Thinking about adding a cam for a little more power. What are the pros and cons? Does it really change the powerband? What about real world driveability? Gas mileage? I have never drove a cammed car before. I really like the way my car drives- again I just want more power

 

Pros...you get more power

Cons...you don't have enough power.

Pros...with the cam, you feel bad for the non cammed guys.

Cons...without the cam, you hope you don't run up on the guy with the cam.

Seriously........Today I wonder if I lived in a Nanny state that didn't allow modding wouldn't it be easier to just install a blower/charger instead.

But if you don't have to worry about the regulations...head and cam it!

 

Pros :
Depending on your cam choice a great kick in the powerband and depending on the overlap a sound that rivals a woman close to orgasm lol

Cons: Trying to keep your foot out of it and maybe some drivability issues if you dont pick the correct tuner.

 

are there any downsides?????

 

Reduced reliability.

 

Just the $ you'll spend on future mods

 

Pros: Giggles you womans bewbs at stop lights.
Cons: Giggles your mewbs at stop lights.

 

I'd rather be blown.

 

How high is high? How wet is water?

Good cam = fun
Bad cam = PITA



Choose wisely...........

 

Durations in this rage are eminently streetable and have good manners. Adding additional duration will move the power band further up the RPM range. This will soften the bottom end, negatively affect fuel mileage and require supporting modifications like heads, intakes, throttle bodies, headers, high stall converters, etc., etc. to realize the potential of the cam. This is the infamous slippery slope! The bigger the cam, the more the engine will feel like a two-stroke: no torque down low (the opposite of what you need on the street) and absolutely stupid power at high RPMs. Spending lots of time at high RPMs leads to accelerated engine wear and spectacular breakage, such as connecting rod failures.

Bigger duration generally goes hand in hand with bigger lift. Piston to valve clearance and valve float will become critical concerns. Much above .600" lift will require special valve springs which will require periodic replacement.

Oh, the smog ***** will loose their sense of humor, too (as if they ever had any)!

Have a look at what the road racing guys run. If not a stock cam, they generally run something modest that makes great low RPM torque (to get them out of the corners) and excellent mid-range power (where the engine will spend 95% of it's life. This is very similar to the requirements of street driving.

If you want the engine to sound cool at idle, go with a tight LSA, instead of more duration.

For comparison, the Late Z06 cam is 204/218 and .555/.551 with a wide LSA.

 

My specs are below. The car after 5 years and 30k miles runs just fine. The valve train is noisey and I have had more than one person ask if I had engine problems....

But the cam seems pointless without the heads. The Z06 intake I had put on before the mods. You will smoke the stock clutch really fast so plan on that upgrade.

Finally a gear change made it all come together. Had 4:11 went back to 3:73 for more cruising comfort.

So I you have the money, go do it. If you can do it yourself, thats even better. I had my mods done at 82k and it still runs like a champ.

Also I went with titanium Z06 exhaust just to be able to hear myself think. The cars do get loud with work in them. Guess it depends on what you like.

I got 32mpg when the car was new - '99 Coupe. Now at 113k and work I get 26-27 on the road - AC on cruising at 70mph, 20-22 around town. But if you like to get on it at every corner, 15mph is easy to do.

Enjoy....

Cam 224/228 595 115, Z06 heads CNC ported, Vette Doctors Rx-450hp (heads, cam, tune, 430 RWHP), American Racing Headers, Hi-Flow Cats, Blackwing, Lingenfelter TB, Z06 Titanium Mufflers, LS6 Intake, Bilstein Sports, Z51 Sway Bars/Springs,

 

Also need new springs, timing chain, and a new dyno tune.

Hell might as well do a new CAI, LTs, high flow cats, and new low resistant muffler system.

the down side? Your pocket is too small.

 

This is why I like the great state of Texas and the people that live there so much

Josh, give me a call anytime, it's an easy swap; you vert needs some new mods

 

I agree with all the pros.. But let me just add a few "cons":
1. You most likely will be at or near the limit of your injectors
2. You will be at or near the limit of your clutch
3. If you are going to have to replace your clutch, you may as well get hardened output shafts / DTE diff brace

The combination of those are pretty expensive.

 

Pro's: Women will want to be with you, men will want to be you. You'll appear younger and more virile. Money and good fortune will flow your way.

Con's: The BHO green guy down the block will say bad things about you.

What's not to love?

The trick is to figure out what your goals are and used the smallest cam that will get you there. I've known people who end up thinking they "ruined" their car by going with a BIG macho cam only to end up pulling it and going with something smaller they can live with day to day.

 

Precisely.........

 

When my friend BOB K here took his wife for her first ride in his 402 with a big and wrong cam she cried and told him "You've ruined the car". A lot of people say go big or you'll regret it. The fact is that just as many people people do regret going so big only to pay again to put in something smaller and better for their enjoyment.

I ran a 230-236 in my 346 build that mad 460RWHP and drove extremely well. I ran a 230-240 cam in the 403. Even in the 427, I only run a 234-242 which is a very small cam for that displacement. Smaller correct cams will beat a larger wrong cam any day.

 

Don't go too big. I love my low-mid 230s camshaft but I am VERY glad I didn't go bigger. Also want to look at what lobes the cam uses as they will change the miles at which you should change the valve springs at (more aggressive == change them sooner).

 

Now that is a great reply! 😎

 

Resurrected a 7 year old thread for that...