Well I have been bitten by the speed bug along with everyone else, Ive searched the forums for a while and got some answers but not all. First off the car is a 99 coupe and mainly a weekend street car and occasional 1/4 mile pass. Im looking to put down about 450rwhp with the normal bolt ons and later on down the road I plan on supercharging so im looking for most things to be compatible later on down the road. Now to the goodies, for heads I was looking at PRC 5.3 stage 2.5 or possibly porting stock 243s. The PRC seem to flow ok and im not made of money so unless i find some used AFRs or Trickflow those look to be the best bet, now if I were to choose AFRs what would be the best cc? Now the cam, I want something with lope but with good street manners (no surging) and had a few choices: Magic Stick 3, HPE Mega Death, or G5x3, all without notching the pistons for clearance. Now last but not least is the converter what would be a good stall to match the above setup with 273 gears, I like highway crusing and have been down the automatic with gear route and it SUCKS. Im not set on the above parts just going off what others are running and have success with it without breaking the bank, so if you have any suggestions feel free to share. Sorry for the long question just want to make sure I cover everything in one thread.

 

I was in the same boat( about a year ago) as you are now. I ended up with a set of 243's reworked & the biggest cam I could get without flycutting the pistons. I also added 342 rear & getting ready to add a yank ss3600. I have a very conservative tune oppting to have max torque thru the curve instead of high end hp. See my sig.
Anyway, all of the cams you listed are good. I was told that AFR, trickflow 205-215 heads would add app. another 20-30 hp, I oppted not to spend that much ($1600) for 20-30 hp. I instead got the 342's & long tubes & a LS6 intake for about the same price. I am adding the stall because off the line even with DR's I am getting 1.9 60' times. I figure that with a stall, I won't have that low end power loss from the cam. If you oppt to get a set of 342's you won't loose much on the road. I still get app. 28-29 mph now but the 342's make a HUGH difference on the track or from a stop light when you need to get out of the way for that big truck that just won't be able to stop in time. (wink) Good luck with the package & keep us posted. BTW, that shaking idle is fun too.

 

If you plan on putting a S/C on dont put a big cam in. I have a MS3(it has ok street manners) in mine, and its almost to big for F/I. As far as heads save up your money and get the AFR's or trickflow you will be happy you did. I have seen AFR 205 for $1500 on LS1Tech. The PRC heads are good, but like I said you will see alot better results with a better head. Im in the same boat as you. I dont have alot of money but im saving it up for a good set of heads. Good Luck with the search.

 

It's not so much the size of the cam, but the total overlap. Stick with a 114 or larger LSA, and keep the big cam.