Cam and tune
Thread Starter
Heel & Toe
Joined: Mar 2016
Posts: 23
Likes: 0
Cam and tune
I want to get a new cam for my 1986 corvette but people said I need to re-tune the ecm. Not sure how to do all that because I'm new to all that so if anyone has any advice that would be great or anyone in the San Diego area that know that could show me how for some money I would be willing to do that also
Team Owner
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 81,241
Likes: 3,063
From: altered state
St. Jude Donor '05
Had very good results with the Lunati 256voodoo flat tappet
Good idle strong torque and passes smog easy
Google TJ Wong of wongs performance he can do your chip for you
hes a member here. Tuning, there is SO much more than people fathom takes years to really learn best just to pay someone for this
Yrs ago a buddy with an 86 Iroc bought the cheapest rebuilder 350 long block he could find it was under 1000. Think it wa s100 to upgrade to a cheap forged piston
Used that cam, some cheap edelbrock heads, los of porting to the intake base, used asm runners and some shorty headers, wong tuned it
Even being a hair on the rich side passed with new cats
with his lousy 2.xx rear gear the car would smoke the tires at will and pulled hard enough you could tell someon it had a 383 and nobody would know better I was impressed for how mild it was.
Cant belive he hasnt blown it up yet hes very happy
Betting it might crack a high 13 and still has a smooth idle
Good idle strong torque and passes smog easy
Google TJ Wong of wongs performance he can do your chip for you
hes a member here. Tuning, there is SO much more than people fathom takes years to really learn best just to pay someone for this
Yrs ago a buddy with an 86 Iroc bought the cheapest rebuilder 350 long block he could find it was under 1000. Think it wa s100 to upgrade to a cheap forged piston
Used that cam, some cheap edelbrock heads, los of porting to the intake base, used asm runners and some shorty headers, wong tuned it
Even being a hair on the rich side passed with new cats
with his lousy 2.xx rear gear the car would smoke the tires at will and pulled hard enough you could tell someon it had a 383 and nobody would know better I was impressed for how mild it was.
Cant belive he hasnt blown it up yet hes very happy
Betting it might crack a high 13 and still has a smooth idle
Last edited by cv67; Mar 14, 2016 at 01:26 AM.
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 28,495
Likes: 3,298
From: Hartford WI
What is the budget? It takes cubic dollars to go fast. Another way to put it is "Fast, reliable, cheap. Pick any 2".
Why do you want to do the cam? Without the supporting mods, you are shooting yourself in the foot because you can't maximize any gain, assuming you gain something. If you don't tune, you can get a cam that is as close to OEM as possible and as little gain as possible too.
I would start simple. Intakes, headers and exhaust. While you are at it. call FIC to check out if you have Multec fuel injectors. If you do, toss them and get a set of REMAN injectors. If you don't, send them to him for cleaning and testing. Check fuel pressure. See if your pump and Fuel PRessure regulator is up to the task. If not change them. Plugs, cap and rotor depends on what intake. If you get a HSR intake, you have to change the distributor to a small cap with a divorced coil. Also, do headers and possibly cat back. Once you have done all this, do tuning or put a cam and then tune.
Yep. you have to do the nonp-sexy mods before you get to the good stuff.
Why do you want to do the cam? Without the supporting mods, you are shooting yourself in the foot because you can't maximize any gain, assuming you gain something. If you don't tune, you can get a cam that is as close to OEM as possible and as little gain as possible too.
I would start simple. Intakes, headers and exhaust. While you are at it. call FIC to check out if you have Multec fuel injectors. If you do, toss them and get a set of REMAN injectors. If you don't, send them to him for cleaning and testing. Check fuel pressure. See if your pump and Fuel PRessure regulator is up to the task. If not change them. Plugs, cap and rotor depends on what intake. If you get a HSR intake, you have to change the distributor to a small cap with a divorced coil. Also, do headers and possibly cat back. Once you have done all this, do tuning or put a cam and then tune.
Yep. you have to do the nonp-sexy mods before you get to the good stuff.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 6,192
Likes: 750
From: near the thumb in the mitten
Being it's 86 if has iron heads I would switch to later aluminum heads and have them match ported. 1.6 roller rocker arms would be good also if you are changing heads. L89's are high torque moderate RPM engines unless you change intakes.
Racer
Joined: Oct 2014
Posts: 323
Likes: 21
From: Apache Junction AZ
Cam and tune: plus head work, bigger intake and TB, good rocker arms, bigger injectors, shorty headers, port matching everything and a tune (conservatively >$2500). That's with you doing some of the work.
You could do the cam and tune now and add stuff as budget allowed but you will have to wait for the good results. Plus a retune.
No easy way.
WEK.
You could do the cam and tune now and add stuff as budget allowed but you will have to wait for the good results. Plus a retune.
No easy way.
WEK.
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 28,495
Likes: 3,298
From: Hartford WI
Cam and tune: plus head work, bigger intake and TB, good rocker arms, bigger injectors, shorty headers, port matching everything and a tune (conservatively >$2500). That's with you doing some of the work.
You could do the cam and tune now and add stuff as budget allowed but you will have to wait for the good results. Plus a retune.
No easy way.
WEK.
You could do the cam and tune now and add stuff as budget allowed but you will have to wait for the good results. Plus a retune.
No easy way.
WEK.
Drifting
Joined: Mar 2015
Posts: 1,275
Likes: 165
From: Utah
Retune depends on how wild you get.
This camshaft might be on the upper end of running off of the stock ecm program.
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/crn-114132
I used this camshaft, good idle nice power, however I also matched it up with aftermarket aluminum heads, intake manifold, long tube headers, and a 3in exhaust system.
That extra airflow required that I upgrade my fuel injectors, and while it runs pretty good, I'm looking at a new ECM that will allow me to edit the software to make better use of my mods...
This camshaft might be on the upper end of running off of the stock ecm program.
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/crn-114132
I used this camshaft, good idle nice power, however I also matched it up with aftermarket aluminum heads, intake manifold, long tube headers, and a 3in exhaust system.
That extra airflow required that I upgrade my fuel injectors, and while it runs pretty good, I'm looking at a new ECM that will allow me to edit the software to make better use of my mods...
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 28,495
Likes: 3,298
From: Hartford WI
Retune depends on how wild you get.
This camshaft might be on the upper end of running off of the stock ecm program.
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/crn-114132
I used this camshaft, good idle nice power, however I also matched it up with aftermarket aluminum heads, intake manifold, long tube headers, and a 3in exhaust system.
That extra airflow required that I upgrade my fuel injectors, and while it runs pretty good, I'm looking at a new ECM that will allow me to edit the software to make better use of my mods...
This camshaft might be on the upper end of running off of the stock ecm program.
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/crn-114132
I used this camshaft, good idle nice power, however I also matched it up with aftermarket aluminum heads, intake manifold, long tube headers, and a 3in exhaust system.
That extra airflow required that I upgrade my fuel injectors, and while it runs pretty good, I'm looking at a new ECM that will allow me to edit the software to make better use of my mods...
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Team Owner
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 28,495
Likes: 3,298
From: Hartford WI
Burner and tuning software is cheap. Dyno time, no so and experience, no. It will take many hours of dyno sessions to do learn the skills a good tuner has not to mention increased risk on YOUR engine. If it is a weekly thing because you keep making mods to the car for racing, I agree. Last time I needed it was 4 years ago. Where is the economy in that?