567Chev

After months of trying to convince myself to supercharge my 2014 C7 Z51 M7, I've landed on heads/cam.

But how to choose the cam? There are very few grinds published that I can see (with the exception of Comp Cams XFI DOD-compatible cams). There are some dyno charts from some of the vendors but again hard to compare without grinds.

I get why vendors aren't releasing exact grinds publicly and I don't expect them to.

But what are the general parameters for lift, duration and lobe separation for stage 1 vs. 2 vs. 3 on an LT1? How does adding heads affect the choice if at all?

I'm looking for drivability without sacrificing low end, but adding some mid-range and top end. Other mods will include heads, LT headers, and Halltech CAI. I don't need DOD.

Given my goals and bolt ons, what's the best stage for me? I'm thinking fairly mild and just trying to ballpark this a bit. Any thoughts and advice appreciated!

Higgs Boson

My advice, don't worry about peak HP numbers, think hard about your lope tolerance.

How averse are you to the characteristics of overlap? Rough idle, smellier idle (but a good tune can mitigate a lot), fluctuations in RPM and ability to catch idle reliably, etc.

I'm a huge fan of small cams in cars driven on the street. If it's a track only car then spec the cam for your specific purpose. Get a stage 1, imo.

Heads are debatable on stock cubes....15-20 HP.

Make sure you find a tuner that knows how to tune the E92 ECM. Where do you live?

robertf97

What Higgs said. I have a stage 1 cam in my 416 and wouldn't want anymore. That took several weeks and three tuners to get to idle correctly and not surge at low speeds. Ditto on heads.

Kip Fabre

We have made almost 50 different cams for the new LT1. If you want it to preform a certain way you can't pick a Stage 1 or a wazoo cam it has to be made for your application. Give us a call lets us know your combination then we can make the correct cam to preform like you want.

Sales@Texas-Speed

We offer a few different choices for the LT1, but does depend on your car and what you are looking for.

We have three very popular choices in stock. We have tested 20-30 different grinds to get what we think are the best choices.

We can get you into the Heads/Cam package that best fits your needs. We can also do New Cylinder heads or port your existing ones to save you some money.

Give us a call and we can go over your options.

TSP

512-863-0900

Seannyc

What's the best can for low end and high speed combination

567Chev

All good information, thanks. Sounds like I need to work with my shop (down in Calgary) and a vendor to get to the right grind for my set up, and tuning is the trick.

My car is a somewhat a daily driver (nice days) and sounds like mild is the way to go.

Will mild be easier to tune?

leadville1

I have been doing a lot of research on Cams, I would recommend talking to Texas Speed. They have an engine dyno and have tested many different grinds on these cars. There is some very good information on their site, or give them a call.

I have no affiliation with them.

Their site also has dyno's of all their different cam profiles.

https://www.texas-speed.com/c-2848-camshafts.aspx

Sgoochds650

I am currently running the Vengeance Stage 1 cam and love it. Car doesn't buck or have weird manners. Very much a pleasure to drive and still has a nice lope at idle. I've had cars with big cams and other than listening to them in the driveway I hated them. I agree with Higgs.

567Chev

Damnation, a BAMF is tempting though

OBSSSD

I would run a blower for about the same money and make way more power on a stock motor

leadville1

Different Strokes for Different Folks, depends on what your using it for. For the track a NA motor is the preferred choice.

It also isn't the same money for a Cam vs a Supercharger.

567Chev

Superchargers makes lots of sense for lots of different reasons. I'm going heads/cam nevertheless.

OBSSSD

Centri's are great on the track and even a car on modest 7-8 psi would roast a heads/cam car any rack that I can think of. I compared the two cost-wise because in the OP's first sentence of his OP he states that he has decided on "heads/cam". You are going to pay $4500 for heads/cam with installation, which isn't that far from what blower kits are selling for installed. Blowers are far more fun on the street too

leadville1

I have a Centri on my M3, and it is a complete nightmare on the track. You can do about 4 laps before your car is heat soaked and losing power, and I have every cooling trick in the book on that car.

NA baby, that is the way to go on the track. How many racing cars do you see competing with Centrifigal Superchargers, I can't think of one, much less a roots supercharger.

leadville1

Also my quote for a Cam and head kit installed is $3400 with ported and polished heads.

Higgs Boson

pretty much totally wrong, sorry.

Jason 98 TA

Did you checkout the tsp grinds? We have engine dyno data for all the tsp grinds! Did you check them out?

We have heads/cam packages starting at $2,000ish!!

marcouvo

I found the 3 LT1 cams with the dyno sheets on your website. There are no cam specs given.

Will you post the specs or show them on your website?

dovervold

Jason, on your level 1 dyno sheet, the base line is well over 500 HP. Assuming this was pretty well modded before you added the cam. Do you have dyno results from a stock LT1 with and without this cam?

If I wanted to do just a mild cam, long tubes, CAI, and ported TB, what would expect to pick up for HP and TQ? Thanks, Doug