luvmy92

I had posted this in another thread but felt it would get more exposure with it's own topic.

I was wondering if others here thought I might be better off with a bigger cam and if so, how large would you go? My current cam is a Comp Cam 210/224 with lift of .534/.531 using 1.6 Roller Rocker's.

I would still like it to be somewhat streetable, but I am willing to give up a little streetability for more power. Here is a partial list of my current mods:

LT1 CNC Ported Heads
2" and 1.57" severe duty Stainless Steel Valves w/Titanium Retainers
Comp Cams Double Valve Springs
Comp Cams Pro Magnum Roller Rockers (1.6)
Comp Cams Pro Magnum Hydraulic Roller Lifters
Comp Cams Custom Cam 210/224-112
Comp Cams Heavy Duty Guide Plate and 7/16 Studs
Hardened Race Pushrods
Custom Chip by Ed Wright
TPIS 1.75" Full Length Headers (no cats)
3" B&B Tri-Flow Exhaust
3" Dr Gas X-Pipe replacing the Tri-Flow Resonator
Breathless Vortex Air Intake
Be-Cool Aluminum Radiator
MSD Ignition and Coil

And here is a shot of my last dyno pull...



I would appreciate any and all input.

Thanks,

Mike

[Modified by luvmy92, 3:30 PM 12/10/2002]


[Modified by luvmy92, 5:52 PM 12/10/2002]

gtsyellow

i think you could get a solid 20-25hp going to the xtreme 224/230 grind, lift on a 1.6 is .530/.544 if i rememember right or .502/.510 on a 1.5, i'm thrilled with the one i have, power peaks at 5900-6000rpm and you shift around 6500-6800rpm. you have good head flow so a few more rpms could make more power. also this cam is very drivable, i doubt you'd notice any real losses. mid range is great & the top end is wonderful.

Red Rocket

:iagree:

Have the Xtreme 230 / 236 in my 396 and very happy with the results. Should have used the 224 /230 with the 350 LT-1.

luvmy92

Thanks for the replies, guys. Can you point me to where I might find more info on this cam?

Mike

Shriker

I think the two other posts are right on..... that is a pretty mild cam and you are making good power with it. The GM Hot Cam is slightly more aggressive and would probably give you close to around 365-375 rwhp. I would think the cam mentioned above would give you somewhere around 370-390 as said, and something like a CC 306 would be over that ......but things are getting lumpy around idle by then........what are you trying to acheive? Hope that helps..... :seeya

luvmy92

I plan on doing some road racing and autocrossing, some weekend crusing on the streets, and an occasional trip down the strip. :D

Mike

ELEVENS

Bigger is better, right?! You'll have to change your name from luvmy92 to lumpy92. :lol:
:cheers:

95vettski

The 224/230 cam mentioned will work great. I'd also recommend the Crane 222/230 which is the next step up from your current cam. Its also available through your local dealer, don't have the part# but its know as the GM 846.
I have a similiar cam 222/232 and make 370rwhp with a mail order tune.
If I could do it over I'd use the Comp cams 230/236 extreem grind that Red Rocket is using in his stroker. Might be a little big in a 350ci, but there is always a compromise when selecting a cam, depends on your goals. This cam has made over 400rwhp combined with the right heads and tune.

:cheers:

Nathan Plemons

I love the LT4 Hot Cam, it's perfectly streetable and it still gets good mileage. It maintains a fairly consistent power band so it's hard to be in the wrong gear. Also overall lift is lower than what you're running now, so you know you wouldn't have an spring / valve clearance issues.

My last dyno was 365 rwhp and I've got some tuning to do yet. I think 370 is easily attainable. The Hot Cam is a very well proven performer but the upper limit does seem to be about 375 hp. If you want more than that you're gonna have to go larger. If you think 375 or so would suit your needs then you can't go wrong with it. Low end torque is completely maintained and it has a fairly healthy lope to it. You would just have to decide if you think it's worth it for 20 more horses. The power band looks exactly like what you've got, it just peaks higher.

I do know this, it's the cheapest cam you can buy, right at $180.

There are certainly cams that will make more power but they will all be at the cost of driveability. If you drive around town a lot I really don't think you'll get much better than the Hot Cam for the combination of power / street manners / gas mileage.

Here's my last dyno graph for comparison sake

Speedracer176

check out the new issue of corvette fever with a top end LT1 A4 '96 that uses a 224/230 cam. it made 361,8 rwhp & 324.2 rwtq with hooker long tubes/ cnc lt1 heads, new opti, 30lb injectors & ed wright computer.

luvmy92

The 224/230 really interests me but I am hoping a manual will make more power than the auto used in the CF article. It looks like we have a lot of the same mods except I am using the stock injectors. I would like to get 370 - 375hp without sacrificing any torque. Do you think this cam is capable of that with my current mods?

I am assuming I am going to have to upgrade my chip as well. I beleive Ed Wright has a upgrade price of $175 to do this. Would I be better off investing in Tunercat (I already have Craig Moates' GMECM on my laptop but don't have a cable so have never used it) and whatever else I will need to do my own chip burning? Norris Motorsports is around the corner from me and maybe they can help me dial it in.

Thanks again for everyone's responses. I sure do appreciate it...

Mike

Red Rocket

Lost just a little low end torque when upgrading to the 230/236 but not much.
The torque curve crosses 400LBS now at 3200RPM's versus 3000RPM's with the TPIS ZZ409. The big surprise with the Xtreme Energy cam was that the HP curve stayed strong to 6400 RPM's. The delta was 40HP at 6100 RPM's.

luvmy92

Thanks for the info, Rocket. I have found a guy that lives about an hour from me that will dial it in. He charges a flat $200 for the chip burning, and we have the use of a local dyno for $80/hr. He said he will need 2 to 3 hours on the dyno to get it dialed in.

Unfortunately, I am not capable of doing the labor work, and after calling some local shops, it looks like the labor is gonna be around $1000. :eek: I'm not real sure it's gonna be worth 20 - 25hp for close to $2K. I'm gonna have to think about it. If I could do it myself, it could be done for around $800, which includes the cost of the cam as well as dialing it in.

I wish I was mechanically inclined. :cry

Mike



[Modified by luvmy92, 9:42 AM 12/11/2002]

gtsyellow

this calls for ..dun dun da da

Speedracer176

You wish you were mechanically inclined?? Well me too!!!!!

I do not think the power/cost ratio is in line here....if you know some mechanically inclined people in a corvette club or such, mabey you can make a weekend project out of it? A cam swap can be done in a full days work i'de imagine.....

Good luck!!

Nathan Plemons

It would take FULL day. I've done it in 3 days, but that wasn't 24 hours a day either, probably 8 or less. Gimme a FULL day, 24 hours, assuming food and sleep wasn't an issue and I could do a cam swap, at least on my car. :cheers:

Granted I've been in there a few times, the first time it took 2 weeks because I didn't know all the tricks and neither did my friend who was helping me.

luvmy92

Yeah, the book calls for 16 hours on the labor. We have 3 Corvette shops in the area and one charges $60/hr, another $65/hr and the C5 shop charges $75/hr. :eek:

I am in a local club with 165 members but it is a social club. We do no racing (occasional drag racing) and I'm not aware of any wrench-heads in the club, but I'll see if anyone is interested.

Thanks for everybody's input on the subject and I'll let you know what I end up doing...

Mike

luvmy92

Well, I just went ahead and ordered the EE 224/230. It's on back order for 3 weeks, so I won't get it for about a month. I found a local speed shop that works on a number of Chevy motored drag cars, and they say they will put it in for $500. That's half of what all the Corvette shops are charging. Wish me luck. :D

Mike

h rocks

Wait until they start futzing around removing the rad plenum, all the accessories, etc. etc. Bet it turns out to be a "bit" more than $500,

Speedracer176

:cool


this is the same cam im running in a miniram 357 block with ported afr 190 heads, hooker 2149, 58mm Holley, Ed Wright, and all the goodies.

Its a beast to say the least. You will be happy and should consider 4.09 gears with this cam.