How to choose a cam?
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 318
Likes: 0
From: Kansas City Missouri
How to choose a cam?
I plan on doing a H/C swap sometime in the future and I don't know anything about cams. How do I choose the right one and what do I base my decision on? Right now, I only have a Blackwing intake, but I just bought a LS6 intake(ported by AMS) and a BBK TB. My next purchase will be headers and an x-pipe to go along with my Stingers. When I do get heads, I will probably go with some Patriot Stage II heads. The car is a daily driver, so I don't need anything for the track. So, with the mods I will have by the time I do a H/C and my car being a daily driver, what kind of cam should I go with? Thanks for the help!
Racer
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 307
Likes: 0
From: Warrington Pennsylvania
Try not to listen to a bunch of answers on camshafts from what other think. What I mean is, you have to decide on a cam for your specific plans, sound, drivability,etc. If you want the most power possible, get a big cam, but one that will work with the heads you have. Make sure the piston to valve clearence will work. You can get a small cam with not much of a powr gain but will feel, drive, and sound like or close to stock. A mild cam .581 I .581 E 230 232 D 115 LSA will give a decent horsepower gain with good drivability. Also think about where you want your powerband to start and finish. Of course a large cam will come on around 4800 and finish at aybe 7000 or higher. You may not need all that. Your best bet is to talk to some guys with all types. Once you find one or more that you like, call the company, tell them what your looking for and Im sure they can match you up with whats best. DO YOUR RESEARCH. Go to comp cams and texas-speed and LG Motorsports. They all have cams from mild to wild and usually have specific details on what the cam will actually do.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 831
Likes: 2
From: Silver Spring, MD
Try not to listen to a bunch of answers on camshafts from what other think. What I mean is, you have to decide on a cam for your specific plans, sound, drivability,etc. If you want the most power possible, get a big cam, but one that will work with the heads you have. Make sure the piston to valve clearence will work. You can get a small cam with not much of a powr gain but will feel, drive, and sound like or close to stock. A mild cam .581 I .581 E 230 232 D 115 LSA will give a decent horsepower gain with good drivability. Also think about where you want your powerband to start and finish. Of course a large cam will come on around 4800 and finish at aybe 7000 or higher. You may not need all that. Your best bet is to talk to some guys with all types. Once you find one or more that you like, call the company, tell them what your looking for and Im sure they can match you up with whats best. DO YOUR RESEARCH. Go to comp cams and texas-speed and LG Motorsports. They all have cams from mild to wild and usually have specific details on what the cam will actually do.
Additionally, whether you go mild or wild, make sure you build up the valve train adequately. Take it from someone (me) who learned the hard way. Even with a "mild" cam, your valvetrain is only as good as its weakest link...in my case the springs.
Race Director
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 10,336
Likes: 14
From: Bellville OH
St. Jude Donor '06
For as cheap as new springs are, you might also want to go dual springs, meaning a spring inside a spring, so if one breaks you have a secondary that will keep the valve from dropping and ruining your piston. They make noise though luckily I have a somewhat large cam and exhaust so all I hear is my V8 growling.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 2,847
Likes: 1,144
From: Sleepy Hollow- NJ
Did a complete rebuild. Changed everything out. Forged the bottom end, ported the heads, upgraded the valve train etc.
Sounds like a "sewing machine" at idle. When on the gas, with the 232/236/114 .600 cam, Kooks LT's and offroad x-pipe with Borla Stingers, all I hear at WOT is....raw power!
The 112 lobe seperation made power lower in the RPM range like 1500 and up, the 114 lobe makes power above 3500 rpms. Kind of like the power band on a 2 stroke dirtbike.
The 112 had more low end snap.
