Manmuchwano

Hey guys I have s bone stock 08 z06 and I wanted to install a cam and was wondering which is a good one I was looking at the tsp ls7s cam is it any good and the car will bone stock no head work done or anything just a cold air intake and some exhaust work but everything else would be stock which cam should I get guys I wanna make 530-550 rwhp cam only is that even possible please help me out thanks guys

TRSCobra

Only way you're going to make 530-550whp with just a cam is by adding headers or a happy dyno. I suppose you could do a huge cam, but drivability would suffer and you'd be choking it quite a bit.

Katech torquer 110, Vette-Air Black Panther, and BTR lvl 2 should get you there with headers.

Manmuchwano

I am adding headers sorry should of said so lol my bad. Umm which cam would you recommend out of the 3 I am adding a cold air intake headers and exhaust. That's pretty much it.
And also the tsp ls7s is no good..??

TRSCobra

I can't really give a good recommendation, as I only have run the stock cam and the Black Panther, which has similar overlap to the Tq110. Drivability is okay, with some surge in parking lots or certain low load, low rpm conditions on the highway. Otherwise I have nothing to compare it to.

spra4u

I am running the Texas Speed LS7S cam. I also sent them my heads to get CNC ported and milled. My heads were probably the first set of OEM LS7 castings that got the Ferrea hollow stem valves installed by Texas Speed. American Racing 1 7/8 headers, catted x pipe, Ported Fast 102 intake, NW 102 TB, Vararam CAI, and an Akrapovic SS EVO exhaust. Tuned by Jeremy Formato. It put down 594 RWHP & 530tq. The cam is great and has good manners. There is a little surging but nothing you can't get out of by dropping into a lower gear. I dont mind it at all. Pulls like a train and sounds awesome. I'm glad I chose that cam !

meanjoe

This cam, a tune by Late Model Racecraft and a set of headers got me 550 and 500. I did do the heads also but no porting. They were done by Late Model Engines. Callaway CAI too. This drives pretty much like stock but still has a nice lope to it that you don't get with the stock cam.

TRSCobra

^^^ wow 20* duration split! Mine only has 9

meanjoe

One of the best things you can do for an LS7

TRSCobra

That's what I hear. I would've preferred a larger split, but Vette-Air cam specs are secret til you buy one. I'll see how it all works once I get headers/intake/TB/cai and a retune.

Dalonzop

I have the Torquer 110, WCCH stage II heads, Halltech CAI and a 160 stat. Stock exhaust manifolds but Borla ATAk cat back. Was 510RWHP. I am very pleased with the cam. Sounds great, pulls hard, was a big difference in performance after the build. Only down side I have noticed is slight surging in 5th under 45mph. Very minimal and the performance upgrade out weighs the down side by far. I definitely recommend the Torquer 110

telly444

I would get your heads done. guides, exahust valves and dual high lift springs are a must with any cam or you could be in trouble. save the hassle and do it all in one shot. if your going in that far to do a cam change the timing chain, rocker trunions and push rods as well. just my 1.5 cents

ratomicZ06

If you do a search.... lots of threads on cams. Not being a smartass.... just saying. I started one called "Cam Scared"... see if that gives you any ideas.

Manmuchwano

Ok guys thanks for the insight I read about the horror stories about the valves dropping and was wondering does it happen in a certain Range or is it a crap shoot my car has 35k on it so it's got some miles. Also I really can't afford to do anything with the cylinder heads right now I live in Chicago and summer only has about a month left and I won't be able to drive it before the cold winter nights come I will change the springs and push rods when I change the camshaft. Does anybody know anyone running the ls7s cam with just a intake headers and exhaust. And know any numbers on it. I'm pretty sure there has to be someone on here right I tried searching it and couldn't find anything. And I'll most likely go with the ls7s because it's come with the springs and push rods and its on the cheaper side it's like around 800 bucks. Is that the right choice or no..?? I would like to know if it was your guys car which one would you get if you was in my shoes only mods are gonna be intake headers and cam and of course s dyno tune but everything else is bone stock. Thanks guys once again I am new to these ls7's and am really not familiar with them

Dalonzop

I couldn't agree more. I had all my work done at East Coast Supercharging ( awesome guys) and they strongly encouraged me to do the heads before anything else ( and my car only had 3k miles). I was fortunate to be able to do heads, cam, CAI all at once but the heads were most important. I would suspect most shops would tell you if you do the heads you could do the headers at the same time to save some cost since the manifolds have to come off anyway. Do the heads, have piece of mind that you can drive the car hard and not worry about blowing the motor. Do the other mods later after you get bored with the stock power...if that's possible! Spend 3 grand to maybe save yourself 15-20 grand. Good luck! You sound like you got the z06 itch just like I did.

meanjoe

Forget the cam for now. You need to save up so you can do the heads and the cam at the same time. You should do the heads first but to do it right you need to know what cam you're going to install so you can put the right springs in to match the new cam. Park it and save for it over the winter and do it all at once in the spring. You can't drive in the snow anyway. I used to live near you and I'm sure it'll be snowing there in a few weeks.

Sled Driver

Personally I am not a big fan of cams with secret specs and marketing names. Cams are not magic, and it's impossible to make an informed decision about what you're buying if you don't know what the cam looks like.

I refuse to do business with a place that won't give you cam specs until you pay up.

REDZED2

Katech Torquer with a more driveable less overlap LSA. 114-115. They sell them as a 110 or 115 or anything in between Jason can cut it for you. I have 2 friends with Torquers one has 110 the other has 115 LSA. 115 was easier to tune and pulls like a raped ape. Still can tell the car has a cam just not as choppy as the 110 but hooks better low down. FWIW .

TRSCobra

I didn't understand cam specs when I needed one (heads were already off) so I enlisted the help of an expert, who guided me towards one of their secret spec cams that fit my needs. No different to a novice than if he gave me the numbers. In the end, I got what I was looking for.

Now that I have a better grasp of how duration, lift, and LSA effect the engine's behavior, I feel more comfortable selecting a cam based on its specs.

Manmuchwano

Guys I will not probably not do the heads because of cost I know the vavles drop I heard stories but my car just turned over 40k I think if they would of dropped they would already is there anyway to tell if I have the defective heads without take them off...?? It's a 08 z06 and honestly I just like the sound of a cam chopping and I really don't care to much about drive ability if it bucks down low a little that's fine with me I'm use to it every car I had always had a cam in it lol. And yeah it will be snowing here very soon lol

LT1Pat

Any company that keeps cam specs secrets is a joke IMO. A cam is not a magical horsepower stick. Everything is a tradeoff and it would be impossible for someone to make an informed decision. It would be no different than someone not telling you the compression ratio of a motor or the runner volume of a head.