is ne extra labor charge when I do the hot cam, it has to come out and go back in anyway.

I am considering optispark, water pump (would like mez but not with my camber brace, Stewart is working on one for the LT4), Etreme duty chain, springs, lifters, and valve seals? Anything else??????

Thanks Gonzo :chevy

STL94LT1

Gonzo,

Dave at "R-D Racing" can now modify your camber-brace to work with the Meziere electric water pump.

FELNGR8

As an indicator of this popularity, I talked to my engine builder today. They could not get the Hot Cam Kit, even from Crane and they are a Crane dealer. They finally got the parts in the kit for me by buying the individual pieces from Jeff Kopp.

Steve promises that by the end of next week they should have my engine back together. I can't wait to drive it.

If you want the Hot cam put in your order, but be prepared to wait.

Shriker

Michael, good to hear from you......hope all is well......

If I go with the Hot Cam, and that is where I really am leaning, I will go with the entire Kit, with the new springs, retainers, and roller rockers etc as well as new pushrods. This is cost effective and proven to function reliably from what I have been able to gather. Although , better springs definitely wouldnt hurt.....I wonder if the extra cost would be worth it......probably.

Cost is definitely a consideration and the Hot Cam kit is a good bang for the buck deal. With another cam and buying other valvetrain components, the cost goes up at least a couple hundred dollars. Just dont know yet if it would be worth the cash.

The headers and exhaust definitely made a nice SOTP difference. Comparing my dyno curves , I am really impressed most with the 3k to 5k gains. For instance, laying my curve on SpringersLT4 curve (only Hot Cam), though his makes more up on top , mine has much more everywhere else under say 5k sometimes as much as 10+ more rwhp....so the headers are working.

Have you worked your car out ? Hope to see you soon at an autoX ..... :seeya

Shriker

Gonzo, any real tuning is best done with the car right there. Ed Wright is good and has produced some good results but all cars are different and it really is best to get someone to custom tune YOUR particular car. Sometimes this can be difficult if you dont have access to someone decent though......The Hot Cam can be installed and run without tuning but it is much better with it......

94lt1torchred, I had no idea the Hot Cam kits were in such demand. Maybe I should call around to see if they are available, thanks......

:seeya

Gonzo

Anyone know of a place near Atlnata that can custom tune an LT4????

And will we all pass emmisions??????

Thanks

89'Bowtie

Gm High Tech a few years back put this motor together in an article..

LT1 with LT4 Stock Heads
LT4 Intake
LT4 Hot Cam
LT4 Roller Rockers
Long Tube headers
52mm Throttle Body

This setup yeiled a 429HP at the flywheel combination.

Victor


[Modified by 89'Bowtie, 9:04 PM 1/29/2003]

Nathan Plemons

Hmm, you consider the standard 15% drivetrain loss my 365 rwhp = 429.4

:cheers:

luvmy92

That was MORE Performance that put that package together...

Mike