looking for a performance cam for a 85 L98 ..plan to up grade heads and exhaust in the near future want a good performer while not hurting drivability to much ..I have a custom chip ported plenum gutted MAF and filter box,and adjustable regulator ..looking to wake up a mostly stock vette with a 4+3 so Idle gaulity is not extremely important

Thanks
Jim

[This message has been edited by Dark Side (edited 07-24-2001).]

 

TTT any help ?

thanks
Jim

 

Hmm.... it really depends on what you're going to do for heads/exhaust. Also... are you looking for more low end torque, or more high end HP? Do you want to be a stoplight warrior, or road race king? Get my drift?

 

I was looking at a LT-4 Hot cam kit from GM Performance parts but I wasn't sure if you could put it in a '91 L-98, I was need some advice on that too.

 

for heads I'm looking at the TFS 23degree and exhaust will be longtubes and true duals 2 1/2" Stoplight warrior with decent top end more drag race then road race but don't want to be last on road race day either..just a good Flat tappet Cam I was thinking of a comp cams extreme energy grind

Jim

 

For a flat cam, CC 280H or 292H would be good.

 

any other good chioces that will work with the stock intake setup? and live on the stock valve train till I get the heads?

Jim

 

The stock TPI intake on is the biggest limitation on the L98. The power curve drops after 4000 and really falls off above 4500. I don't think a bigger cam is going to help all that much because of the intake. You could try 1.6 roller rockers though.

DarkRose98
LT4 hot cam will fit in your 91 but you have the same TPI intake limitaion.

 

What intake do you recommend?

 

I would think some intake duration would wake this thing up

Jim

 

Jim,
Short of switching to a roller, and the expense associated with it, I've had good luck with the TPIS Torque Secrets flat tappet cam #700-134, and 1.6 intake/ 1.5 exhaust roller rockers.
I started with a stock iron head 86, 4+3, and same mods as you. This cam resulted in great improvements in torque through 4500rpm on an otherwise stock motor.
Later mods included Big Mouth manifold, ASM large runners, headers, true duals, and it pulled strong to 5000rpm.
Cam specs are:
221/230 @ .050 duration
.454 lift w/ 1.5 .484 lift w/ 1.6
112 LSA
Don't be afraid of the duration numbers. The cam pulls strong from idle, and passed Fla. sniff test w/ cats. You will know theres a cam in there, as it lopes at idle, but does so at stock idle rpm.
You may want to check it out.
Good luck with your decision.
Joe

 

Thats the kind of info I needed

Thanks
Jim

 

As a side note, a stock L82 cam will work wonders with it's single pattern 224/224 duration and wide lsa. It will wake up the high RPM's and keep low end torque.

The intake is not as big a high rpm limiting factor as most here seem to make it out to be.

 

has anyone else used a cam they could suggest?

Jim

 

For street use where you spend most of your time below 6000 rpm, Superram. If you drag race and want power about 5500, the miniram is better.

The long runners in the TPI intake are designed to maximuize torque below 4500. Thats why Lingenfelter made the superram and TPIS makes the miniram.

Camshafts are not as important as good breathing heads and intake. LT4 makes 360 HP with a stock 203/210 @ .050 duration cam.

 

Hi Dark side.
Just want to give you some info. I have an 85 and I will strongly sign what Mr G have written. I bought his Torque secrets Cam and what he said I can verify. I had some problems with the engine that was not cam related and after they were fixed everything is all right. My mods are
ported plenum, modified MAF, Adj.Fuel regulator,K&N filter and TPIS level 4 PROM.I discovered some backpressure in the oilsump. That was bad piston rings due to many years of storage. I bored the block to 355 cid and put in pistons which gave me .5 higher comp.ratio.When the mechanic had the heads off he ported the heads and made a three angle valve job(which is standard of his). All this gave me a good 300+ hp and about 400ftlbs of torque at about 3300 rpm. Mr G helped me a lot with his comments and I will thank him once more. Just be aware of that the idle can change a bit due to the duration. Have a PROM made with not lover than 750 rpm idle and adjust the min airflow as described in the book. The hydr. flattapped cams are also much cheaper than the roller ones.
Good luck

 

so whats the price on this 700-184 cam we are talking about

Jim

 

I've been looking at mini-ram intake and I like it alot. But now I have the same question as Dark Side does, which cam to use? I want to stay with a roller cam and rockers, so I have been thinking about a LT-4 hot cam. Yesterday while I was looking at TPIS website, I noticed a cam that they had cam called ZZ-9. I read about it and now I'm confused on which way to go. ZZ-9 or LT4 Hot Cam? I'm going to run AFR 190cc heads 2.02intake/1.60exhaust comptition sytle. Speed Pro flat top pistons with 10 to 1 compression ratio. If any of you can suggest on which way to go or a different combo, would be great! thanks JW