I'm looking at putting a new cam in and I don't want to spend the money on a set of heads. I'm considering putting headers in (anyone know about Pacsetters?) but my question is what is a good cam to get more performance from a stock LT1? Is the LT4 hot cam no good because I don't have LT4 heads? What about the Isky 225/234? Too much duration? Preferably, I'd also like to not reprogram the computer but I'm not sure if that's even possible. Thanks for the input.

 

The LT4 hotcam is a nice can for a stock LT1. You really need to have headers on the car first and programming is a must to get all the power out of it.

My LT4 hotcam stock shortblock setup ran mid 12's quite easily and was super on the street.

 

What's involved in the reprogramming? Is it just using a power programmer or is it taking it somewhere that knows what they're doing and completely reprogramming the computer? Also, what kind of mileage change did the cam make? What does mid 12's correspond to as far as hp goes generally? Thanks for your help.

What kind of headers do you have?

 

I will answer a few of your questions that I can. The cam that I chose is from Comp Cams and is really comparable to the hot cam. To get it reprogrammed right you should take it to a local tuner or someone who has a dyno. They will be able to put your car on a dyno and make changes after each run to get the best performance out of your car. I would steer clear of the mail order tunes, they are not as good as someone who has the car and all the numbers in front of them. You can make all kinds of changes when you get your tune and the people doing it can tell you all about it then.
As far as my mileage, I am getting about what I had before. The headers I have are Exotic Muscle. I hope some of this helps you out.

 

I see your car is a 94. So is mine. The tuner can tune your car with a laptop loaded with LT1 edit. A mailorder tuner can't just mail you a chip for a modification, you would have to ship out your PCM to have it modified. So for you it's best to have your car tuned during a dyno session, but you could still ship your PCM to PCMFORLESS (or equivalent vendor) and have it modded. Your car would be down while you wait for turnaround.

The changes you contemplate right now won't require radical changes, in fact your car would run acceptably with no tuning change if you just change the cam and add headers. This statement applies to your sequential injection PCM with MAF. It is an entirely different story for a 92 or 93 car.

 

The hot cam is not the only game in town. I chose not to go with it because it has a little more duration than I want which makes power gain in 6000's range not so much in the 5's.

I have a comp cam 214/224 @050, .566" lift w/ 1.6 rr's, 112 LSA. Makes good power and a little lower than the hot cam.

You don't want to spin the LT1 too high if you are doing other than drag racing. The cast crank, etc is not designed to spin 6000 for long periods of time. Drag racing is quick, I am told it's ok to go up to 6500 there but I will not. I stop at 6200.

 

I have a Comp Cams custom grind that I'll be selling shortly. It will work very well in a stock LT1. Matching springs will also be included.

This cam will run well with little or no tuning.

Specs
Duration: 212/224
Lift: ~523/531 (1.6 rocker ratio) ~488/503 (1.5 rocker ratio)
LSA: 112

 

The stock crank in the LT1s is very strong. I don't believe i've ever heard anyone breakign one with any street car and mine makes over 500 at the wheels with a stock crank.

With cams like a hotcam, or any of comps extreme grinds your mail order tuner should be able to nail it the first try.. They are quite easy

 

I'm interested in the custom grind cam you have STL94, how much are you going to sell it for? Do you know how much power it makes approximately? I've just been dissappointed with the 300hp that the LT1 makes stock. Thanks for the help guys.

 

The camshaft made 358 rwhp @5900 rpms and 342 rwtq @4900 rpms, in my car. But, I'm also running CNC'd heads, long tubes, and a few other bolt-ons.

The springs will also include lightweight steel retainers, locks, and seats.

I just need to get a few issues worked out with my new camshaft before I sell this one. The 212/224 performed so well on the street, I hate to get rid of it. But, I want a little more power for the strip, that's why I bought the new camshaft.

 

The pacesetter headers are junk. I purchased a set for a ford and they leaked everywhere, flanges warped, they even cracked within 3 months. Had those things on and off 3 times. I have seen post from others who say the same about them. That being said, header choice can depend on a few things, 1. long tubes or shorties, long tubes give much better results. 2. are you required to have emissions equipment on your car? If so, Exotic Muscle, TPIS, or Stainless Works makes them with LT1 emissions hook ups in the long tube version. If no emissions hook ups then the hookers are a good header. Just get them for the older C-4 (84-91) From what I understand the shorty headers dont give much over stock manifolds. But if you do have to go that way hooker makes a shorty header for the LT1 with emissions hook up.
As far as a cam goes, IMO the LT4 hotcam kit is hard to beat for the money. You get the cam, roller rockers, springs, retainers, and keepers for I believe under $500.00. It is also one of the most proven and used cam kits out there.
Keeping in mind it has been used in so many vettes, it is much easier to order a mailorder tune from a good tuner such as pcmforless and get it on the money. I used their mailorder tune and then got their dyno tune and if memory serves me, I only picked up about 7hp with a dyno tune.
On my car, I have ported heads, Hotcam kit, electric waterpump, long tube headers, 3000 stall converter, 4.09 gears and have been able to run high 11's at 115.8 mph.
Nathan showed many dyno results with his combo of hotcam, then headers, then ported heads. He has a lot of good info on his site. here is a link to it. http://www.wku.edu/~nathan.plemons
Good luck with your decision.

 

comp cam 306

 

What are the differences for the 92, because I was looking at the comp cam, what is recommended for tune and headers?

 

7hp seems like an awful lot to leave on the table to me. I wouldnt even consider mail order after having read this. Perhaps its because you ported your heads though and all the other changes,, mail order wont touch all those changes (I would think).. was this before or after all the other mods?