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There are several forum members that have gotten great results from the cam swap packages. What is your goal? If you want to go fast in a 1/4 mile run NOS will achieve your goal. If your goal is to make the car sound better and have more power all of the time then a cam swap is the obvious choice.
My .02 cents, go with the cam swap. . .I am sure that REDGAR will chime in here! :lurk:
Cam is safer, power is always there,you will get more consistant results and better reliablity. Don't get me wrong I love the juice but I am not a fan of putting it on a stock set up.
good luck I am sure you will love the results of either one. :smash:
Well looks like it well be a cam...I live in California and want to pass smog, what would be the best setup, i keep hearing 224 and dont know nothing about cam specs. maybe someone can help me out here... :crazy:
I would go with the cam instead of the NOS. the 224 cam is the largest cam you can instal and still pass smog. You will need to replace the single valve springs to dual springs with new seats. Installing dual springs on a head with a hand held unit is almost next to impossible. More than likely you will need to pull the heads to get those installed. With any beefy cam, Tuning will be an issue to get it right after the install. Good luck finding someone around here that will do it at a decent price. Maybe contact Valaya Automotive? I have no Idea what they would charge, but they can do the work for you.
I am not trying to sound negative with this information, just informing you on what is needed to do it right. In fact... after thinking about doing all of that...NOS looks pretty good right about now! :)
You are out on a fairly open stretch of four lane, and a new Mustang Cobra rolls up next to you. This is too much to resist. So, you roll your window down, and holler "wait a minute". You flip open your ash tray cover and turn on the bottle warmer. Then you turn on the NOS switch. About a 1/4 mile has passed now. You signal the guy you are ready to go (even though the bottle has not had time to warm up). You hammer it. So does he. Unfortunately, he has an exhaust and pulley. Even more unfortunately, you suddenly learn the hard way that you are low (or empty) on NOS, because it's only good for what - maybe a minute of wide open throttle, and you used it up showing off to a Z06 a few days ago.
By the way, I had a guy in a Z28 have this happen trying to run me a while back. I outran him three straight times. He couldn't figure out what was wrong with his NOS.
If you go with the cam especailly the 224 you can go with CC 918 springs $150 or so most venders, replace your push rods 150 or so most venders AT THE LEAST, and more or less you are ready to go. But you will also have to reprogram your computer for best results as well, esecially with the A4 and the shift points can be a pain. I had the TR 224/224 with a 112 LSA Cam in my 00 Z28 M6 :steering: Not many vettes could hang. As for Nitrous, if you do that go with a dry kit, wouldn't shoot more than 100 it can take 150 but I wouldn't venture that far into it. But with the cam the power is there when you need it........... And you don't need a bottle warmer for it. If you have a 97-00 C5 I would suggest a LS6 intake as well, but not needed . :seeya
My car is basically stock, what cam could I go with to get a little more power out of the motor and to make the motor sound a little more meaner at idle? I dont want to have to change out alot of things, and dump alot of money in to the car.
You are out on a fairly open stretch of four lane, and a new Mustang Cobra rolls up next to you. This is too much to resist. So, you roll your window down, and holler "wait a minute". You flip open your ash tray cover and turn on the bottle warmer. Then you turn on the NOS switch. About a 1/4 mile has passed now. You signal the guy you are ready to go (even though the bottle has not had time to warm up). You hammer it. So does he. Unfortunately, he has an exhaust and pulley. Even more unfortunately, you suddenly learn the hard way that you are low (or empty) on NOS, because it's only good for what - maybe a minute of wide open throttle, and you used it up showing off to a Z06 a few days ago.
By the way, I had a guy in a Z28 have this happen trying to run me a while back. I outran him three straight times. He couldn't figure out what was wrong with his NOS.
Easy choice. Cam.
[Modified by jschindler, 8:37 AM 12/21/2002]
:iagree: Ditto what jschindler said
Hey buddy wait a sec let me go fill my bottle up .... :lol: ..... honest my car is fast when my bottle is full :skep:
What kind of tranny do you have. If you are looking for a lil bump in power and if you are using nitrous the hot cam will give you really good results. its cheap, and comes with springs for like 300-400 i believe. That cam will make you car rumble and give it a serious lope. But it plays hell with A4 cars without tuning. But any split diration cams or reverse split cam s will give you that lope, and F/I and Nitrous love slpit duration cams.
Yeah I got a A4 2.73 :cry rearend. I totally forgot about the hotcam. How hard is it to do a cam swap on these cars. Does the whole front clip got to come off?
No but you do have to have to pull the steering rack though to get the cam out. You will have to take the hood off of course, the radiator and sterring rack but not the whole clip. From what I see. I have done alot of cams for the LS1 F Bodies but this will be my first C5 and I am sure not the last. But from what I am seeing that be it. Since I am in there I am going to go ahead and put a ASP Pulley on as well. The hot cam can be badwithout tuning but alot of guys also drill a hole in the TB for alittle more air so it runs better, but IMO if you are goin got swap out a cam in an A4 just get it tuned. There a few places I know of other then ed wright if there is no one local too. They are not sponsers though so I won't post it here. But you can PM me and I can pass it on
Ya the hot cam to me is a good bang for buck cam. alto disagree, and they went with bigger cams but this cam can perform I have seen it many times
Here's another thought. While NOS is a great bang for the buck and is fine for drag racing, a Corvette is great not only on the strip, but also on any kind of twisty roads as well.
The head/cam combo will be there all the time, when you need some throttle to plant the tires coming out of a turn, AND when you need to race someone.
There are two to looking at N20 as a mod. It's a mod that gives you a lot of power for the money spent or it's a down payment on a much larger expense down the road. If the system works without problems then you've added a lot of power for little cost. If it fails then this could end up being a very expensive mod. You roll the dice and take your chances.
I found a hot cam package for about 460$. That isnt so bad but I think the price of install will be. There is only a few shops who will deal with this kinda stuff around my town, so the prices can be high. :cuss If any of you know of a cam that is alittle cheaper, than let me know, every little penny helps.
My car is basically stock, what cam could I go with to get a little more power out of the motor and to make the motor sound a little more meaner at idle? I dont want to have to change out alot of things, and dump alot of money in to the car.
I ran a 214/224 525/532 114LSA on a stock engine with Nitrous. 10.68 @ 130MPH at BG 2 years ago. I have the Cam, REV valve springs and Titanium retainers. You can have them Cheap if you want them.